ssh-agent (was: using a remote IMAP server and smarthost)

[Richard Lyons <richard@the-place.net>]

On Sun, Aug 26, 2007 at 12:27:32AM +0200, Florian Kulzer wrote:
[...]
> Method 2:
> ---------
> 
> You can set up mutt's sendmail command to use a short script which
> invokes ssh to run sendmail on myvm directly. This requires that
> sendmail works on myvm, though. The advantage is that you don't have to
> do anything else before you send mail (unlike with method 1). It seems
> that you do not have sendmail fully operational on myvm at the moment,
> so maybe you will want to stick with method 1 right now. In any case,
> here is the necessary wrapper script for method 2:
> 
> ---------- STARTS BELOW (this line is not part of the script) ----------
> #! /bin/sh
> # sendmail-via-ssh.sh
> # wrapper script for mutt to use sendmail via ssh
> #
> # activated by this option in ~/.muttrc:
> # set sendmail="/path/to/sendmail-via-ssh.sh"
> 
> cat - | ssh myvm "/usr/sbin/sendmail -oem -oi $@"
> ---------- ENDS ABOVE (this line is not part of the script) ----------

[...]

Returning to this, after the essential problem was solved (the presence
of two dsn settings in my .muttrc), It is time to try method 2.  I
assume this script is intended to address a real sendmail or exim4,
rather than the msmtp installed for the trial of method 1.  As I read
the manual, the -oem -oi options are not relevant to msmtp.

But, again if I understand Florian's earlier post, Method 2 requires the
use of sssh-agent.  And I cannot see fromt he man page how to use it or
configure it.

IF I simply let mutt run the script as above, I get

  ssh_askpass: exec(/usr/bin/ssh-askpass): No such file or directory^M
  ssh_askpass: exec(/usr/bin/ssh-askpass): No such file or directory^M
  ssh_askpass: exec(/usr/bin/ssh-askpass): No such file or directory^M
  Permission denied (publickey,keyboard-interactive).
  
So I think I really need the ssh-agent.  Help anybody?

-- 
richard