1GPG(1) GNU Privacy Guard 2.2 GPG(1)
2
6 gpg - OpenPGP encryption and signing tool
7
9 gpg [--homedir dir] [--options file] [options] command [args]
10
15 gpg is the OpenPGP part of the GNU Privacy Guard (GnuPG). It is a tool
16 to provide digital encryption and signing services using the OpenPGP
17 standard. gpg features complete key management and all the bells and
18 whistles you would expect from a full OpenPGP implementation.
19 There are two main versions of GnuPG: GnuPG 1.x and GnuPG 2.x. GnuPG
21 2.x supports modern encryption algorithms and thus should be preferred
22 over GnuPG 1.x. You only need to use GnuPG 1.x if your platform
23 doesn't support GnuPG 2.x, or you need support for some features that
24 GnuPG 2.x has deprecated, e.g., decrypting data created with PGP-2
25 keys.
26 If you are looking for version 1 of GnuPG, you may find that version
28 installed under the name gpg1.
29
37 The program returns 0 if everything was fine, 1 if at least a signature
38 was bad, and other error codes for fatal errors.
39
42 Use a *good* password for your user account and a *good* passphrase to
43 protect your secret key. This passphrase is the weakest part of the
44 whole system. Programs to do dictionary attacks on your secret keyring
45 are very easy to write and so you should protect your "~/.gnupg/"
46 directory very well.
47 Keep in mind that, if this program is used over a network (telnet), it
49 is *very* easy to spy out your passphrase!
50 If you are going to verify detached signatures, make sure that the pro‐
52 gram knows about it; either give both filenames on the command line or
53 use '-' to specify STDIN.
54 For scripted or other unattended use of gpg make sure to use the
56 machine-parseable interface and not the default interface which is
57 intended for direct use by humans. The machine-parseable interface
58 provides a stable and well documented API independent of the locale or
59 future changes of gpg. To enable this interface use the options
60 --with-colons and --status-fd. For certain operations the option
61 --command-fd may come handy too. See this man page and the file
62 ‘DETAILS’ for the specification of the interface. Note that the GnuPG
63 ``info'' pages as well as the PDF version of the GnuPG manual features
64 a chapter on unattended use of GnuPG. As an alternative the library
65 GPGME can be used as a high-level abstraction on top of that interface.
66
69 GnuPG tries to be a very flexible implementation of the OpenPGP stan‐
70 dard. In particular, GnuPG implements many of the optional parts of the
71 standard, such as the SHA-512 hash, and the ZLIB and BZIP2 compression
72 algorithms. It is important to be aware that not all OpenPGP programs
73 implement these optional algorithms and that by forcing their use via
74 the --cipher-algo, --digest-algo, --cert-digest-algo, or --compress-
75 algo options in GnuPG, it is possible to create a perfectly valid
76 OpenPGP message, but one that cannot be read by the intended recipient.
77 There are dozens of variations of OpenPGP programs available, and each
79 supports a slightly different subset of these optional algorithms. For
80 example, until recently, no (unhacked) version of PGP supported the
81 BLOWFISH cipher algorithm. A message using BLOWFISH simply could not be
82 read by a PGP user. By default, GnuPG uses the standard OpenPGP prefer‐
83 ences system that will always do the right thing and create messages
84 that are usable by all recipients, regardless of which OpenPGP program
85 they use. Only override this safe default if you really know what you
86 are doing.
87 If you absolutely must override the safe default, or if the preferences
89 on a given key are invalid for some reason, you are far better off
90 using the --pgp6, --pgp7, or --pgp8 options. These options are safe as
91 they do not force any particular algorithms in violation of OpenPGP,
92 but rather reduce the available algorithms to a "PGP-safe" list.
93
96 Commands are not distinguished from options except for the fact that
97 only one command is allowed. Generally speaking, irrelevant options
98 are silently ignored, and may not be checked for correctness.
99 gpg may be run with no commands. In this case it will perform a reason‐
101 able action depending on the type of file it is given as input (an
102 encrypted message is decrypted, a signature is verified, a file con‐
103 taining keys is listed, etc.).
104 Commands not specific to the function
111 --version
115 Print the program version and licensing information. Note that
116 you cannot abbreviate this command.
117 --help
120 -h Print a usage message summarizing the most useful command-line
121 options. Note that you cannot arbitrarily abbreviate this com‐
122 mand (though you can use its short form -h).
123 --warranty
126 Print warranty information.
127 --dump-options
130 Print a list of all available options and commands. Note that
131 you cannot abbreviate this command.
132 Commands to select the type of operation
134 --sign
140 -s Sign a message. This command may be combined with --encrypt (to
141 sign and encrypt a message), --symmetric (to sign and symmetri‐
142 cally encrypt a message), or both --encrypt and --symmetric (to
143 sign and encrypt a message that can be decrypted using a secret
144 key or a passphrase). The signing key is chosen by default or
145 can be set explicitly using the --local-user and --default-key
146 options.
147 --clear-sign
150 --clearsign
151 Make a cleartext signature. The content in a cleartext signa‐
152 ture is readable without any special software. OpenPGP software
153 is only needed to verify the signature. cleartext signatures
154 may modify end-of-line whitespace for platform independence and
155 are not intended to be reversible. The signing key is chosen by
156 default or can be set explicitly using the --local-user and
157 --default-key options.
158 --detach-sign
162 -b Make a detached signature.
163 --encrypt
166 -e Encrypt data to one or more public keys. This command may be
167 combined with --sign (to sign and encrypt a message), --symmet‐
168 ric (to encrypt a message that can decrypted using a secret key
169 or a passphrase), or --sign and --symmetric together (for a
170 signed message that can be decrypted using a secret key or a
171 passphrase). --recipient and related options specify which pub‐
172 lic keys to use for encryption.
173 --symmetric
176 -c Encrypt with a symmetric cipher using a passphrase. The default
177 symmetric cipher used is AES-128, but may be chosen with the
178 --cipher-algo option. This command may be combined with --sign
179 (for a signed and symmetrically encrypted message), --encrypt
180 (for a message that may be decrypted via a secret key or a
181 passphrase), or --sign and --encrypt together (for a signed mes‐
182 sage that may be decrypted via a secret key or a passphrase).
183 gpg caches the passphrase used for symmetric encryption so that
184 a decrypt operation may not require that the user needs to enter
185 the passphrase. The option --no-symkey-cache can be used to
186 disable this feature.
187 --store
190 Store only (make a simple literal data packet).
191 --decrypt
194 -d Decrypt the file given on the command line (or STDIN if no file
195 is specified) and write it to STDOUT (or the file specified with
196 --output). If the decrypted file is signed, the signature is
197 also verified. This command differs from the default operation,
198 as it never writes to the filename which is included in the file
199 and it rejects files that don't begin with an encrypted message.
200 --verify
203 Assume that the first argument is a signed file and verify it
204 without generating any output. With no arguments, the signature
205 packet is read from STDIN. If only one argument is given, the
206 specified file is expected to include a complete signature.
207 With more than one argument, the first argument should specify a
209 file with a detached signature and the remaining files should
210 contain the signed data. To read the signed data from STDIN, use
211 '-' as the second filename. For security reasons, a detached
212 signature will not read the signed material from STDIN if not
213 explicitly specified.
