Using an SSH Agent for Passwordless Connections¶

Using an ssh-agent is the standard and most secure way to handle passphrase-protected SSH keys, allowing you to connect without repeatedly entering your passphrase.

What is an SSH Agent?¶

An ssh-agent is a background program that securely stores your private SSH keys in memory. When you try to connect to a remote server, SSH can ask the agent for the key, and the agent provides it. You only need to "unlock" your key once.

Step 1: Start the `ssh-agent`¶

On most modern desktop environments, an agent is often started automatically. If not, run this in your terminal:

eval "$(ssh-agent -s)"

To make this permanent, add the command to your shell's startup file (e.g., ~/.bashrc or ~/.zshrc).

Step 2: Add Your SSH Key to the Agent¶

Use the ssh-add command. If your key is in a default location (~/.ssh/id_rsa, etc.), you can just run:

ssh-add

If your key is elsewhere, specify the path to the private key:

ssh-add /path/to/your/private_key

You will be prompted for your key's passphrase one time.

To verify the key was added, list the agent's keys:

ssh-add -l

Step 3: Connect¶

That's it! Virtui Manager will now use the agent to authenticate for any qemu+ssh:// connections without any more prompts.

SSH Compression for Performance¶

For connections over slower networks, enabling SSH compression can significantly improve performance. This is configured in your SSH client's configuration file.

To enable compression for a specific host, add the following to your ~/.ssh/config file:

Host your_remote_host_name
  Compression yes

Replace your_remote_host_name with the actual hostname or IP address you use in your qemu+ssh:// URI. If you want to enable compression for all SSH connections, you can use Host *.