diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index a5b03d6..d3dda4c 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -88,17 +88,37 @@ Prints the unencrypted private key in OpenSSH format (the
 and nothing else, so it can be redirected into a file. The key's comment is the
 same as for `pub`.
 
-### `keyfunc ssh install <[user@]host> [-- ssh options...]`
+### `keyfunc ssh install <[user@]host> [-- sftp options...]`
 
-Runs the system `ssh` to the host and, on the host:
+Adds the `pub` line to `~/.ssh/authorized_keys` on the host. No command is run
+on the host: the file is fetched, changed here, and written back with the
+system `sftp` client in batch mode.
 
-- creates `~/.ssh` with mode `0700` if it is missing;
-- creates `~/.ssh/authorized_keys` with mode `0600` if it is missing;
-- appends the `pub` line only if an identical line is not already there.
+The first connection fetches `~/.ssh/authorized_keys`; a host that has no such
+file yet reads as empty. If an identical line is already in the file, the tool
+prints `already present` and connects no further. Otherwise the line is added
+(after a newline, if the file did not end with one) and a second connection:
 
-It then prints `added` or `already present`. How this `ssh` connection
-authenticates is up to the user's normal `ssh` setup (existing keys, agent,
-password). Anything after `--` is passed to `ssh` unchanged.
+- creates `~/.ssh` and sets it to mode `0700`;
+- uploads the new file as `~/.ssh/authorized_keys.keyfunc-<random>` and sets it
+  to mode `0600`;
+- renames that file over `~/.ssh/authorized_keys`.
+
+The tool then prints `added`. So a run that adds a line connects twice. The
+rename is the step that either happens or does not: the file on the host is
+never half-written. `sftp` does it in one step against servers that offer
+OpenSSH's POSIX rename extension, as OpenSSH's own server does; a server
+without it may refuse to rename onto a file that is already there.
+
+If a step fails, the tool prints what `sftp` said, names the uploaded file if
+there was one, removes nothing, and exits with status 1. Everything `sftp`
+writes goes to standard error, so the tool's own standard output is only
+`added` or `already present`.
+
+Anything after `--` is passed to `sftp` unchanged, which is where the port goes
+(`-P 2222`, not `-p`). How the connection authenticates is up to the user's
+normal `ssh` setup, except that batch mode does not prompt: a key or an agent
+has to do it, not a typed password.
 
 ### `keyfunc ssh to <host> [ssh arguments...]`
 
diff --git a/internal/cli/ssh/install.go b/internal/cli/ssh/install.go
index 8133261..15599d6 100644
--- a/internal/cli/ssh/install.go
+++ b/internal/cli/ssh/install.go
@@ -1,57 +1,49 @@
 package ssh
 
 import (
+	"crypto/rand"
+	"encoding/hex"
+	"errors"
 	"fmt"
+	"io/fs"
+	"os"
 	"os/exec"
+	"path/filepath"
 	"slices"
 	"strings"
 
 	"github.com/spf13/cobra"
 )
 
-// script is what runs on the host. It reads the key line from its own
-// standard input, so the line never appears on a command line, where
-// anyone else on the host could read it out of the process list. It
-// contains no single quote, so the whole of it travels through ssh
-// inside one pair of them. The umask keeps anything it makes to the
-// owner from the start; the modes are then set outright, whatever the
-// umask on the host turns out to be. A file whose last line has no
-// newline at its end gets one before the key line goes on, so that the
-// two do not run into each other.
-const script = `
-set -e
-umask 077
-directory="$HOME/.ssh"
-file="$directory/authorized_keys"
-if [ ! -d "$directory" ]; then
-	mkdir -p "$directory"
-	chmod 700 "$directory"
-fi
-if [ ! -f "$file" ]; then
-	: > "$file"
-	chmod 600 "$file"
-fi
-IFS= read -r line
-if grep -q -x -F -e "$line" "$file"; then
-	echo "already present"
-else
-	if [ -s "$file" ] && [ -n "$(tail -c 1 "$file")" ]; then
-		printf "\n" >> "$file"
-	fi
-	printf "%s\n" "$line" >> "$file"
-	echo "added"
-fi
-`
+// Where the key goes on the host and what the file it arrives in is
+// called before it is renamed into place. The random end of that name
+// keeps two runs at once from writing to the same file.
+const (
+	directory     = ".ssh"
+	authorized    = ".ssh/authorized_keys"
+	sidecarPrefix = ".ssh/authorized_keys.keyfunc-"
+	sidecarBytes  = 8
+)
+
+// The modes the host is left with, as sftp's chmod spells them, and
+// the mode of the copy made here on the way.
+const (
+	directoryMode = "700"
+	fileMode      = "600"
+	localMode     = 0o600
+)
 
