brew won't install sshpass. Is there a workaround?

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rkg1945 Author

Level 1

8 points

brew won't install sshpass. Is there a workaround?

I'm running big sur and want to use sshpass but apple won't let me install it. What alternatives are there? I fully understand the security implications but they don't really apply in my situation. Some of my colleagues use Linux workstations to connect to servers and they all use sshpass.

I want to avoid having to remember, and then type, long passwords for the Linux servers I connect to. I suppose I could use expect. but maybe Apple will block that as well.

MacBook Pro 16″, macOS 11.6

Posted on Apr 6, 2022 5:06 PM

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Answer 1

etresoft

Level 9

56,326 points

Apr 6, 2022 7:31 PM in response to rkg1945

Never heard of sshpass. You create a public/private keypair on your Mac and add the public key to the authorized_keys file on the server.

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Answer 2

John Galt

Level 10

155,288 points

Apr 7, 2022 6:24 AM in response to rkg1945

Some of my colleagues use Linux workstations to connect to servers and they all use sshpass.

Is there a reason you can't or don't want to connect to a server in the usual manner?

macOS saves passwords if you want it to, and it shouldn't matter what OS the server is running. As you determined even Linux imposes what often appear to be unreasonable security restrictions, "for your own good".

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Answer 3

rkg1945 Author

Level 1

8 points

Apr 7, 2022 8:54 AM in response to John Galt

@John_Galt. If by the "usual manner" you mean typing ssh user@ip_address and then typing the password after being prompted, that's exactly what I do. However I wanted a script with a short name that would do all the work for me by just typing the script name. Using sshpass in a script would accomplish that.

I was not familiar with the technique that etresoft suggested, but after researching it, it is what I now use. So thank you etresoft.

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