Lately, I need to deal with more login combinations. And, most of them are about logging in to server via SSH. I decided to create a simple mechanism rather than having some login combinations written somewhere. Why not remember those logins? Well, too many things to remember.
So, I tried to create an automated system to servers and found this useful tutorial. I tried it on my Mac OS X Snow Leopard, and it works. I put it here for my reference:
- From Terminal, run:
ssh-keygen -t rsa - Copy/add
~/.ssh/authorized_keys:- If exist:
cat ~/.ssh/id_rsa.pub | ssh [email protected] "cat - >> ~/.ssh/authorized_keys" - If not exist:
scp ~/.ssh/id_rsa.pub [email protected]:~/.ssh/authorized_keys
- If exist:
Done!
2 replies on “SSH login without password using OS X”
Although it is very convenient and may seem secure, anyone that could get a copy of your private key would have access to anything “protected” by your key pair. No passwords required.
A better approach is to use ssh-agent. it’s built in on many modern systems with ssh, including Macs (since Leopard).
In addition to using ssh-agent, I would also recommend using something like 1Password to manage various logins and identities. No more reusing the same password for everything.
Thanks for this useful recommendation, Mas Ronny!