Advantage of 1Password SSH agent on macOS?

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XIII
XIII
Community Member
edited May 2022 in SSH

Before reading the documentation I was wondering how the 1Password SSH agent would be an improvement to my current setup (the default agent with the keys’ passphrases stored in the macOS keychain).

Is my understanding correct that with 1Password I no longer need to store my private keys as files on my Mac?

(They are protected by passphrases, but still…)


1Password Version: 8
Extension Version: n/a
OS Version: macOS

Comments

  • That's exactly correct. You would store your keys as SSH Key items in your Personal vault, and the 1Password SSH agent will prompt you for authorization and then sign requests with your available keys.

    You won't need to store the ssh key files on your disk.

  • artooro
    artooro
    Community Member
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    Another advantage of using 1Password for SSH is you can unlock your keys using Touch ID instead of entering a passphrase

  • Ben
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    Great point @artooro.

    Ben

  • XIII
    XIII
    Community Member
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    The macOS keychain already took care of the passphrase (had to type that only once in its lifetime).

  • Aitareko
    Aitareko
    Community Member
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    Security. Once in the default agent, any process can use the key. In 1Password, you will be asked to unlock in each new context.

  • XIII
    XIII
    Community Member
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    Security. Once in the default agent, any process can use the key. In 1Password, you will be asked to unlock in each new context.

    Oh, yes, that's nice!

This discussion has been closed.