Re: tramp "Enter passphrase for key"

[Tim X <timx@nospam.dev.null>]

Gary <help-gnu-emacs@garydjones.name> writes:

> I have ssh from the console setup to use authentication using
> keys. Works fine.
>
> Tramp on the other hand...
>
> Well, after the event I do see the requests to "Enter passphrase for
> key" but I am not actually prompted for them when I try to open a file
> on the remote host. Instead I am just asked for a login password. Any
> idea what is going on and how to fix it?
>
>

When you say you have ssh working fine from the console with kyes, I
assume you are using an ssh agent so that the first time you try to ssh
to a remote host, a window pops up asking for your ssh key passphrase.
Once entered, any further onnections work without having to re-enter
your pass key. Right?

How are you starting emacs? How are you starting the ssh agent?

My guess is that you are starting your ssh agent as part of your
xsession startup, but your starting emacs via a menyu option. If this is
the case, whay may be happening is that emacs is not running as a child
process of your xsession process. This will mean that it cannot access
the ssh agent. 

For the ssh agent to work, it must be started in a parent process of the
process you want to run ssh from. 

One way to verify this would be to run emacs from inside a console
rather than from a menu or launcher. Try the following 0

ssh to the remote host from a console session. If allworks correctly,
logout fromt he remote host and then type emacs at the prompt. Once
emacs is running, try using tramp and see if it works. If it does, then
this is almost certainly your problem, in which case, what you need to
do is see how to get the ssh agent running in a process that will be a
parent process tot he one that is launched when you execute emacs from
the menu or launcher. How you do this will depend on your distribution,
window manager and launcher setup. 

Tim

-- 
tcross (at) rapttech dot com dot au