ssh-tpm-agent
SSH agent in Privacy & security
Recommended for storing SSH keys in a TPM chip and for reliable long-term use. One critic says its authors need to learn about PCR phases.
6 people recommended ssh-tpm-agent in Hacker News comments and none criticized it, November 2025 to October 2026.
Summary written by Claude from 4 comments.
6 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 6
- mixed feelings
- 0
- warn against or regret it
- 0
The record
Recommended in 5 of 12 months
In 5 different threads.
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 6 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- Nobody criticizes itNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 5 of 12 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
- Recommended in 5 threadsNeeds 5 or more, met.
- The biggest thread supplies 33% of its recommendersNeeds half or less, met.
The same rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. Mixed feelings count toward neither side. How the badge works
What people say about it
Reasons grouped from a sample of 3 of the 8 opinions about it, picked in proportion to how many people recommend it, have mixed feelings and criticize it. Each mark is one comment in the sample. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Recommended as the right way to store keys
“take a look at tpm-ssh-agent or gnupg for how to do that part the right way”
Comment from 16 Apr 2026 in “Put your SSH keys in your TPM chip” Works very well over a year of use
“I've been using this for a ~year now and it works very well.”
Comment from 23 Nov 2025 in “Native Secure Enclave backed SSH keys on macOS”
What people recommend instead
The same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Mixed | Criticize | Approval | Months | Had for | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Secretive | 8 | 5 | 2 | 80% | 4 | — | — |
| ssh-tpm-agentThis page | 6 | 0 | 0 | 100% | 5 | — | — |
What people said
3 of the 8 opinions about it, picked in proportion to the three counts, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“if my terminal was Linux I'd want this too”
“take a look at tpm-ssh-agent or gnupg for how to do that part the right way”
“I've been using this for a ~year now and it works very well.”
Counts come from 1,791,911 Hacker News comments labeled by Claude, November 2025 to October 2026, with data through October 31, 2026. Counts updated 3 Nov 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.