| name | swain-keys |
| description | Per-project SSH key provisioning for git signing and authentication. Invoke to configure git signing, set up SSH keys for this project, bypass 1Password for git operations, add a key to GitHub, troubleshoot 1Password git prompts, or check key status. Generates ed25519 keys, configures git signing, registers keys on GitHub, and sets up SSH host aliases to bypass global SSH agents. |
| user-invocable | true |
| allowed-tools | Bash, Read, Edit, Glob, AskUserQuestion |
| metadata | {"short-description":"SSH key provisioning for projects","version":"1.0.0","author":"cristos","license":"MIT","source":"swain"} |
swain-keys
Per-project SSH key provisioning for git signing and authentication.
When invoked
Locate and run the provisioning script at skills/swain-keys/scripts/swain-keys.sh:
SCRIPT="$(find . .claude .agents -path '*/swain-keys/scripts/swain-keys.sh' -print -quit 2>/dev/null)"
If the path search fails, glob for **/swain-keys/scripts/swain-keys.sh.
Workflows
Default (no arguments or "set up keys")
Run --status first to show current state:
bash "$SCRIPT" --status
If keys are not fully provisioned, ask the user if they'd like to proceed with provisioning.
Provision ("provision keys", "configure signing", "set up SSH")
Run the full provisioning flow:
bash "$SCRIPT" --provision
The script will:
- Derive a project name from the git remote or directory
- Generate
~/.ssh/<project>_signing (ed25519, no passphrase) if not exists
- Create
~/.ssh/allowed_signers_<project> with the configured git email
- Add the public key to GitHub via
gh ssh-key add for both authentication and signing
- Create
~/.ssh/config.d/<project>.conf with a host alias that bypasses global SSH agents
- Update the git remote URL to use the project-specific host alias
- Set local git config for commit and tag signing
- Verify SSH connectivity and signing capability
Status ("key status", "check keys")
bash "$SCRIPT" --status
Verify ("verify keys", "test signing")
bash "$SCRIPT" --verify
Handling scope refresh
If gh ssh-key add fails due to insufficient scopes, the script will print an action-needed message. When this happens:
- Tell the user they need to authorize additional GitHub scopes
- Show them the command:
gh auth refresh -s admin:public_key,admin:ssh_signing_key
- This will open a browser for OAuth — it requires human interaction
- After they confirm, re-run
--provision (idempotent, will skip completed steps)
Integration with swain-init
When called from swain-init, run --provision directly without the status-first flow. swain-init handles the "would you like to?" prompt.
Session bookmark
After provisioning, update the bookmark: bash "$(find . .claude .agents -path '*/swain-session/scripts/swain-bookmark.sh' -print -quit 2>/dev/null)" "Provisioned SSH keys for {project}"
Error handling
- If not in a git repo: fail with clear message
- If
gh CLI unavailable: skip GitHub registration steps, warn user to add keys manually
- If git email not configured: fail early with instructions
- All steps are idempotent — safe to re-run after fixing issues