 // install returns the command that adds the public key to a host.
 func install() *cobra.Command {
 	cmd := &cobra.Command{
-		Use:   "install <[user@]host> [-- ssh options...]",
+		Use:   "install <[user@]host> [-- sftp options...]",
 		Short: "add the public key to a host's authorized_keys",
-		Long: "Runs the system ssh to the host, which makes ~/.ssh and " +
-			"~/.ssh/authorized_keys there if they are missing and adds " +
-			"the public key unless the same line is already in the " +
-			"file. Anything after -- is given to ssh unchanged.",
+		Long: "Downloads the host's authorized_keys with the system " +
+			"sftp, adds the public key to it here unless the same " +
+			"line is already there, and uploads the result as a file " +
+			"beside it which is then renamed over it. Nothing is run " +
+			"on the host. Anything after -- is given to sftp " +
+			"unchanged, which is where the port goes (-P).",
 		Args: cobra.MinimumNArgs(1),
 		RunE: func(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) error {
 			key, comment, err := derived(cmd)
@@ -64,7 +56,7 @@ func install() *cobra.Command {
 				return err
 			}
 
-			return send(cmd, args[0], args[1:], line)
+			return add(cmd, args[0], args[1:], line)
 		},
 	}
 
@@ -73,24 +65,150 @@ func install() *cobra.Command {
 	return cmd
 }
 
-// send runs ssh to the host with the user's options, gives it the
-// script to run there, and writes the key line to its standard input.
-// What the host says, added or already present, is passed straight on.
-func send(cmd *cobra.Command, host string, options []string, line string) error {
-	argv := slices.Concat(options, []string{
-		host, "/bin/sh -c '" + script + "'",
-	})
+// add puts the key line in the host's authorized_keys. The file is
+// fetched in one sftp session and written back in another, so a run
+// that adds a line connects twice; a run that finds the line already
+// there connects once and stops.
+func add(cmd *cobra.Command, host string, options []string, line string) error {
+	work, err := os.MkdirTemp("", "keyfunc-install-")
+	if err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("making a temporary directory: %w", err)
+	}
 