214 Note: If the option --batch is not used, gpg may assume that a
216 single argument is a file with a detached signature, and it will
217 try to find a matching data file by stripping certain suffixes.
218 Using this historical feature to verify a detached signature is
219 strongly discouraged; you should always specify the data file
220 explicitly.
221 Note: When verifying a cleartext signature, gpg verifies only
223 what makes up the cleartext signed data and not any extra data
224 outside of the cleartext signature or the header lines directly
225 following the dash marker line. The option --output may be used
226 to write out the actual signed data, but there are other pit‐
227 falls with this format as well. It is suggested to avoid clear‐
228 text signatures in favor of detached signatures.
229 Note: Sometimes the use of the gpgv tool is easier than using
231 the full-fledged gpg with this option. gpgv is designed to com‐
232 pare signed data against a list of trusted keys and returns with
233 success only for a good signature. It has its own manual page.
234 --multifile
238 This modifies certain other commands to accept multiple files
239 for processing on the command line or read from STDIN with each
240 filename on a separate line. This allows for many files to be
241 processed at once. --multifile may currently be used along with
242 --verify, --encrypt, and --decrypt. Note that --multifile --ver‐
243 ify may not be used with detached signatures.
244 --verify-files
247 Identical to --multifile --verify.
248 --encrypt-files
251 Identical to --multifile --encrypt.
252 --decrypt-files
255 Identical to --multifile --decrypt.
256 --list-keys
259 -k
260 --list-public-keys
261 List the specified keys. If no keys are specified, then all
262 keys from the configured public keyrings are listed.
263 Never use the output of this command in scripts or other pro‐
265 grams. The output is intended only for humans and its format is
266 likely to change. The --with-colons option emits the output in
267 a stable, machine-parseable format, which is intended for use by
268 scripts and other programs.
269 --list-secret-keys
272 -K List the specified secret keys. If no keys are specified, then
273 all known secret keys are listed. A # after the initial tags
274 sec or ssb means that the secret key or subkey is currently not
275 usable. We also say that this key has been taken offline (for
276 example, a primary key can be taken offline by exporting the key
277 using the command --export-secret-subkeys). A > after these
278 tags indicate that the key is stored on a smartcard. See also
279 --list-keys.
280 --check-signatures
283 --check-sigs
284 Same as --list-keys, but the key signatures are verified and
285 listed too. Note that for performance reasons the revocation
286 status of a signing key is not shown. This command has the same
287 effect as using --list-keys with --with-sig-check.
288 The status of the verification is indicated by a flag directly
290 following the "sig" tag (and thus before the flags described
291 below. A "!" indicates that the signature has been successfully
292 verified, a "-" denotes a bad signature and a "%" is used if an
293 error occurred while checking the signature (e.g. a non sup‐
294 ported algorithm). Signatures where the public key is not
295 available are not listed; to see their keyids the command
296 --list-sigs can be used.
297 For each signature listed, there are several flags in between
299 the signature status flag and keyid. These flags give addi‐
300 tional information about each key signature. From left to
301 right, they are the numbers 1-3 for certificate check level (see
302 --ask-cert-level), "L" for a local or non-exportable signature
303 (see --lsign-key), "R" for a nonRevocable signature (see the
304 --edit-key command "nrsign"), "P" for a signature that contains
305 a policy URL (see --cert-policy-url), "N" for a signature that
306 contains a notation (see --cert-notation), "X" for an eXpired
307 signature (see --ask-cert-expire), and the numbers 1-9 or "T"
308 for 10 and above to indicate trust signature levels (see the
309 --edit-key command "tsign").
310 --locate-keys
314 Locate the keys given as arguments. This command basically uses
315 the same algorithm as used when locating keys for encryption or
316 signing and may thus be used to see what keys gpg might use. In
317 particular external methods as defined by --auto-key-locate may
318 be used to locate a key. Only public keys are listed.
319 --show-keys
322 This commands takes OpenPGP keys as input and prints information
323 about them in the same way the command --list-keys does for
324 locally stored key. In addition the list options show-unusable-
325 uids, show-unusable-subkeys, show-notations and show-policy-urls
326 are also enabled. As usual for automated processing, this com‐
327 mand should be combined with the option --with-colons.
328 --fingerprint
331 List all keys (or the specified ones) along with their finger‐
332 prints. This is the same output as --list-keys but with the
333 additional output of a line with the fingerprint. May also be
334 combined with --check-signatures. If this command is given
335 twice, the fingerprints of all secondary keys are listed too.
336 This command also forces pretty printing of fingerprints if the
337 keyid format has been set to "none".
338 --list-packets
341 List only the sequence of packets. This command is only useful
342 for debugging. When used with option --verbose the actual MPI
343 values are dumped and not only their lengths. Note that the
344 output of this command may change with new releases.
345 --edit-card
349 --card-edit
350 Present a menu to work with a smartcard. The subcommand "help"
351 provides an overview on available commands. For a detailed
352 description, please see the Card HOWTO at https://gnupg.org/doc‐
353 umentation/howtos.html#GnuPG-cardHOWTO .
354 --card-status
357 Show the content of the smart card.
358 --change-pin
361 Present a menu to allow changing the PIN of a smartcard. This
362 functionality is also available as the subcommand "passwd" with
363 the --edit-card command.
364 --delete-keys name
367 Remove key from the public keyring. In batch mode either --yes
368 is required or the key must be specified by fingerprint. This is
369 a safeguard against accidental deletion of multiple keys.
370 --delete-secret-keys name
373 Remove key from the secret keyring. In batch mode the key must
374 be specified by fingerprint. The option --yes can be used to
375 advice gpg-agent not to request a confirmation. This extra pre-
376 caution is done because gpg can't be sure that the secret key
377 (as controlled by gpg-agent) is only used for the given OpenPGP
378 public key.
379 --delete-secret-and-public-key name
383 Same as --delete-key, but if a secret key exists, it will be
384 removed first. In batch mode the key must be specified by fin‐
385 gerprint. The option --yes can be used to advice gpg-agent not
386 to request a confirmation.
387 --export
390 Either export all keys from all keyrings (default keyrings and
391 those registered via option --keyring), or if at least one name
392 is given, those of the given name. The exported keys are written
393 to STDOUT or to the file given with option --output. Use
394 together with --armor to mail those keys.
395 --send-keys keyIDs
398 Similar to --export but sends the keys to a keyserver. Finger‐
399 prints may be used instead of key IDs. Option --keyserver must
400 be used to give the name of this keyserver. Don't send your com‐
401 plete keyring to a keyserver --- select only those keys which
402 are new or changed by you. If no keyIDs are given, gpg does
403 nothing.
404 --export-secret-keys
407 --export-secret-subkeys
408 Same as --export, but exports the secret keys instead. The
409 exported keys are written to STDOUT or to the file given with
410 option --output. This command is often used along with the
411 option --armor to allow for easy printing of the key for paper
412 backup; however the external tool paperkey does a better job of
413 creating backups on paper. Note that exporting a secret key can
414 be a security risk if the exported keys are sent over an inse‐
415 cure channel.
