ssh-add

Add keys to the SSH agent

low risk

interactive breakdown — edit the command and press Explain

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⚠ Risks & cautions

Forwarding the agent (-A) lets remote root use your keys — prefer ProxyJump.
Use -t to limit key lifetime.

What it does

Loads private keys into ssh-agent. See the flags and examples below, and run `man ssh-add` for the full reference.

Common flags

Flag	Meaning
`-l`	List loaded keys
`-D`	Delete all keys
`-t`	Lifetime in seconds

Examples

ssh-add -t 3600 ~/.ssh/id_ed25519Load a key for one hour · explain & risk-check →

ssh-add -lList · explain & risk-check →

Related

Open the full explainer →More in Users, Permissions & Security

Reference text is hand-written and may be incomplete — check man ssh-add for your version. Test destructive commands on a non-production system first.