-	//nolint:gosec // the options are the user's own, meant for ssh
-	command := exec.CommandContext(cmd.Context(), "ssh", argv...)
-	command.Stdin = strings.NewReader(line + "\n")
-	command.Stdout = cmd.OutOrStdout()
+	defer func() { _ = os.RemoveAll(work) }()
+
+	fetched := filepath.Join(work, "authorized_keys")
+
+	// The get may fail: a host with no authorized_keys yet is not an
+	// error, and nothing arrives.
+	err = session(cmd, host, options, []string{
+		"-get " + authorized + " " + quoted(fetched),
+	})
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+
+	content, err := arrived(fetched)
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+
+	merged, added := merge(content, line)
+	if !added {
+		return write(cmd, "already present\n")
+	}
+
+	return upload(cmd, host, options, work, merged)
+}
+
+// upload writes the new file to the host and renames it over
+// authorized_keys, which is the step that either happens or does not.
+// Nothing is removed when a step fails: the file left behind is named
+// so that it can be looked at and cleared away by hand.
+func upload(
+	cmd *cobra.Command, host string, options []string,
+	work, merged string,
+) error {
+	local := filepath.Join(work, "authorized_keys.merged")
+
+	err := os.WriteFile(local, []byte(merged), localMode)
+	if err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("writing the new file: %w", err)
+	}
+
+	sidecar, err := sidecarName()
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+
+	// The mkdir may fail: the directory is usually there already.
+	err = session(cmd, host, options, []string{
+		"-mkdir " + directory,
+		"chmod " + directoryMode + " " + directory,
+		"put " + quoted(local) + " " + sidecar,
+		"chmod " + fileMode + " " + sidecar,
+		"rename " + sidecar + " " + authorized,
+	})
+	if err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("%w; %s may be left on the host", err, sidecar)
+	}
+
+	return write(cmd, "added\n")
+}
+
+// session runs one sftp session with the user's own options and the
+// batch of commands, which sftp reads from its standard input and
+// stops at the first of which that fails, unless it begins with a
+// dash. sftp echoes the commands as it runs them, so everything it
+// says goes to the error output and the tool's own output stays the
+// one word it prints.
+func session(
+	cmd *cobra.Command, host string, options []string, batch []string,
+) error {
+	argv := slices.Concat(
+		[]string{"-b", "-"}, options, []string{host},
+	)
+
+	//nolint:gosec // the options are the user's own, meant for sftp
+	command := exec.CommandContext(cmd.Context(), "sftp", argv...)
+	command.Stdin = strings.NewReader(strings.Join(batch, "\n") + "\n")
+	command.Stdout = cmd.ErrOrStderr()
 	command.Stderr = cmd.ErrOrStderr()
 
 	err := command.Run()
 	if err != nil {
-		return fmt.Errorf("running ssh: %w", err)
+		return fmt.Errorf("running sftp: %w", err)
 	}
 
 	return nil
 }
+
+// merge returns the file with the key line on the end, and whether it
+// had to be added. A file whose last line has no newline at its end
+// gets one first, so that the two lines do not run into each other.
+func merge(content, line string) (string, bool) {
+	if slices.Contains(strings.Split(content, "\n"), line) {
+		return content, false
+	}
+
+	if content != "" && !strings.HasSuffix(content, "\n") {
+		content += "\n"
+	}
+
+	return content + line + "\n", true
+}
+
+// arrived returns what is in the fetched file, and nothing at all when
+// no file arrived because the host has none.
+func arrived(path string) (string, error) {
+	//nolint:gosec // the path is a temporary file of the tool's own
+	content, err := os.ReadFile(path)
+	if errors.Is(err, fs.ErrNotExist) {
+		return "", nil
+	}
+
+	if err != nil {
+		return "", fmt.Errorf("reading the fetched file: %w", err)
+	}
+
+	return string(content), nil
+}
+
+// sidecarName returns the name the new file is uploaded under.
+func sidecarName() (string, error) {
+	random := make([]byte, sidecarBytes)
+
+	_, err := rand.Read(random)
+	if err != nil {
+		return "", fmt.Errorf("making a name for the new file: %w", err)
+	}
+
+	return sidecarPrefix + hex.EncodeToString(random), nil
+}
+
+// quoted puts the double quotes around a path that sftp needs when the
+// path has a space in it. Only paths of the tool's own making are
+// given to it, and they hold no quote of their own.
+func quoted(path string) string {
+	return `"` + path + `"`
+}
diff --git a/internal/cli/ssh_test.go b/internal/cli/ssh_test.go
index 6b787fc..082a50a 100644
--- a/internal/cli/ssh_test.go
+++ b/internal/cli/ssh_test.go
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ package cli_test
 import (
 	"os"
 	"path/filepath"
+	"slices"
 	"strconv"
 	"strings"
 	"testing"
@@ -14,7 +15,7 @@ import (
 )
 
