docs/content/github/authenticating-to-github/troubleshooting-ssh/error-agent-admitted-failure-to-sign.md

title, intro, redirect_from, versions, topics, shortTitle

title	intro	redirect_from	versions	topics	shortTitle
Error: Agent admitted failure to sign	In rare circumstances, connecting to {% data variables.product.product_name %} via SSH on Linux produces the error `"Agent admitted failure to sign using the key"`. Follow these steps to resolve the problem.	/articles/error-agent-admitted-failure-to-sign-using-the-key/ /articles/error-agent-admitted-failure-to-sign /github/authenticating-to-github/error-agent-admitted-failure-to-sign	fpt ghes ghae * * *	SSH	Agent failure to sign

When trying to SSH into {% data variables.product.product_location %} on a Linux computer, you may see the following message in your terminal:

$ ssh -vT git@{% data variables.command_line.codeblock %}
> ...
> Agent admitted failure to sign using the key.
> debug1: No more authentication methods to try.
> Permission denied (publickey).

For more details, see this issue report.

Resolution

You should be able to fix this error by loading your keys into your SSH agent with ssh-add:

# start the ssh-agent in the background
$ eval "$(ssh-agent -s)"
> Agent pid 59566
$ ssh-add
> Enter passphrase for /home/<em>you</em>/.ssh/id_rsa: <em>[tippy tap]</em>
> Identity added: /home/<em>you</em>/.ssh/id_rsa (/home/<em>you</em>/.ssh/id_rsa)

If your key does not have the default filename (/.ssh/id_rsa), you'll have to pass that path to ssh-add:

# start the ssh-agent in the background
$ eval "$(ssh-agent -s)"
> Agent pid 59566
$ ssh-add ~/.ssh/my_other_key
> Enter passphrase for /home/<em>you</em>/.ssh/my_other_key: <em>[tappity tap tap]</em>
> Identity added: /home/<em>you</em>/.ssh/my_other_key (/home/<em>you</em>/.ssh/my_other_key)