i would like to automate the rsync task as a cron job.. since it needs the passphrase i am not able to do the cronjob. i need to specify the passphrase along with the rsync command or i will store the passphrase in a file and i will read from it. my command will look like this.. rsync -aPe "ssh -i ' . $server-{'ssh_key'} . '" ' . $server_lock_dir; so where do i put the password .. pls help