Sourcetree Git - SSH passphrase hint
I recently downloaded Sourcetree which comes with puttygen, plink and stant.
I have set up SSH public and private key with non-empty passphrase.
I was prompted to enter this passphrase when I added the private key to the keyword list. However, when I restart my machine and open Sourcetree again, I am prompted for this passphrase again.
1). Does Pageant or Sourcetree have to store this passphrase so I don't ask every time I want to use Sourcetree?
2). If so, how?
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Pageant only stores the decrypted key in memory. It does not store the passphrase or decrypted key anywhere.
Storing the passphrase will be almost as volatile as storing the key unencrypted. While that would be a solution for you, it really isn't recommended!
Quoting from Security Considerations in the Documentation Pages section:
Using Pageant for public key authentication gives you the ability to open multiple SSH sessions without having to enter a passphrase every time, but also gives you a security advantage when you never store the decrypted private key on disk. Many consider this to be a good compromise between safety and convenience.
This is a compromise, however. Storing your decrypted private keys in Pageant is better than storing them in easily accessible disk files, but even less secure than not storing them at all.
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