---
description: A program to hold private keys used for public key authentication
---

# ssh-agent

## Summary

The `ssh-agent` is a helper program that keeps track of user's [identity keys](https://www.ssh.com/ssh/identity-key) and their [passphrases](https://www.ssh.com/ssh/passphrase). The agent can then use the keys to log into other servers without having the user type in a password or passphrase again. This implements a form of single sign-on (SSO).

The SSH agent is used for [SSH public key authentication](https://www.ssh.com/ssh/public-key-authentication). It uses [SSH keys](https://www.ssh.com/ssh/key) for authentication. Users can create SSH keys using the [ssh-keygen](https://www.ssh.com/ssh/keygen) command and install them on servers using the [ssh-copy-id](https://www.ssh.com/ssh/copy-id) command.

## Reference

### ssh.com Docs

{% embed url="https://www.ssh.com/ssh/agent" %}

