Net::SS...l::Auth(3)

💖 Net::SS...l::Auth(3) 💖

okay bestie so this is a page from the User Contributed Perl Documentation collection, and it's literally about the authentication guts of Net::SSH::Perl. come sit with me, we're doing this together 🫶

---

✨ NAME ✨

Net::SSH::Perl::Auth — the base authentication class, plus a whole lil toolkit of utility methods 🌸

---

🌈 SYNOPSIS 🌈

use Net::SSH::Perl::Cipher;

# Get list of supported authentication IDs.
my $supported = Net::SSH::Perl::Auth::supported();

# Translate an auth name into an ID.
my $id = Net::SSH::Perl::Auth::id($name);

# Translate an auth ID into a name.
my $name = Net::SSH::Perl::Auth::name($id);

# Get the order in which auth methods are tested.
my $order = Net::SSH::Perl::Auth::order();

like... look at her go 💅 so much utility, so much slay.

---

🦋 DESCRIPTION 🦋

Net::SSH::Perl::Auth is the base class for every single one of the authentication method classes — she's the mother of the house, the main character, the blueprint 👑

and ALSO she defines a set of utility methods that you can call either as plain functions or as object methods. flexible queen behavior, no cap ✨

---

🎀 UTILITY METHODS 🎀

supported( [ $auth_id [, $server_supports ] ])

the vibe check of auth methods, fr fr 💫

• with no arguments — returns a reference to an array of the auth methods that Net::SSH::Perl supports. basically these are the methods that have actual working Net::SSH::Perl::Auth:: implementations. no ghost methods here bestie 👻
• with one argument, $auth_id — returns a true value if that auth method is supported by Net::SSH::Perl, and false otherwise. simple as 🍓
• with two arguments, $auth_id and $server_supports — returns true if the auth represented by $auth_id is supported both by Net::SSH::Perl and by the sshd server. the list of methods supported by the server lives in $server_supports, which is a bit mask sent from the server during the session identification phase 🔥

and here's the tea: you can call it as a non-exported function, like

my $i_support = Net::SSH::Perl::Auth::supported();

OR as an object method of a Net::SSH::Perl::Auth object, or an object of a subclass. and bestie, when you do it that way, the first argument should be $server_supports, not the $auth_id — yes it's giving plot twist but that's just how she is 💀

if ($auth->supported($server_supports)) {
    print "Server supports auth method $auth";
}

id( [ $auth_name ] )

translates an auth method name into an ID — which is suitable for sending to the sshd server, for example 😌

• if given $auth_name, translates that name into the corresponding ID
• if called as an object method, translates the object's auth class name into the ID

name( [ $auth_id ] )

the reverse glow-up: translates an auth method ID into a name 💖

• if given $auth_id, translates that ID into the corresponding name
• if called as an object method, returns the (stripped) object's auth class name. for example, if the object were of type Net::SSH::Perl::Auth::Rhosts, name would return Rhosts ✨

auth_order()

returns a reference to an array containing auth method IDs 👑

these IDs describe the order in which authentication should be tested against the server. so, for example, if the array listed (2, 4, 3), then the client should test: RSA, then Rhosts-RSA, then Password authentication. the itinerary is scheduled, bestie, and she sticks to it 🎀

---

💜 AUTH USAGE 💜

Net::SSH::Perl::Auth->new($auth_name, $ssh)

instantiates a brand new auth object of the type $auth_name, and hands it the Net::SSH::Perl object $ssh 🫶

that $ssh object should contain an open connection to an sshd server — no connection, no party.

returns the auth object, which will be blessed into the actual auth subclass. iconic class inheritance moment 💅

$valid = $auth->authenticate()

talks to the sshd server to authenticate the user 🗣️

• if valid → returns true
• if invalid → returns false

that's it, that's the whole dramatic exchange 😭

---

🌸 AUTH DEVELOPMENT 🌸

if you're out here writing classes that implement an authentication method, you must implement these following two methods. non-negotiable, bestie, it's the law ⭐

1. $class->new($ssh) — given a Net::SSH::Perl object $ssh, should construct a new auth object and bless it into $class, presumably. (the "presumably" is doing a lot of heavy lifting here and honestly? same 🙈)
2. $class->authenticate() — authenticate the current user with the remote daemon. this requires following the messaging protocol defined for your authentication method. all of the data you need — user name, password (if required), etc. — should be in the $ssh object. returns 1 if the authentication is successful, 0 otherwise ✅

⚠️ like genuinely, follow the messaging protocol for your method. it's not optional and she will notice.

---

👑 AUTHOR & COPYRIGHTS 👑

please see the Net::SSH::Perl manpage for author, copyright, and license information. all the legal girly details live over there, i'm just the messenger 💖

---

and that's the whole page, bestie!! no cap, you now know auth better than half the people who claim they do 🧚

this was perl v5.42.0, dated 2026-01-17, brought to you by the fine folks at Net::SS...l::Auth(3). mwah, go slay 💅✨