# FiloSottile/yubikey-agent

yubikey-agent is a seamless ssh-agent for YubiKeys.

Repository: https://github.com/FiloSottile/yubikey-agent
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/yubikey-agent
Homepage: https://filippo.io/yubikey-agent
Language: Go
License: BSD-3-Clause
License Family: permissive
Topics: yubikey, ssh-agent, cryptography, piv, smartcard, ssh
Last push: 2023-12-03T05:40:19+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 32/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 0, release rhythm 35, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 2321, "days_push": 1004, "days_rel": null, "gap_med": null, "n_releases_24m": 0}
- flags: no_releases
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 2903, forks 162 (observed 2026-08-28T04:07:29.010787+00:00)

## What it is
yubikey-agent is a seamless ssh-agent that stores SSH keys on YubiKey hardware via the PIV smartcard interface. It runs in the background, survives unplug/sleep, and requires a PIN and physical touch for each login.

## Use cases
- use a YubiKey as an SSH key for server logins
- set up hardware-backed SSH authentication easily
- require touch and PIN for every SSH login
- keep SSH private keys non-extractable on a smartcard
- replace ssh-agent with a YubiKey-backed agent
- configure per-host SSH agent selection

## When to choose
- you want hardware-protected SSH keys on a YubiKey with minimal setup
- you need an agent that tolerates sleep, suspend, and unplugging without restarts
- you want maximum compatibility with standard SSH servers

## When to avoid
- you don't own a YubiKey or PIV-capable smartcard
- you need Windows support, which is still work-in-progress
- you want fully automated logins without PIN entry or physical touch

## Facets
- artifact type: cli-tool
- maturity: stable
- function: auth, cryptography, security, cli
- domain: security, developer-tools
- platform: go, cli
- tags: ssh-agent, yubikey, piv, smartcard, hardware-key, ssh, command-line, macos, linux

## Member repositories
- FiloSottile/yubikey-agent (main) score 32

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:07:29.010787+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-30T07:34:31.657631+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/FiloSottile/yubikey-agent (fetched 2026-08-28T04:07:29.010787+00:00, sha 4d1c1f8b5215)
  - homepage: https://filippo.io/yubikey-agent (fetched 2026-08-29T09:49:48.396725+00:00, sha e011e920d7a2)
  - site_page: https://pkg.go.dev/about (fetched 2026-08-29T09:49:48.406112+00:00, sha 757852027879)
  - site_page: https://go.dev/about (fetched 2026-08-29T09:49:48.408264+00:00, sha 8b6453863a90)
  - site_page: https://go.dev/project (fetched 2026-08-29T09:49:48.410701+00:00, sha d5ca00bb378b)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.