416 The second form of the command has the special property to ren‐
418 der the secret part of the primary key useless; this is a GNU
419 extension to OpenPGP and other implementations can not be
420 expected to successfully import such a key. Its intended use is
421 in generating a full key with an additional signing subkey on a
422 dedicated machine. This command then exports the key without
423 the primary key to the main machine.
424 GnuPG may ask you to enter the passphrase for the key. This is
426 required, because the internal protection method of the secret
427 key is different from the one specified by the OpenPGP protocol.
428 --export-ssh-key
431 This command is used to export a key in the OpenSSH public key
432 format. It requires the specification of one key by the usual
433 means and exports the latest valid subkey which has an authenti‐
434 cation capability to STDOUT or to the file given with option
435 --output. That output can directly be added to ssh's ‘autho‐
436 rized_key’ file.
437 By specifying the key to export using a key ID or a fingerprint
439 suffixed with an exclamation mark (!), a specific subkey or the
440 primary key can be exported. This does not even require that
441 the key has the authentication capability flag set.
442 --import
445 --fast-import
446 Import/merge keys. This adds the given keys to the keyring. The
447 fast version is currently just a synonym.
448 There are a few other options which control how this command
450 works. Most notable here is the --import-options merge-only
451 option which does not insert new keys but does only the merging
452 of new signatures, user-IDs and subkeys.
453 --receive-keys keyIDs
456 --recv-keys keyIDs
457 Import the keys with the given keyIDs from a keyserver. Option
458 --keyserver must be used to give the name of this keyserver.
459 --refresh-keys
462 Request updates from a keyserver for keys that already exist on
463 the local keyring. This is useful for updating a key with the
464 latest signatures, user IDs, etc. Calling this with no arguments
465 will refresh the entire keyring. Option --keyserver must be used
466 to give the name of the keyserver for all keys that do not have
467 preferred keyservers set (see --keyserver-options honor-key‐
468 server-url).
469 --search-keys names
472 Search the keyserver for the given names. Multiple names given
473 here will be joined together to create the search string for the
474 keyserver. Option --keyserver must be used to give the name of
475 this keyserver. Keyservers that support different search meth‐
476 ods allow using the syntax specified in "How to specify a user
477 ID" below. Note that different keyserver types support different
478 search methods. Currently only LDAP supports them all.
479 --fetch-keys URIs
482 Retrieve keys located at the specified URIs. Note that different
483 installations of GnuPG may support different protocols (HTTP,
484 FTP, LDAP, etc.). When using HTTPS the system provided root
485 certificates are used by this command.
486 --update-trustdb
489 Do trust database maintenance. This command iterates over all
490 keys and builds the Web of Trust. This is an interactive command
491 because it may have to ask for the "ownertrust" values for keys.
492 The user has to give an estimation of how far she trusts the
493 owner of the displayed key to correctly certify (sign) other
494 keys. GnuPG only asks for the ownertrust value if it has not yet
495 been assigned to a key. Using the --edit-key menu, the assigned
496 value can be changed at any time.
497 --check-trustdb
500 Do trust database maintenance without user interaction. From
501 time to time the trust database must be updated so that expired
502 keys or signatures and the resulting changes in the Web of Trust
503 can be tracked. Normally, GnuPG will calculate when this is
504 required and do it automatically unless --no-auto-check-trustdb
505 is set. This command can be used to force a trust database check
506 at any time. The processing is identical to that of --update-
507 trustdb but it skips keys with a not yet defined "ownertrust".
508 For use with cron jobs, this command can be used together with
510 --batch in which case the trust database check is done only if a
511 check is needed. To force a run even in batch mode add the
512 option --yes.
513 --export-ownertrust
517 Send the ownertrust values to STDOUT. This is useful for backup
518 purposes as these values are the only ones which can't be re-
519 created from a corrupted trustdb. Example:
520 gpg --export-ownertrust > otrust.txt
521 --import-ownertrust
525 Update the trustdb with the ownertrust values stored in files
526 (or STDIN if not given); existing values will be overwritten.
527 In case of a severely damaged trustdb and if you have a recent
528 backup of the ownertrust values (e.g. in the file ‘otrust.txt’),
529 you may re-create the trustdb using these commands:
530 cd ~/.gnupg
531 rm trustdb.gpg
532 gpg --import-ownertrust < otrust.txt
533 --rebuild-keydb-caches
537 When updating from version 1.0.6 to 1.0.7 this command should be
538 used to create signature caches in the keyring. It might be
539 handy in other situations too.
540 --print-md algo
543 --print-mds
544 Print message digest of algorithm algo for all given files or
545 STDIN. With the second form (or a deprecated "*" for algo)
546 digests for all available algorithms are printed.
547 --gen-random 0|1|2 count
550 Emit count random bytes of the given quality level 0, 1 or 2. If
551 count is not given or zero, an endless sequence of random bytes
552 will be emitted. If used with --armor the output will be base64
553 encoded. PLEASE, don't use this command unless you know what
554 you are doing; it may remove precious entropy from the system!
555 --gen-prime mode bits
558 Use the source, Luke :-). The output format is subject to change
559 with ant release.
560 --enarmor
564 --dearmor
565 Pack or unpack an arbitrary input into/from an OpenPGP ASCII
566 armor. This is a GnuPG extension to OpenPGP and in general not
567 very useful.
568 --tofu-policy {auto|good|unknown|bad|ask} keys
571 Set the TOFU policy for all the bindings associated with the
572 specified keys. For more information about the meaning of the
573 policies, see: [trust-model-tofu]. The keys may be specified
574 either by their fingerprint (preferred) or their keyid.
575 How to manage your keys
579 This section explains the main commands for key management.
582 --quick-generate-key user-id [algo [usage [expire]]]
586 --quick-gen-key
587 This is a simple command to generate a standard key with one
588 user id. In contrast to --generate-key the key is generated
589 directly without the need to answer a bunch of prompts. Unless
590 the option --yes is given, the key creation will be canceled if
591 the given user id already exists in the keyring.
592 If invoked directly on the console without any special options
594 an answer to a ``Continue?'' style confirmation prompt is
595 required. In case the user id already exists in the keyring a
596 second prompt to force the creation of the key will show up.
597 If algo or usage are given, only the primary key is created and
599 no prompts are shown. To specify an expiration date but still
600 create a primary and subkey use ``default'' or ``future-
601 default'' for algo and ``default'' for usage. For a description
602 of these optional arguments see the command --quick-add-key.
603 The usage accepts also the value ``cert'' which can be used to
604 create a certification only primary key; the default is to a
605 create certification and signing key.
606 The expire argument can be used to specify an expiration date
608 for the key. Several formats are supported; commonly the ISO
609 formats ``YYYY-MM-DD'' or ``YYYYMMDDThhmmss'' are used. To make
610 the key expire in N seconds, N days, N weeks, N months, or N
611 years use ``seconds=N'', ``Nd'', ``Nw'', ``Nm'', or ``Ny''
612 respectively. Not specifying a value, or using ``-'' results in
613 a key expiring in a reasonable default interval. The values
614 ``never'', ``none'' can be used for no expiration date.
