auto option to ignore keyring inside SSH session

changelog.md

@@ -1,3 +1,11 @@
+Upcoming (TBD)
+==============
+
+Features
+---------
+* Add `auto` option to ignore keyring when inside an SSH session.
+
+
 2.0.0 (2026/07/03)
 ==============
 

mycli/TIPS

@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ the --character-set option sets the character set for a single session!
 
 the --unbuffered flag can save memory when in batch mode!
 
---use-keyring=true lets you access the system keyring for passwords!
+--use-keyring=auto lets you access the system keyring for passwords!
 
 --use-keyring=reset resets a password saved to the system keyring!
 

mycli/cli_runner.py

@@ -304,9 +304,24 @@ def run_from_cli_args(cli_args: 'CliArgs', client_factory: ClientFactory) -> Non
     if cli_args.use_keyring is not None and cli_args.use_keyring.lower() == 'reset':
         use_keyring = True
         reset_keyring = True
+    elif cli_args.use_keyring is not None and cli_args.use_keyring.lower() == 'auto':
+        if os.environ.get('SSH_CONNECTION'):
+            use_keyring = False
+            reset_keyring = False
+        else:
+            use_keyring = True
+            reset_keyring = False
     elif cli_args.use_keyring is None:
-        use_keyring = str_to_bool(mycli.config['main'].get('use_keyring', 'False'))
-        reset_keyring = False
+        if mycli.config['main'].get('use_keyring', 'False').lower() == 'auto':
+            if os.environ.get('SSH_CONNECTION'):
+                use_keyring = False
+                reset_keyring = False
+            else:
+                use_keyring = True
+                reset_keyring = False
+        else:
+            use_keyring = str_to_bool(mycli.config['main'].get('use_keyring', 'False'))
+            reset_keyring = False
     else:
         use_keyring = str_to_bool(cli_args.use_keyring)
         reset_keyring = False

mycli/main.py

@@ -263,9 +263,9 @@ class CliArgs:
         help='Show progress on the standard error with --batch.',
     )
     use_keyring: str | None = clickdc.option(
-        type=click.Choice(['true', 'false', 'reset']),
+        type=click.Choice(['auto', 'true', 'false', 'reset']),
         default=None,
-        help='Store and retrieve passwords from the system keyring: true/false/reset.',
+        help='Store and retrieve passwords from the system keyring. auto means true, unless within an SSH connection.',
     )
     keepalive_ticks: int | None = clickdc.option(
         type=int,

mycli/myclirc

@@ -206,10 +206,14 @@ enable_pager = True
 pager = 'less'
 
 # Whether to store and retrieve passwords from the system keyring.
+# * False - never use keyring
+# * True - always use keyring
+# * auto - use keyring unless currently in an SSH connection
 # See the documentation for https://pypi.org/project/keyring/ for your OS.
 # Note that the hostname is considered to be different if short or qualified.
 # This can be overridden with --use-keyring= at the CLI.
 # A password can be reset with --use-keyring=reset at the CLI.
+# Recommanded: auto
 use_keyring = False
 
 [search]

test/myclirc

@@ -206,10 +206,14 @@ enable_pager = True
 pager = python test/features/wrappager.py ---boundary---
 
 # Whether to store and retrieve passwords from the system keyring.
+# * False - never use keyring
+# * True - always use keyring
+# * auto - use keyring unless currently in an SSH connection
 # See the documentation for https://pypi.org/project/keyring/ for your OS.
 # Note that the hostname is considered to be different if short or qualified.
 # This can be overridden with --use-keyring= at the CLI.
 # A password can be reset with --use-keyring=reset at the CLI.
+# Recommended: auto
 use_keyring = False
 
 [search]

test/pytests/test_cli_runner.py

@@ -418,3 +418,56 @@ def test_run_from_cli_args_uses_explicit_keyring_flag(monkeypatch: pytest.Monkey
 
     assert client.connect_calls[-1]['use_keyring'] is True
     assert client.connect_calls[-1]['reset_keyring'] is False
+
+
+@pytest.mark.parametrize(
+    ('ssh_connection', 'expected_use_keyring'),
+    (
+        (None, True),
+        ('client-ip client-port server-ip server-port', False),
+    ),
+)
+def test_run_from_cli_args_uses_auto_keyring_flag(
+    monkeypatch: pytest.MonkeyPatch,
+    ssh_connection: str | None,
+    expected_use_keyring: bool,
+) -> None:
+    cli_args = make_cli_args()
+    cli_args.use_keyring = 'auto'
+    client = DummyMyCli()
+    if ssh_connection is None:
+        monkeypatch.delenv('SSH_CONNECTION', raising=False)
+    else:
+        monkeypatch.setenv('SSH_CONNECTION', ssh_connection)
+
+    run_with_client(monkeypatch, cli_args, client)
+
+    assert client.connect_calls[-1]['use_keyring'] is expected_use_keyring
+    assert client.connect_calls[-1]['reset_keyring'] is False
+
+
+@pytest.mark.parametrize(
+    ('ssh_connection', 'expected_use_keyring'),
+    (
+        (None, True),
+        ('client-ip client-port server-ip server-port', False),
+    ),
+)
+def test_run_from_cli_args_uses_auto_keyring_config(
+    monkeypatch: pytest.MonkeyPatch,
+    ssh_connection: str | None,
+    expected_use_keyring: bool,
+) -> None:
+    cli_args = make_cli_args()
+    config = default_config()
+    config['main'] = {**config['main'], 'use_keyring': 'auto'}
+    client = DummyMyCli(config=config)
+    if ssh_connection is None:
+        monkeypatch.delenv('SSH_CONNECTION', raising=False)
+    else:
+        monkeypatch.setenv('SSH_CONNECTION', ssh_connection)
+
+    run_with_client(monkeypatch, cli_args, client)
+
+    assert client.connect_calls[-1]['use_keyring'] is expected_use_keyring
+    assert client.connect_calls[-1]['reset_keyring'] is False