@mk I did everything right except I had forgotten one small detail: the permissions of the .ssh directories and the keys in them. There was no inkling of a grumble about that - but that was the problem! I found detailed instructions here: http://www.namhuy.net/2433/ssh-login-without-password.html After changing permissions, I can FINALLY loging to Hal with SSH without password prompt. \o/ And that means I'll be able to set up access to remote repositories on Hal for Git (#). # # # # #