615 If this command is used with --batch, --pinentry-mode has been
617 set to loopback, and one of the passphrase options
618 (--passphrase, --passphrase-fd, or passphrase-file) is used, the
619 supplied passphrase is used for the new key and the agent does
620 not ask for it. To create a key without any protection
621 --passphrase '' may be used.
622 --quick-set-expire fpr expire [*|subfprs]
625 With two arguments given, directly set the expiration time of
626 the primary key identified by fpr to expire. To remove the
627 expiration time 0 can be used. With three arguments and the
628 third given as an asterisk, the expiration time of all non-
629 revoked and not yet expired subkeys are set to expire. With
630 more than two arguments and a list of fingerprints given for
631 subfprs, all non-revoked subkeys matching these fingerprints are
632 set to expire.
633 --quick-add-key fpr [algo [usage [expire]]]
637 Directly add a subkey to the key identified by the fingerprint
638 fpr. Without the optional arguments an encryption subkey is
639 added. If any of the arguments are given a more specific subkey
640 is added.
641 algo may be any of the supported algorithms or curve names given
643 in the format as used by key listings. To use the default algo‐
644 rithm the string ``default'' or ``-'' can be used. Supported
645 algorithms are ``rsa'', ``dsa'', ``elg'', ``ed25519'',
646 ``cv25519'', and other ECC curves. For example the string
647 ``rsa'' adds an RSA key with the default key length; a string
648 ``rsa4096'' requests that the key length is 4096 bits. The
649 string ``future-default'' is an alias for the algorithm which
650 will likely be used as default algorithm in future versions of
651 gpg.
652 Depending on the given algo the subkey may either be an encryp‐
654 tion subkey or a signing subkey. If an algorithm is capable of
655 signing and encryption and such a subkey is desired, a usage
656 string must be given. This string is either ``default'' or
657 ``-'' to keep the default or a comma delimited list (or space
658 delimited list) of keywords: ``sign'' for a signing subkey,
659 ``auth'' for an authentication subkey, and ``encr'' for an
660 encryption subkey (``encrypt'' can be used as alias for
661 ``encr''). The valid combinations depend on the algorithm.
662 The expire argument can be used to specify an expiration date
664 for the key. Several formats are supported; commonly the ISO
665 formats ``YYYY-MM-DD'' or ``YYYYMMDDThhmmss'' are used. To make
666 the key expire in N seconds, N days, N weeks, N months, or N
667 years use ``seconds=N'', ``Nd'', ``Nw'', ``Nm'', or ``Ny''
668 respectively. Not specifying a value, or using ``-'' results in
669 a key expiring in a reasonable default interval. The values
670 ``never'', ``none'' can be used for no expiration date.
671 --generate-key
674 --gen-key
675 Generate a new key pair using the current default parameters.
676 This is the standard command to create a new key. In addition
677 to the key a revocation certificate is created and stored in the
678 ‘openpgp-revocs.d’ directory below the GnuPG home directory.
679 --full-generate-key
682 --full-gen-key
683 Generate a new key pair with dialogs for all options. This is
684 an extended version of --generate-key.
685 There is also a feature which allows you to create keys in batch
687 mode. See the manual section ``Unattended key generation'' on
688 how to use this.
689 --generate-revocation name
693 --gen-revoke name
694 Generate a revocation certificate for the complete key. To only
695 revoke a subkey or a key signature, use the --edit command.
696 This command merely creates the revocation certificate so that
698 it can be used to revoke the key if that is ever needed. To
699 actually revoke a key the created revocation certificate needs
700 to be merged with the key to revoke. This is done by importing
701 the revocation certificate using the --import command. Then the
702 revoked key needs to be published, which is best done by sending
703 the key to a keyserver (command --send-key) and by exporting
704 (--export) it to a file which is then send to frequent communi‐
705 cation partners.
706 --generate-designated-revocation name
710 --desig-revoke name
711 Generate a designated revocation certificate for a key. This
712 allows a user (with the permission of the keyholder) to revoke
713 someone else's key.
714 --edit-key
718 Present a menu which enables you to do most of the key manage‐
719 ment related tasks. It expects the specification of a key on
720 the command line.
721 uid n Toggle selection of user ID or photographic user ID with
725 index n. Use * to select all and 0 to deselect all.
726 key n Toggle selection of subkey with index n or key ID n. Use
729 * to select all and 0 to deselect all.
730 sign Make a signature on key of user name. If the key is not
733 yet signed by the default user (or the users given with
734 -u), the program displays the information of the key
735 again, together with its fingerprint and asks whether it
736 should be signed. This question is repeated for all users
737 specified with -u.
738 lsign Same as "sign" but the signature is marked as non-
741 exportable and will therefore never be used by others.
742 This may be used to make keys valid only in the local
743 environment.
744 nrsign Same as "sign" but the signature is marked as non-revoca‐
747 ble and can therefore never be revoked.
748 tsign Make a trust signature. This is a signature that combines
751 the notions of certification (like a regular signature),
752 and trust (like the "trust" command). It is generally
753 only useful in distinct communities or groups. For more
754 information please read the sections ``Trust Signature''
755 and ``Regular Expression'' in RFC-4880.
756 Note that "l" (for local / non-exportable), "nr" (for non-revo‐
758 cable, and "t" (for trust) may be freely mixed and prefixed to
759 "sign" to create a signature of any type desired.
760 If the option --only-sign-text-ids is specified, then any non-text
762 based user ids (e.g., photo IDs) will not be selected for signing.
763 delsig Delete a signature. Note that it is not possible to
767 retract a signature, once it has been send to the public
768 (i.e. to a keyserver). In that case you better use
769 revsig.
770 revsig Revoke a signature. For every signature which has been
773 generated by one of the secret keys, GnuPG asks whether a
774 revocation certificate should be generated.
775 check Check the signatures on all selected user IDs. With the
778 extra option selfsig only self-signatures are shown.
779 adduid Create an additional user ID.
782 addphoto
785 Create a photographic user ID. This will prompt for a
786 JPEG file that will be embedded into the user ID. Note
787 that a very large JPEG will make for a very large key.
788 Also note that some programs will display your JPEG
789 unchanged (GnuPG), and some programs will scale it to fit
790 in a dialog box (PGP).
791 showphoto
794 Display the selected photographic user ID.
795 deluid Delete a user ID or photographic user ID. Note that it
798 is not possible to retract a user id, once it has been
799 send to the public (i.e. to a keyserver). In that case
800 you better use revuid.
801 revuid Revoke a user ID or photographic user ID.
804 primary
807 Flag the current user id as the primary one, removes the
808 primary user id flag from all other user ids and sets the
809 timestamp of all affected self-signatures one second
810 ahead. Note that setting a photo user ID as primary makes
811 it primary over other photo user IDs, and setting a regu‐
812 lar user ID as primary makes it primary over other regu‐
813 lar user IDs.
814 keyserver
817 Set a preferred keyserver for the specified user ID(s).
818 This allows other users to know where you prefer they get
819 your key from. See --keyserver-options honor-keyserver-
820 url for more on how this works. Setting a value of
821 "none" removes an existing preferred keyserver.
822 notation
825 Set a name=value notation for the specified user ID(s).
826 See --cert-notation for more on how this works. Setting a
827 value of "none" removes all notations, setting a notation
828 prefixed with a minus sign (-) removes that notation, and
829 setting a notation name (without the =value) prefixed
830 with a minus sign removes all notations with that name.
