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Password-less Keyring

Setting up a password-less poktrolld ​

No password

These instructions are intended to streamline usage of poktrolld on Debian machines to AVOID providing a password each time.

Only follow these instructions if you know what you're doing.

Table of Contents ​

Prerequisites​

  1. You are running any Shannon service on a Debian machine.
  2. You have installed the poktrolld CLI.
  3. You have created a poktroll user following one of the guides in the docs.
  4. ⚠️ You are annoyed about having to enter your password every time ⚠️

Background​

poktrolld uses the Cosmos SDK keyring. For details on how it works, and understanding what a backend is, see the official docs.

This document will focus on how to use poktrolld with the os backend without a password on a Debian machine, and assume you have read the Cosmos documentation.

Only required for non test keyring backends

This whole page can be skipped if the backend in your .poktroll/config/client.toml is set to test.

If it is set to os or other, these instructions avoid having to enter your password every time.

Instructions​

1. Install pass (password store utility)​

sudo apt-get install pass

2. Create a GPG Key​

Generate a new GPG key pair - you'll be prompted for:

  • Kind of key: Choose RSA
  • Key size: 3072 bits is recommended
  • Key validity: Choose your preferred duration
  • Your name and email
gpg --full-generate-key

3. Find Your GPG Key ID​

List your secret keys and find your key ID.

gpg --list-secret-keys --keyid-format LONG

The output will look like:

sec rsa3072/B9448E560E033C02 <-- This is your key ID
5F79E46574CF39CDA4FB46BDB9448E560E033C02
uid [ultimate] Your Name <your.email@example.com>

4. Initialize pass with your GPG key ID​

Replace B9448E560E033C02 with your actual key ID from the step abpve

pass init B9448E560E033C02

5. Store Cosmos Keyring Password​

Store your password - you will be prompted to enter it.

pass insert cosmos-keyring

6. Verify Password Storage​

This will display your stored password

pass cosmos-keyring
IMPORTANT: RESTART REQUIRED

You must rerun the command above 👆 after every restart for the keys to be available

7. Test Configuration​

Test if poktrolld can now access the keyring without prompting

poktrolld keys list

8. Security Reminder​

warning

Note: Make sure to keep your GPG private key secure, as it's used to decrypt your stored passwords.