README.md
1IMPORTANT - GitHub Contributors
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4Please apply your patches to `keychain.sh`, *not* the generated `keychain`
5script, which we are now including in the git repo to facilitate the
6distribution of release archives direct from GitHub. All development work will
7be done on the 'devel' branch and will only be merged with the master branch when
8a new release is made. This should allow the generated files (keychain, man pages,
9spec file)to remain in sync on the master branch but no guarantees are made except
10for the tagged release. They will be regenerated for official release archives
11only (those tagged with the release version.). Anyone using or contributing to the
12'devel' branch should assume the generated files are out of date and regenerate
13locally if needed.
14Thanks!
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18Introduction to Keychain
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21**Official documentation for Keychain can be found on [the official Keychain
22wiki page](http://www.funtoo.org/Keychain).**
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24`Keychain` helps you to manage ssh and GPG keys in a convenient and secure
25manner. It acts as a frontend to `ssh-agent` and `ssh-add`, but allows you
26to easily have one long running `ssh-agent` process per system, rather than
27the norm of one `ssh-agent` per login session.
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29This dramatically reduces the number of times you need to enter your
30passphrase. With `keychain`, you only need to enter a passphrase once every
31time your local machine is rebooted. `Keychain` also makes it easy for remote
32cron jobs to securely "hook in" to a long running `ssh-agent` process,
33allowing your scripts to take advantage of key-based logins.
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