831 pref List preferences from the selected user ID. This shows
834 the actual preferences, without including any implied
835 preferences.
836 showpref
839 More verbose preferences listing for the selected user
840 ID. This shows the preferences in effect by including the
841 implied preferences of 3DES (cipher), SHA-1 (digest), and
842 Uncompressed (compression) if they are not already
843 included in the preference list. In addition, the pre‐
844 ferred keyserver and signature notations (if any) are
845 shown.
846 setpref string
849 Set the list of user ID preferences to string for all (or
850 just the selected) user IDs. Calling setpref with no
851 arguments sets the preference list to the default (either
852 built-in or set via --default-preference-list), and call‐
853 ing setpref with "none" as the argument sets an empty
854 preference list. Use gpg --version to get a list of
855 available algorithms. Note that while you can change the
856 preferences on an attribute user ID (aka "photo ID"),
857 GnuPG does not select keys via attribute user IDs so
858 these preferences will not be used by GnuPG.
859 When setting preferences, you should list the algorithms
861 in the order which you'd like to see them used by someone
862 else when encrypting a message to your key. If you don't
863 include 3DES, it will be automatically added at the end.
864 Note that there are many factors that go into choosing an
865 algorithm (for example, your key may not be the only
866 recipient), and so the remote OpenPGP application being
867 used to send to you may or may not follow your exact cho‐
868 sen order for a given message. It will, however, only
869 choose an algorithm that is present on the preference
870 list of every recipient key. See also the INTEROPERABIL‐
871 ITY WITH OTHER OPENPGP PROGRAMS section below.
872 addkey Add a subkey to this key.
875 addcardkey
878 Generate a subkey on a card and add it to this key.
879 keytocard
882 Transfer the selected secret subkey (or the primary key
883 if no subkey has been selected) to a smartcard. The
884 secret key in the keyring will be replaced by a stub if
885 the key could be stored successfully on the card and you
886 use the save command later. Only certain key types may be
887 transferred to the card. A sub menu allows you to select
888 on what card to store the key. Note that it is not possi‐
889 ble to get that key back from the card - if the card gets
890 broken your secret key will be lost unless you have a
891 backup somewhere.
892 bkuptocard file
895 Restore the given file to a card. This command may be
896 used to restore a backup key (as generated during card
897 initialization) to a new card. In almost all cases this
898 will be the encryption key. You should use this command
899 only with the corresponding public key and make sure that
900 the file given as argument is indeed the backup to
901 restore. You should then select 2 to restore as encryp‐
902 tion key. You will first be asked to enter the
903 passphrase of the backup key and then for the Admin PIN
904 of the card.
905 delkey Remove a subkey (secondary key). Note that it is not pos‐
908 sible to retract a subkey, once it has been send to the
909 public (i.e. to a keyserver). In that case you better
910 use revkey. Also note that this only deletes the public
911 part of a key.
912 revkey Revoke a subkey.
915 expire Change the key or subkey expiration time. If a subkey is
918 selected, the expiration time of this subkey will be
919 changed. With no selection, the key expiration of the
920 primary key is changed.
921 trust Change the owner trust value for the key. This updates
924 the trust-db immediately and no save is required.
925 disable
928 enable Disable or enable an entire key. A disabled key can not
929 normally be used for encryption.
930 addrevoker
933 Add a designated revoker to the key. This takes one
934 optional argument: "sensitive". If a designated revoker
935 is marked as sensitive, it will not be exported by
936 default (see export-options).
937 passwd Change the passphrase of the secret key.
940 toggle This is dummy command which exists only for backward com‐
943 patibility.
944 clean Compact (by removing all signatures except the selfsig)
947 any user ID that is no longer usable (e.g. revoked, or
948 expired). Then, remove any signatures that are not usable
949 by the trust calculations. Specifically, this removes
950 any signature that does not validate, any signature that
951 is superseded by a later signature, revoked signatures,
952 and signatures issued by keys that are not present on the
953 keyring.
954 minimize
957 Make the key as small as possible. This removes all sig‐
958 natures from each user ID except for the most recent
959 self-signature.
960 change-usage
963 Change the usage flags (capabilities) of the primary key
964 or of subkeys. These usage flags (e.g. Certify, Sign,
965 Authenticate, Encrypt) are set during key creation.
966 Sometimes it is useful to have the opportunity to change
967 them (for example to add Authenticate) after they have
968 been created. Please take care when doing this; the
969 allowed usage flags depend on the key algorithm.
970 cross-certify
973 Add cross-certification signatures to signing subkeys
974 that may not currently have them. Cross-certification
975 signatures protect against a subtle attack against sign‐
976 ing subkeys. See --require-cross-certification. All new
977 keys generated have this signature by default, so this
978 command is only useful to bring older keys up to date.
979 save Save all changes to the keyrings and quit.
982 quit Quit the program without updating the keyrings.
985 The listing shows you the key with its secondary keys and all
987 user IDs. The primary user ID is indicated by a dot, and
988 selected keys or user IDs are indicated by an asterisk. The
989 trust value is displayed with the primary key: "trust" is the
990 assigned owner trust and "validity" is the calculated validity
991 of the key. Validity values are also displayed for all user
992 IDs. For possible values of trust, see: [trust-values].
993 --sign-key name
996 Signs a public key with your secret key. This is a shortcut ver‐
997 sion of the subcommand "sign" from --edit.
998 --lsign-key name
1001 Signs a public key with your secret key but marks it as non-
1002 exportable. This is a shortcut version of the subcommand "lsign"
1003 from --edit-key.
1004 --quick-sign-key fpr [names]
1007 --quick-lsign-key fpr [names]
1008 Directly sign a key from the passphrase without any further user
1009 interaction. The fpr must be the verified primary fingerprint
1010 of a key in the local keyring. If no names are given, all useful
1011 user ids are signed; with given [names] only useful user ids
1012 matching one of theses names are signed. By default, or if a
1013 name is prefixed with a '*', a case insensitive substring match
1014 is used. If a name is prefixed with a '=' a case sensitive
1015 exact match is done.
1016 The command --quick-lsign-key marks the signatures as non-
1018 exportable. If such a non-exportable signature already exists
1019 the --quick-sign-key turns it into a exportable signature.
1020 This command uses reasonable defaults and thus does not provide
1022 the full flexibility of the "sign" subcommand from --edit-key.
1023 Its intended use is to help unattended key signing by utilizing
1024 a list of verified fingerprints.
1025 --quick-add-uid user-id new-user-id
1028 This command adds a new user id to an existing key. In contrast
1029 to the interactive sub-command adduid of --edit-key the new-
1030 user-id is added verbatim with only leading and trailing white
1031 space removed, it is expected to be UTF-8 encoded, and no checks
1032 on its form are applied.
1033 --quick-revoke-uid user-id user-id-to-revoke
1036 This command revokes a user ID on an existing key. It cannot be
1037 used to revoke the last user ID on key (some non-revoked user ID
1038 must remain), with revocation reason ``User ID is no longer
1039 valid''. If you want to specify a different revocation reason,
1040 or to supply supplementary revocation text, you should use the
1041 interactive sub-command revuid of --edit-key.
