ssh-askpass(1) is a graphical program that prompts the user for their SSH Key passphrase and passes it to the ssh-add(1) command. Out of the box, ssh-askpass is pretty ugly, but I’ve managed to make it look dark, modern, and good. A screenshot This is how my ssh-askpass window looks: The code SshAskpassDialog.font: -adobe-helvetica-bold-r-normal---120-----iso8859-1 SshAskpassDialog.label: Please enter your authentication passphrase: SshAskpassDialog.title: SshAskpassbackground: #000000 SshAskpassforeground: #cccccc SshAskpass.Buttonbackground: #000000 SshAskpass.Button*foreground: #cccccc The above code goes in your ${HOME}/.Xresources file.

For most people, their window manager is something they probably don’t think much about. Consider all of the Windows and Mac users out there. They may or may not think about the fact that they appreciate how using Windows is different from using a Mac, but they may not be able to explain exactly why (Though over the past few years, it feels like Mac and Windows interfaces are slowing becoming very similar).