OpenSSH authentication agent

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What is the purpose of OpenSSH agent (ssh-agent)?

The OpenSSH authentication agent (ssh-agent) is a program that stores SSH keys used for authentication in a process memory, so users are not prompted for passphrase when using ssh or scp to connect to hosts.

How to check if OpenSSH agent is running?

You can check if OpenSSH agent is running by executing the following command:

$ vssh openssh agent status

How to start OpenSSH agent?

Linux or macOS

Start OpenSSH agent

You can start OpenSSH agent by executing the following command:

$ eval `ssh-agent`

Windows

Start OpenSSH agent

By default, the service of OpenSSH agent is disabled. You have to enable and start it by executing the following command:

# Make sure you're running as an Administrator.
Get-Service ssh-agent | Set-Service -StartupType Manual

# Start the service
Start-Service ssh-agent

# This should return a status of Running
Get-Service ssh-agent

Once you verify that the service is running, you can use the command below to set the agent to start automatically on boot.

# Make sure you're running as an Administrator.
Get-Service ssh-agent | Set-Service -StartupType Automatic

For detailed information on how to start OpenSSH agent on Windows, please refer to this article.