1042 --quick-set-primary-uid user-id primary-user-id
1045 This command sets or updates the primary user ID flag on an
1046 existing key. user-id specifies the key and primary-user-id the
1047 user ID which shall be flagged as the primary user ID. The pri‐
1048 mary user ID flag is removed from all other user ids and the
1049 timestamp of all affected self-signatures is set one second
1050 ahead.
1051 --change-passphrase user-id
1055 --passwd user-id
1056 Change the passphrase of the secret key belonging to the cer‐
1057 tificate specified as user-id. This is a shortcut for the sub-
1058 command passwd of the edit key menu. When using together with
1059 the option --dry-run this will not actually change the
1060 passphrase but check that the current passphrase is correct.
1061
1064 gpg features a bunch of options to control the exact behaviour and to
1065 change the default configuration.
1066 Long options can be put in an options file (default
1069 "~/.gnupg/gpg.conf"). Short option names will not work - for example,
1070 "armor" is a valid option for the options file, while "a" is not. Do
1071 not write the 2 dashes, but simply the name of the option and any
1072 required arguments. Lines with a hash ('#') as the first non-white-
1073 space character are ignored. Commands may be put in this file too, but
1074 that is not generally useful as the command will execute automatically
1075 with every execution of gpg.
1076 Please remember that option parsing stops as soon as a non-option is
1078 encountered, you can explicitly stop parsing by using the special
1079 option --.
1080 How to change the configuration
1084 These options are used to change the configuration and are usually
1087 found in the option file.
1088 --default-key name
1092 Use name as the default key to sign with. If this option is not
1093 used, the default key is the first key found in the secret
1094 keyring. Note that -u or --local-user overrides this option.
1095 This option may be given multiple times. In this case, the last
1096 key for which a secret key is available is used. If there is no
1097 secret key available for any of the specified values, GnuPG will
1098 not emit an error message but continue as if this option wasn't
1099 given.
1100 --default-recipient name
1103 Use name as default recipient if option --recipient is not used
1104 and don't ask if this is a valid one. name must be non-empty.
1105 --default-recipient-self
1108 Use the default key as default recipient if option --recipient
1109 is not used and don't ask if this is a valid one. The default
1110 key is the first one from the secret keyring or the one set with
1111 --default-key.
1112 --no-default-recipient
1115 Reset --default-recipient and --default-recipient-self.
1116 -v, --verbose
1119 Give more information during processing. If used twice, the
1120 input data is listed in detail.
1121 --no-verbose
1124 Reset verbose level to 0.
1125 -q, --quiet
1128 Try to be as quiet as possible.
1129 --batch
1132 --no-batch
1133 Use batch mode. Never ask, do not allow interactive commands.
1134 --no-batch disables this option. Note that even with a filename
1135 given on the command line, gpg might still need to read from
1136 STDIN (in particular if gpg figures that the input is a detached
1137 signature and no data file has been specified). Thus if you do
1138 not want to feed data via STDIN, you should connect STDIN to
1139 g‘/dev/null’.
1140 It is highly recommended to use this option along with the
1142 options --status-fd and --with-colons for any unattended use of
1143 gpg.
1144 --no-tty
1147 Make sure that the TTY (terminal) is never used for any output.
1148 This option is needed in some cases because GnuPG sometimes
1149 prints warnings to the TTY even if --batch is used.
1150 --yes Assume "yes" on most questions.
1153 --no Assume "no" on most questions.
1156 --list-options parameters
1160 This is a space or comma delimited string that gives options
1161 used when listing keys and signatures (that is, --list-keys,
1162 --check-signatures, --list-public-keys, --list-secret-keys, and
1163 the --edit-key functions). Options can be prepended with a no-
1164 (after the two dashes) to give the opposite meaning. The
1165 options are:
1166 show-photos
1170 Causes --list-keys, --check-signatures, --list-public-
1171 keys, and --list-secret-keys to display any photo IDs
1172 attached to the key. Defaults to no. See also --photo-
1173 viewer. Does not work with --with-colons: see
1174 --attribute-fd for the appropriate way to get photo data
1175 for scripts and other frontends.
1176 show-usage
1179 Show usage information for keys and subkeys in the stan‐
1180 dard key listing. This is a list of letters indicating
1181 the allowed usage for a key (E=encryption, S=signing,
1182 C=certification, A=authentication). Defaults to yes.
1183 show-policy-urls
1186 Show policy URLs in the --check-signatures listings.
1187 Defaults to no.
1188 show-notations
1191 show-std-notations
1192 show-user-notations
1193 Show all, IETF standard, or user-defined signature nota‐
1194 tions in the --check-signatures listings. Defaults to no.
1195 show-keyserver-urls
1198 Show any preferred keyserver URL in the --check-signa‐
1199 tures listings. Defaults to no.
1200 show-uid-validity
1203 Display the calculated validity of user IDs during key
1204 listings. Defaults to yes.
1205 show-unusable-uids
1208 Show revoked and expired user IDs in key listings.
1209 Defaults to no.
1210 show-unusable-subkeys
1213 Show revoked and expired subkeys in key listings.
1214 Defaults to no.
1215 show-keyring
1218 Display the keyring name at the head of key listings to
1219 show which keyring a given key resides on. Defaults to
1220 no.
1221 show-sig-expire
1224 Show signature expiration dates (if any) during --check-
1225 signatures listings. Defaults to no.
1226 show-sig-subpackets
1229 Include signature subpackets in the key listing. This
1230 option can take an optional argument list of the subpack‐
1231 ets to list. If no argument is passed, list all subpack‐
1232 ets. Defaults to no. This option is only meaningful when
1233 using --with-colons along with --check-signatures.
1234 --verify-options parameters
1238 This is a space or comma delimited string that gives options
1239 used when verifying signatures. Options can be prepended with a
1240 `no-' to give the opposite meaning. The options are:
1241 show-photos
1245 Display any photo IDs present on the key that issued the
1246 signature. Defaults to no. See also --photo-viewer.
1247 show-policy-urls
1250 Show policy URLs in the signature being verified.
1251 Defaults to yes.
1252 show-notations
1255 show-std-notations
1256 show-user-notations
1257 Show all, IETF standard, or user-defined signature nota‐
1258 tions in the signature being verified. Defaults to IETF
1259 standard.
1260 show-keyserver-urls
1263 Show any preferred keyserver URL in the signature being
1264 verified. Defaults to yes.
1265 show-uid-validity
1268 Display the calculated validity of the user IDs on the
1269 key that issued the signature. Defaults to yes.
1270 show-unusable-uids
1273 Show revoked and expired user IDs during signature veri‐
1274 fication. Defaults to no.
1275 show-primary-uid-only
1278 Show only the primary user ID during signature verifica‐
1279 tion. That is all the AKA lines as well as photo Ids are
1280 not shown with the signature verification status.
1281 pka-lookups
1284 Enable PKA lookups to verify sender addresses. Note that
1285 PKA is based on DNS, and so enabling this option may dis‐
1286 close information on when and what signatures are veri‐
1287 fied or to whom data is encrypted. This is similar to the
1288 "web bug" described for the --auto-key-retrieve option.
