Recent commits to derivepassphrase.git (a8e01a9854df59178deb35c75fb9c918ddc564bd)

Overhaul the SSH key tutorial, also aligning it with the SSH key how-to

2026-03-14T17:33:38+01:00

On The Annoying OS, we add screenshots for the steps involving `pageant`
and `puttygen`, because we cannot present a verbatim shell transcript.
The instructions avoid giving motor instructions ("click on ...", "type
... in", etc.) as much as possible, both for consistency with the UNIX
instructions and to focus on the higher-level operations instead.  This
also avoids doing users with motor impairments or unusual input device
setups the disservice of giving them instructions they cannot follow.

We add a definition for "key rotation", and further short commentary on
key compartmentalization and locking the agent (or the key in the
agent).

We align the visual style of both this tutorial and the SSH key how-to
by using the text framing approach from the latter to frame alternate
blocks of content (e.g. operating system-specific instructions), either
explicitly or implicitly, as needed. We ensure that this style is also
used consistently in the how-to as well. Finally, we also add the
`pageant` logo to the how-to, and image credits for the logo on both
pages.
</pre>

Add a tutorial for using SSH keys with `derivepassphrase vault`

2026-03-08T22:46:41+01:00

The tutorial builds on the previous tutorial for setting up
`derivepassphrase vault` with a master passphrase, modifying the
existing configuration to use a master SSH key instead.  It covers SSH
agent installation, key generation, and reconfiguring `derivepassphrase
vault`.  Both tutorials link to each other.

The other tutorial (for setting up `derivepassphrase vault` with
a master passphrase) now also contains a short note on shell prompts as
well as operating system-specific instructions for the `pip` install
method.

For reproducibility, the new tutorial uses the standard Ed25519 SSH test
key as the master SSH key.  The test key is explicitly linked.  The
tutorial also includes a copy of the Pageant icon to help the reader
identify the correct icon in The Annoying OS's task bar.
</pre>

Update the copyright year to 2026

2026-02-08T21:25:06+01:00

Also fix one instance where the declared license identifier still was
the MIT license, making it unclear whether this file was licensed under
a different license than the rest.  (No, it was merely a typo.)
</pre>

Fix a longstanding typo in the Markdown manpage examples

2026-02-08T21:01:20+01:00

Apparently, this is a copy-and-paste error from the PDF rendering of the
manpage when it was originally converted to Markdown: while the PDF
*looked* correct, the text layer was not, and so the pasted text was
also out-of-order.
</pre>

Update the manpages with respect to SSH agents

2026-02-08T19:38:24+01:00

Add a section on SSH agent socket providers, and documentation for the
new `--ssh-agent-socket-provider` option and the new "The SSH agent
socket provider %s is not in derivepassphrase's provider registry."
error message.  Also update the section on SSH key suitability, and
remove the entry on Windows incompatibility from the Bugs section.
</pre>

Fix minor formatting errors, linting errors, and typos

2026-02-08T16:10:06+01:00

</pre>

Add tests for explicit SSH agent socket provider selection

2026-02-08T16:02:18+01:00

Extend the vault CLI tests for basic SSH key usage to also cover the SSH
agent socket provider choice case.  We split up the monolithic `_test`
helper function into separate `_setup_environment` and `_check_result`
functions, so that we can share common setup code (including fixtures
and parametrizations), but use different result testing code.  We also
extend the `_setup_environment` code to handle main user configuration
mocking and SSH agent socket provider registry mocking as well, even if
the basic key tests don't use this functionality.
</pre>

Error out correctly when an invalid SSH agent socket provider is specified

2026-02-08T13:40:06+01:00

Issue the correct error message when an SSH agent socket provider is
specified via command-line options or via user configuration, but the
socket provider does not appear in the registry.

Previously, due to a technicality, this would be treated the same as the
`SSH_AUTH_SOCK` environment variable missing, and would issue the same
error message.  This is, of course, blatantly false, and has now been
corrected.
</pre>

Support specifying the SSH agent socket provider via CLI or configuration

2026-02-08T13:00:41+01:00

Add a designated entry `vault.ssh-agent-socket-provider` to the
`derivepassphrase` main configuration and the new option
`--ssh-agent-socket-provider` to the `derivepassphrase vault`
command-line interface.  These both specify a specific SSH agent socket
provider to use, instead of the built-in default provider list.  The
command-line option has precedence over the user configuration.

In complementary work, streamline the construction of SSH agent client
contexts and the querying of configuration files in `derivepassphrase
vault`'s main program: provide a `get_configured_connection_hint` for
the former, and harmonize function signatures and call responsibilities
for the latter.
</pre>

Document platform-specific coverage exclusion markers

2026-02-01T20:51:53+01:00

</pre>