ssh-askpass(1) OpenBSD Reference Manual ssh-askpass(1)NAMEssh-askpass - an X11-based pass-phrase dialog for use with OpenSSH
SYNOPSISssh-askpass [options] [label]
DESCRIPTIONssh-askpass is an X11-based pass-phrase dialog for use with OpenSSH. It
is intended to be called from the ssh-add(1) program and not invoked
directly.
ssh-askpass supports most standard Toolkit command line arguments, with
the exception of -geometry, -borderwidth, -iconic, -rv, and -title. See
X(1).
If exactly one non-option argument is provided on the command line, it is
displayed in the dialog instead of the default label. If the argument
contains newline characters ('\n'), each line of text is displayed on a
separate line in the dialog.
The features of ssh-askpass are as follows:
- Configurable via the standard X resource mechanisms
/etc/X11/app-defaults, ~/.Xdefaults, xrdb(1), etc.
- Requires only stock X11 libraries (libXt, libX11, libSM,
libICE).
- Can be configured to grab the keyboard and/or pointer (grabs
the keyboard by default, not the pointer).
The user interface is somewhat different than most password/pass-phrase
dialogs and more similar to the X11-based pass-phrase dialog that
accompanies the regular SSH distribution. Instead of a text field that
fills with asterisks or some other character as the user enters the pass-
phrase, a series of LED-like areas light up one-by-one with each pass-
phrase character entered, beginning from the left-hand edge of the
dialog. When they reach the right-hand edge, they go dark one-by-one
again, and so on. This gives the user feedback that pass-phrase
characters have been entered, but does not provide onlookers with a cue
as to the length of the pass-phrase.
Pressing the `OK' button accepts the pass-phrase (even if it is empty),
which is printed on the standard output, and the dialog exits with a
status of zero (success). Pressing the `Cancel' button discards the
pass-phrase, and the dialog exits with non-zero status.
The following keystrokes work as expected:
[Backspace]
[Delete] Erase previous character
[Control+U]
[Control+X] Erase entire pass-phrase
[Enter]
[Control+M]
[Control+J] Accept pass-phrase (OK)
[Escape] Discard pass-phrase (Cancel)
WIDGETS
The main window of ssh-askpass has the widget hierarchy indicated below.
The widget class name is given first, followed by the instance name.
Dialog dialog
Indicator indicator
Button okButton
Button cancelButton
RESOURCES
The following resources are used to customize the application globally:
grabKeyboard (class GrabKeyboard)
specifies if the application should grab the keyboard.
Default value: ``True''.
grabPointer (class GrabPointer)
specifies if the application should grab the pointer.
Default value: ``False''.
grabServer (class GrabServer)
specifies if the application should grab the server.
Default value: ``False''.
inputTimeout (class InputTimeout)
the number of seconds ssh-askpass should wait for a key or
button press before it gives up and exits. A timeout of ``0''
means wait forever.
Default value: ``0''.
defaultXResolution (class DefaultXResolution)
the number of pixels per unit length that horizontal spacing
and width values are intended for. If the actual horizontal
(x) resolution of the X server is significantly greater or less
than this value, portions of the dialog, indicator, and button
widgets are stretched or shrunk horizontally to take the
difference into account. The value is a positive integer,
followed by a slash (/) and a one- or two-character unit
abbreviation. Valid units are inches (in or i) and meters (m).
Default value: ``75/in'' (75 pixels per inch).
defaultYResolution (class DefaultYResolution)
the number of pixels per unit length that vertical spacing and
height values are intended for. If the actual vertical (y)
resolution of the X server is significantly greater or less
than this value, portions of the dialog, indicator, and button
widgets are stretched or shrunk vertically to take the
difference into account. Valid values are the same as for
defaultXResolution above.
Default value: ``75/in'' (75 pixels per inch).
xResolutionFuzz (class XResolutionFuzz)
the range of ``fuzz'' around the value of defaultXResolution
beyond which some widgets will be stretched or shrunk
horizontally to fit the current actual horizontal resolution.
Valid values are the same as for defaultXResolution. For
example, if the default X resolution is ``75/in'', and the X
resolution fuzz is ``50/in'', then widgets won't be scaled
horizontally unless the actual horizontal resolution is less
than 25 pixels per inch or greater than 125 pixels per inch.
Default value: ``20/in'' (20 pixels per inch).
yResolutionFuzz (class YResolutionFuzz)
the range of ``fuzz'' around the value of defaultYResolution
beyond which some widgets will be stretched or shrunk
vertically to fit the current actual vertical resolution. Valid
values are the same as for defaultXResolution above.
Default value: ``20/in'' (20 pixels per inch).
The following resources are recognized by the Dialog widget:
title (class Title)
The title of the application as specified to the window
manager.
label (class Label)
The label displayed above the led indicators.
font (class Font)
The font to be used to display the first line of label.
fixedFont (class FixedFont)
The font to be used to display the second and following lines
of the label.
The following Resources are recognized by the dialog, button, and
indicator widgets and the main widget to customize the 3D appearance (all
measurements are in pixels):
foreground (class Foreground)
The foreground color of the widget. This is the text color of
the label for buttons and dialog and the color of the active
led for the indicator.
background (class Background)
The background color of the widget. In the case of the
indicator this is the color of the inactive led.
topShadowColor (class TopShadowColor)
The color used by the sides of the widget exposed to the light
(top and left).
bottomShadowColor (class BottomShadowColor)
The color used by the sides of the widget in the shadow (right
and bottom).
shadowThickness (class ShadowTickness)
The thickness of the 3D border of the widget.
borderColor (class BorderColor)
The color of the border around the widget.
borderWidth (class BorderWidth)
The width of the border around the widget.
horizontalSpacing (class HorizontalSpacing)
The space to leave on left and right sides of the widget.
verticalSpacing (class VerticalSpacing)
The space to leave on top and bottom sides of the widget.
The following resources are recognized by the indicator widgets:
minimumCount (class MinimumCount)
The minimum number of indicators to display in the dialog.
maximumCount (class MaximumCount)
The maximum number of indicators to display in the dialog.
Each button uses the following resources to customize its label:
label (class Label)
the string to display on the button.
font (class Font)
the font to use for this button label.
FILES
/etc/X11/app-defaults/SshAskpass
SEE ALSOX(1), ssh(1), ssh-agent(1)LICENSE
Some portions of ssh-askpass are derived directly or indirectly from
portions of xscreensaver by Jamie Zawinski <jwz@jwz.org>, while others
are original works.
xscreensaver, Copyright (C) 1991-1999 Jamie Zawinski <jwz@jwz.org>
Permission to use, copy, modify, distribute, and sell this software and
its documentation for any purpose is hereby granted without fee, provided
that the above copyright notice appear in all copies and that both that
copyright notice and this permission notice appear in supporting
documentation. No representations are made about the suitability of this
software for any purpose. It is provided "as is" without express or
implied warranty.
The remaining portions fall under the following copyright and license:
ssh-askpass by Jim Knoble <jmknoble@jmknoble.cx> Copyright (C)
1999,2000,2001 Jim Knoble
Permission to use, copy, modify, distribute, and sell this software and
its documentation for any purpose is hereby granted without fee, provided
that the above copyright notice appear in all copies and that both that
copyright notice and this permission notice appear in supporting
documentation.
Version 1.2.0 February 14, 2001 Version 1.2.0