1289 pka-trust-increase
1292 Raise the trust in a signature to full if the signature
1293 passes PKA validation. This option is only meaningful if
1294 pka-lookups is set.
1295 --enable-large-rsa
1298 --disable-large-rsa
1299 With --generate-key and --batch, enable the creation of RSA
1300 secret keys as large as 8192 bit. Note: 8192 bit is more than
1301 is generally recommended. These large keys don't significantly
1302 improve security, but they are more expensive to use, and their
1303 signatures and certifications are larger. This option is only
1304 available if the binary was build with large-secmem support.
1305 --enable-dsa2
1308 --disable-dsa2
1309 Enable hash truncation for all DSA keys even for old DSA Keys up
1310 to 1024 bit. This is also the default with --openpgp. Note
1311 that older versions of GnuPG also required this flag to allow
1312 the generation of DSA larger than 1024 bit.
1313 --photo-viewer string
1316 This is the command line that should be run to view a photo ID.
1317 "%i" will be expanded to a filename containing the photo. "%I"
1318 does the same, except the file will not be deleted once the
1319 viewer exits. Other flags are "%k" for the key ID, "%K" for the
1320 long key ID, "%f" for the key fingerprint, "%t" for the exten‐
1321 sion of the image type (e.g. "jpg"), "%T" for the MIME type of
1322 the image (e.g. "image/jpeg"), "%v" for the single-character
1323 calculated validity of the image being viewed (e.g. "f"), "%V"
1324 for the calculated validity as a string (e.g. "full"), "%U" for
1325 a base32 encoded hash of the user ID, and "%%" for an actual
1326 percent sign. If neither %i or %I are present, then the photo
1327 will be supplied to the viewer on standard input.
1328 The default viewer is "xloadimage -fork -quiet -title 'KeyID
1330 0x%k' STDIN". Note that if your image viewer program is not
1331 secure, then executing it from GnuPG does not make it secure.
1332 --exec-path string
1335 Sets a list of directories to search for photo viewers and key‐
1336 server helpers. If not provided, keyserver helpers use the com‐
1337 piled-in default directory, and photo viewers use the PATH envi‐
1338 ronment variable. Note, that on W32 system this value is
1339 ignored when searching for keyserver helpers.
1340 --keyring file
1343 Add file to the current list of keyrings. If file begins with a
1344 tilde and a slash, these are replaced by the $HOME directory. If
1345 the filename does not contain a slash, it is assumed to be in
1346 the GnuPG home directory ("~/.gnupg" if --homedir or $GNUPGHOME
1347 is not used).
1348 Note that this adds a keyring to the current list. If the intent
1350 is to use the specified keyring alone, use --keyring along with
1351 --no-default-keyring.
1352 If the option --no-keyring has been used no keyrings will be
1354 used at all.
1355 --secret-keyring file
1359 This is an obsolete option and ignored. All secret keys are
1360 stored in the ‘private-keys-v1.d’ directory below the GnuPG home
1361 directory.
1362 --primary-keyring file
1365 Designate file as the primary public keyring. This means that
1366 newly imported keys (via --import or keyserver --recv-from) will
1367 go to this keyring.
1368 --trustdb-name file
1371 Use file instead of the default trustdb. If file begins with a
1372 tilde and a slash, these are replaced by the $HOME directory. If
1373 the filename does not contain a slash, it is assumed to be in
1374 the GnuPG home directory (‘~/.gnupg’ if --homedir or $GNUPGHOME
1375 is not used).
1376 --homedir dir
1379 Set the name of the home directory to dir. If this option is not
1380 used, the home directory defaults to ‘~/.gnupg’. It is only
1381 recognized when given on the command line. It also overrides
1382 any home directory stated through the environment variable
1383 ‘GNUPGHOME’ or (on Windows systems) by means of the Registry
1384 entry HKCU\Software\GNU\GnuPG:HomeDir.
1385 On Windows systems it is possible to install GnuPG as a portable
1387 application. In this case only this command line option is con‐
1388 sidered, all other ways to set a home directory are ignored.
1389 To install GnuPG as a portable application under Windows, create
1391 an empty file named ‘gpgconf.ctl’ in the same directory as the
1392 tool ‘gpgconf.exe’. The root of the installation is then that
1393 directory; or, if ‘gpgconf.exe’ has been installed directly
1394 below a directory named ‘bin’, its parent directory. You also
1395 need to make sure that the following directories exist and are
1396 writable: ‘ROOT/home’ for the GnuPG home and
1397 ‘ROOT/var/cache/gnupg’ for internal cache files.
1398 --display-charset name
1402 Set the name of the native character set. This is used to con‐
1403 vert some informational strings like user IDs to the proper
1404 UTF-8 encoding. Note that this has nothing to do with the char‐
1405 acter set of data to be encrypted or signed; GnuPG does not
1406 recode user-supplied data. If this option is not used, the
1407 default character set is determined from the current locale. A
1408 verbosity level of 3 shows the chosen set. Valid values for
1409 name are:
1410 iso-8859-1
1414 This is the Latin 1 set.
1415 iso-8859-2
1418 The Latin 2 set.
1419 iso-8859-15
1422 This is currently an alias for the Latin 1 set.
1423 koi8-r The usual Russian set (RFC-1489).
1426 utf-8 Bypass all translations and assume that the OS uses
1429 native UTF-8 encoding.
1430 --utf8-strings
1433 --no-utf8-strings
1434 Assume that command line arguments are given as UTF-8 strings.
1435 The default (--no-utf8-strings) is to assume that arguments are
1436 encoded in the character set as specified by --display-charset.
1437 These options affect all following arguments. Both options may
1438 be used multiple times.
1439 --options file
1443 Read options from file and do not try to read them from the
1444 default options file in the homedir (see --homedir). This option
1445 is ignored if used in an options file.
1446 --no-options
1449 Shortcut for --options /dev/null. This option is detected before
1450 an attempt to open an option file. Using this option will also
1451 prevent the creation of a ‘~/.gnupg’ homedir.
1452 -z n
1455 --compress-level n
1456 --bzip2-compress-level n
1457 Set compression level to n for the ZIP and ZLIB compression
1458 algorithms. The default is to use the default compression level
1459 of zlib (normally 6). --bzip2-compress-level sets the compres‐
1460 sion level for the BZIP2 compression algorithm (defaulting to 6
1461 as well). This is a different option from --compress-level since
1462 BZIP2 uses a significant amount of memory for each additional
1463 compression level. -z sets both. A value of 0 for n disables
1464 compression.
1465 --bzip2-decompress-lowmem
1468 Use a different decompression method for BZIP2 compressed files.
1469 This alternate method uses a bit more than half the memory, but
1470 also runs at half the speed. This is useful under extreme low
1471 memory circumstances when the file was originally compressed at
1472 a high --bzip2-compress-level.
1473 --mangle-dos-filenames
1477 --no-mangle-dos-filenames
1478 Older version of Windows cannot handle filenames with more than
1479 one dot. --mangle-dos-filenames causes GnuPG to replace (rather
1480 than add to) the extension of an output filename to avoid this
1481 problem. This option is off by default and has no effect on non-
1482 Windows platforms.
1483 --ask-cert-level
1486 --no-ask-cert-level
1487 When making a key signature, prompt for a certification level.
1488 If this option is not specified, the certification level used is
1489 set via --default-cert-level. See --default-cert-level for
1490 information on the specific levels and how they are used. --no-
1491 ask-cert-level disables this option. This option defaults to no.