 // The modes the host is supposed to end up with, and the mode the
-// stand-in ssh needs so that it can be run at all.
+// stand-ins need so that they can be run at all.
 const (
 	directoryMode = 0o700
 	fileMode      = 0o600
@@ -32,20 +33,45 @@ const (
 	keptIn    = "authorized_keys"
 )
 
-// installer is a stand-in for the system ssh for the install command.
-// It writes down what it was given and then runs the command meant for
-// the host right here, with the home directory pointed at a directory
-// standing in for the host's, so that what keyfunc sends can be
-// watched doing its work.
+// The key line the example mnemonic gives at index 0, as it stands in
+// an authorized_keys file.
+const keyLine = vectorZero + " keyfunc/ssh/0\n"
+
+// installer is a stand-in for the system sftp for the install
+// command. It writes down the arguments and every command of the
+// batch it is given, and carries the commands out against a directory
+// standing in for the host's home directory, so that what keyfunc
+// sends can be watched doing its work. A command that begins with a
+// dash may fail; any other failure ends the session, as it does in
+// sftp's own batch mode.
 const installer = `
-while [ $# -gt 1 ]; do
-	printf '%s\n' "$1" >> "$KEYFUNC_TEST_ARGUMENTS"
-	shift
+for argument in "$@"; do
+	printf '%s\n' "$argument" >> "$KEYFUNC_TEST_ARGUMENTS"
+done
+home="$KEYFUNC_TEST_HOME"
+while IFS= read -r line; do
+	printf '%s\n' "$line" >> "$KEYFUNC_TEST_BATCH"
+	allowed=no
+	case "$line" in
+	-*)
+		line=${line#-}
+		allowed=yes
+		;;
+	esac
+	eval "set -- $line"
+	worked=yes
+	case "$1" in
+	get) cp "$home/$2" "$3" 2>/dev/null || worked=no ;;
+	put) cp "$2" "$home/$3" 2>/dev/null || worked=no ;;
+	mkdir) mkdir "$home/$2" 2>/dev/null || worked=no ;;
+	chmod) chmod "$2" "$home/$3" 2>/dev/null || worked=no ;;
+	rename) mv "$home/$2" "$home/$3" 2>/dev/null || worked=no ;;
+	esac
+	if [ "$worked" = no ] && [ "$allowed" = no ]; then
+		printf 'sftp: %s failed\n' "$1" >&2
+		exit 1
+	fi
 done
-printf '%s' "$1" > "$KEYFUNC_TEST_COMMAND"
-HOME="$KEYFUNC_TEST_HOME"
-export HOME
-eval "$1"
 `
 
 // caller is a stand-in for the system ssh for the to command. It
@@ -63,19 +89,17 @@ fi
 exit "$KEYFUNC_TEST_STATUS"
 `
 
-// pretended is where a stand-in ssh writes down what it was asked to
-// do.
+// pretended is where a stand-in writes down what it was asked to do.
 type pretended struct {
 	// home stands in for the home directory on the host.
 	home string
-	// arguments holds what ssh was given before the command, one per
-	// line.
+	// arguments holds the arguments of every session, one per line.
 	arguments string
-	// command holds what ssh was told to run on the host.
-	command string
+	// batch holds the commands of every session, one per line.
+	batch string
 }
 
-func TestTheKeyIsAddedToTheHostAndThenLeftAlone(t *testing.T) {
+func TestTheKeyIsAddedToAHostThatHasNoFileYet(t *testing.T) {
 	t.Setenv(mnemonic.Variable, example())
 
 	pretend := pretendHost(t)
@@ -94,11 +118,32 @@ func TestTheKeyIsAddedToTheHostAndThenLeftAlone(t *testing.T) {
 	require.NoError(t, err)
 	require.Equal(t, os.FileMode(fileMode), file.Mode().Perm())
 
