Software⏱️ 2 min read📅 2026-05-31

How to Fix: How to solve "sign_and_send_pubkey: signing failed: agent refused operation"?

Digital Ocean SSH key configuration issue.

Quick Answer: Try using the ssh-copy-id command with the -i option to specify the private key file, e.g. ssh-copy-id -i ~/.ssh/id_rsa user@012.345.67.89

📋 Table of Contents

  1. 🔍 Why This Happens
  2. 🚀 How to Resolve This Issue
  3. 💡 Conclusion

The 'sign_and_send_pubkey: signing failed: agent refused operation' error occurs when the SSH agent is not running or is not configured correctly on your system. This error prevents the ssh-copy-id command from successfully installing your SSH keys.

🔍 Why This Happens

  • [Cause]

🚀 How to Resolve This Issue

Method 1: Start the SSH Agent

  1. Step 1: Run the command 'ssh-agent -s' to start the SSH agent.

Method 2: Configure the SSH Agent

  1. Step 1: Run the command 'ssh-agent -f /tmp/ssh-agent forwarding=1' to configure the SSH agent.

💡 Conclusion

By following these steps, you should be able to resolve the 'sign_and_send_pubkey: signing failed: agent refused operation' error and successfully install your SSH keys.

Did this fix your problem?

If not, try searching for specific error codes.

🔍 Search Error Database

❓ Frequently Asked Questions

🛠️ Related Fixes

How to Fix: Pc crashes shortly after launching game (rainbow

Pc crashes shortly after launching game, possible cause: outdated grap

How to Fix: Installing an APK on a locked down phone

Installing an APK on a locked down phone: Try using a rooted device, e

How to Fix: FPS drops

FPS drops in games can be caused by high system resource usage, outdat