-	added := read(t, path)
-	require.Equal(t, vectorZero+" keyfunc/ssh/0\n", added)
+	require.Equal(t, keyLine, read(t, path))
+}
 
-	require.Equal(t, "already present\n", run(t, "ssh", "install", host))
-	require.Equal(t, added, read(t, path))
+func TestAKeyThatIsAlreadyThereIsLeftAlone(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Setenv(mnemonic.Variable, example())
+
+	pretend := pretendHost(t)
+	path := seed(t, pretend, "somebody else\n"+keyLine)
+
+	require.Equal(t,
+		"already present\n", run(t, "ssh", "install", host),
+	)
+	require.Equal(t, "somebody else\n"+keyLine, read(t, path))
+
+	// The fetch and nothing after it: the tool did not connect again.
+	require.Len(t, recorded(t, pretend.batch), 1)
+}
+
+func TestAnEmptyFileGetsTheKeyAndNoBlankLineBeforeIt(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Setenv(mnemonic.Variable, example())
+
+	pretend := pretendHost(t)
+	path := seed(t, pretend, "")
+
+	require.Equal(t, "added\n", run(t, "ssh", "install", host))
+	require.Equal(t, keyLine, read(t, path))
 }
 
 func TestTheKeyDoesNotRunIntoALineWithNoNewlineAtItsEnd(t *testing.T) {
@@ -106,22 +151,38 @@ func TestTheKeyDoesNotRunIntoALineWithNoNewlineAtItsEnd(t *testing.T) {
 
 	pretend := pretendHost(t)
 	already := "ssh-ed25519 AAAAsomebodyelse somebody@else"
-
-	require.NoError(t,
-		os.Mkdir(filepath.Join(pretend.home, keptUnder), directoryMode),
-	)
-
-	path := filepath.Join(pretend.home, keptUnder, keptIn)
-	require.NoError(t, os.WriteFile(path, []byte(already), fileMode))
+	path := seed(t, pretend, already)
 
 	require.Equal(t, "added\n", run(t, "ssh", "install", host))
-	require.Equal(t,
-		already+"\n"+vectorZero+" keyfunc/ssh/0\n",
-		read(t, path),
-	)
+	require.Equal(t, already+"\n"+keyLine, read(t, path))
 }
 
-func TestTheKeyLineIsNotOnTheCommandLine(t *testing.T) {
+func TestTheFileIsUploadedBesideTheOldOneAndThenRenamedOverIt(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Setenv(mnemonic.Variable, example())
+
+	pretend := pretendHost(t)
+
+	require.Equal(t, "added\n", run(t, "ssh", "install", host))
+
+	sent := recorded(t, pretend.batch)
+	require.Len(t, sent, 6)
+
+	// The name of the uploaded file is random, so it is read off the
+	// put and then looked for in the two commands that follow.
+	beside := strings.Fields(sent[3])[2]
+	require.True(t,
+		strings.HasPrefix(beside, ".ssh/authorized_keys.keyfunc-"),
+	)
+
+	require.True(t, strings.HasPrefix(sent[0], "-get .ssh/authorized_keys "))
+	require.Equal(t, "-mkdir .ssh", sent[1])
+	require.Equal(t, "chmod 700 .ssh", sent[2])
+	require.Equal(t, "put", strings.Fields(sent[3])[0])
+	require.Equal(t, "chmod 600 "+beside, sent[4])
+	require.Equal(t, "rename "+beside+" .ssh/authorized_keys", sent[5])
+}
+
+func TestTheKeyLineIsNotSentAsACommand(t *testing.T) {
 	t.Setenv(mnemonic.Variable, example())
 
 	pretend := pretendHost(t)
@@ -129,18 +190,21 @@ func TestTheKeyLineIsNotOnTheCommandLine(t *testing.T) {
 	run(t, "ssh", "install", host)
 
 	require.NotContains(t, read(t, pretend.arguments), "ssh-ed25519")
-	require.NotContains(t, read(t, pretend.command), "ssh-ed25519")
+	require.NotContains(t, read(t, pretend.batch), "ssh-ed25519")
 }
 
-func TestWhatComesAfterTheDashesIsGivenToSSH(t *testing.T) {
+func TestWhatComesAfterTheDashesIsGivenToSFTP(t *testing.T) {
 	t.Setenv(mnemonic.Variable, example())
 
 	pretend := pretendHost(t)
 
-	run(t, "ssh", "install", host, "--", "-p", "2222")
+	run(t, "ssh", "install", host, "--", "-P", "2222")
 
+	// The same arguments twice over: adding a line takes two
+	// connections, one to fetch the file and one to write it back.
+	session := []string{"-b", "-", "-P", "2222", host}
 	require.Equal(t,
-		[]string{"-p", "2222", host},
+		slices.Concat(session, session),
 		recorded(t, pretend.arguments),
 	)
 }
@@ -190,17 +254,31 @@ func pretendHost(t *testing.T) pretended {
 	pretend := pretended{
 		home:      t.TempDir(),
 		arguments: filepath.Join(t.TempDir(), "arguments"),
-		command:   filepath.Join(t.TempDir(), "command"),
+		batch:     filepath.Join(t.TempDir(), "batch"),
 	}
 
 	t.Setenv("KEYFUNC_TEST_HOME", pretend.home)
 	t.Setenv("KEYFUNC_TEST_ARGUMENTS", pretend.arguments)
-	t.Setenv("KEYFUNC_TEST_COMMAND", pretend.command)
-	standIn(t, installer)
+	t.Setenv("KEYFUNC_TEST_BATCH", pretend.batch)
+	standIn(t, "sftp", installer)
 
 	return pretend
 }
 
+// seed puts an authorized_keys file on the stand-in host before the
+// tool runs and gives back its path.
+func seed(t *testing.T, pretend pretended, content string) string {
+	t.Helper()
+
+	directory := filepath.Join(pretend.home, keptUnder)
+	require.NoError(t, os.Mkdir(directory, directoryMode))
+
+	path := filepath.Join(directory, keptIn)
+	require.NoError(t, os.WriteFile(path, []byte(content), fileMode))
+
+	return path
+}
+
 // pretendCall puts the to stand-in on the path and gives back the file
 // the arguments are written down in and the file the agent socket is
 // noted in.
@@ -213,20 +291,21 @@ func pretendCall(t *testing.T) (string, string) {
 	t.Setenv("KEYFUNC_TEST_ARGUMENTS", arguments)
 	t.Setenv("KEYFUNC_TEST_SOCKET", noted)
 	t.Setenv("KEYFUNC_TEST_STATUS", strconv.Itoa(failingStatus))
-	standIn(t, caller)
+	standIn(t, "ssh", caller)
 
 	return arguments, noted
 }
 
-// standIn writes a stand-in for the system ssh and puts it first on
-// the path, so that the tool finds it instead of the real one.
-func standIn(t *testing.T, body string) {
+// standIn writes a stand-in for one of the system programs and puts it
+// first on the path, so that the tool finds it instead of the real
+// one.
+func standIn(t *testing.T, name, body string) {
 	t.Helper()
 
 	directory := t.TempDir()
 
 	err := os.WriteFile(
-		filepath.Join(directory, "ssh"),
+		filepath.Join(directory, name),
 		[]byte("#!/bin/sh\n"+body), standInMode,
 	)
 	require.NoError(t, err)
@@ -247,7 +326,7 @@ func read(t *testing.T, path string) string {
 	return string(content)
 }
 
-// recorded returns the arguments a stand-in wrote down, one per line.
+// recorded returns the lines a stand-in wrote down.
 func recorded(t *testing.T, path string) []string {
 	t.Helper()