1492 --default-cert-level n
1495 The default to use for the check level when signing a key.
1496 0 means you make no particular claim as to how carefully you
1498 verified the key.
1499 1 means you believe the key is owned by the person who claims to
1501 own it but you could not, or did not verify the key at all. This
1502 is useful for a "persona" verification, where you sign the key
1503 of a pseudonymous user.
1504 2 means you did casual verification of the key. For example,
1506 this could mean that you verified the key fingerprint and
1507 checked the user ID on the key against a photo ID.
1508 3 means you did extensive verification of the key. For example,
1510 this could mean that you verified the key fingerprint with the
1511 owner of the key in person, and that you checked, by means of a
1512 hard to forge document with a photo ID (such as a passport) that
1513 the name of the key owner matches the name in the user ID on the
1514 key, and finally that you verified (by exchange of email) that
1515 the email address on the key belongs to the key owner.
1516 Note that the examples given above for levels 2 and 3 are just
1518 that: examples. In the end, it is up to you to decide just what
1519 "casual" and "extensive" mean to you.
1520 This option defaults to 0 (no particular claim).
1522 --min-cert-level
1525 When building the trust database, treat any signatures with a
1526 certification level below this as invalid. Defaults to 2, which
1527 disregards level 1 signatures. Note that level 0 "no particular
1528 claim" signatures are always accepted.
1529 --trusted-key long key ID
1532 Assume that the specified key (which must be given as a full 8
1533 byte key ID) is as trustworthy as one of your own secret keys.
1534 This option is useful if you don't want to keep your secret keys
1535 (or one of them) online but still want to be able to check the
1536 validity of a given recipient's or signator's key.
1537 --trust-model {pgp|classic|tofu|tofu+pgp|direct|always|auto}
1540 Set what trust model GnuPG should follow. The models are:
1541 pgp This is the Web of Trust combined with trust signatures
1545 as used in PGP 5.x and later. This is the default trust
1546 model when creating a new trust database.
1547 classic
1550 This is the standard Web of Trust as introduced by PGP 2.
1551 tofu
1554 TOFU stands for Trust On First Use. In this trust model,
1556 the first time a key is seen, it is memorized. If later
1557 another key with a user id with the same email address is
1558 seen, both keys are marked as suspect. In that case, the
1559 next time either is used, a warning is displayed describ‐
1560 ing the conflict, why it might have occurred (either the
1561 user generated a new key and failed to cross sign the old
1562 and new keys, the key is forgery, or a man-in-the-middle
1563 attack is being attempted), and the user is prompted to
1564 manually confirm the validity of the key in question.
1565 Because a potential attacker is able to control the email
1567 address and thereby circumvent the conflict detection
1568 algorithm by using an email address that is similar in
1569 appearance to a trusted email address, whenever a message
1570 is verified, statistics about the number of messages
1571 signed with the key are shown. In this way, a user can
1572 easily identify attacks using fake keys for regular cor‐
1573 respondents.
1574 When compared with the Web of Trust, TOFU offers signifi‐
1576 cantly weaker security guarantees. In particular, TOFU
1577 only helps ensure consistency (that is, that the binding
1578 between a key and email address doesn't change). A major
1579 advantage of TOFU is that it requires little maintenance
1580 to use correctly. To use the web of trust properly, you
1581 need to actively sign keys and mark users as trusted
1582 introducers. This is a time-consuming process and anec‐
1583 dotal evidence suggests that even security-conscious
1584 users rarely take the time to do this thoroughly and
1585 instead rely on an ad-hoc TOFU process.
1586 In the TOFU model, policies are associated with bindings
1588 between keys and email addresses (which are extracted
1589 from user ids and normalized). There are five policies,
1590 which can be set manually using the --tofu-policy option.
1591 The default policy can be set using the --tofu-default-
1592 policy option.
1593 The TOFU policies are: auto, good, unknown, bad and ask.
1595 The auto policy is used by default (unless overridden by
1596 --tofu-default-policy) and marks a binding as marginally
1597 trusted. The good, unknown and bad policies mark a bind‐
1598 ing as fully trusted, as having unknown trust or as hav‐
1599 ing trust never, respectively. The unknown policy is
1600 useful for just using TOFU to detect conflicts, but to
1601 never assign positive trust to a binding. The final pol‐
1602 icy, ask prompts the user to indicate the binding's
1603 trust. If batch mode is enabled (or input is inappropri‐
1604 ate in the context), then the user is not prompted and
1605 the undefined trust level is returned.
1606 tofu+pgp
1609 This trust model combines TOFU with the Web of Trust.
1610 This is done by computing the trust level for each model
1611 and then taking the maximum trust level where the trust
1612 levels are ordered as follows: unknown < undefined < mar‐
1613 ginal < fully < ultimate < expired < never.
1614 By setting --tofu-default-policy=unknown, this model can
1616 be used to implement the web of trust with TOFU's con‐
1617 flict detection algorithm, but without its assignment of
1618 positive trust values, which some security-conscious
1619 users don't like.
1620 direct Key validity is set directly by the user and not calcu‐
1623 lated via the Web of Trust. This model is solely based
1624 on the key and does not distinguish user IDs. Note that
1625 when changing to another trust model the trust values
1626 assigned to a key are transformed into ownertrust values,
1627 which also indicate how you trust the owner of the key to
1628 sign other keys.
1629 always Skip key validation and assume that used keys are always
1632 fully valid. You generally won't use this unless you are
1633 using some external validation scheme. This option also
1634 suppresses the "[uncertain]" tag printed with signature
1635 checks when there is no evidence that the user ID is
1636 bound to the key. Note that this trust model still does
1637 not allow the use of expired, revoked, or disabled keys.
1638 auto Select the trust model depending on whatever the internal
1641 trust database says. This is the default model if such a
1642 database already exists.
1643 --auto-key-locate mechanisms
1646 --no-auto-key-locate
1647 GnuPG can automatically locate and retrieve keys as needed using
1648 this option. This happens when encrypting to an email address
1649 (in the "user@example.com" form), and there are no "user@exam‐
1650 ple.com" keys on the local keyring. This option takes any num‐
1651 ber of the mechanisms listed below, in the order they are to be
1652 tried. Instead of listing the mechanisms as comma delimited
1653 arguments, the option may also be given several times to add
1654 more mechanism. The option --no-auto-key-locate or the mecha‐
1655 nism "clear" resets the list. The default is "local,wkd".
1656 cert Locate a key using DNS CERT, as specified in RFC-4398.
1660 pka Locate a key using DNS PKA.
1663 dane Locate a key using DANE, as specified in draft-ietf-dane-
1666 openpgpkey-05.txt.
1667 wkd Locate a key using the Web Key Directory protocol.
1670 ldap Using DNS Service Discovery, check the domain in question
1673 for any LDAP keyservers to use. If this fails, attempt
1674 to locate the key using the PGP Universal method of
1675 checking 'ldap://keys.(thedomain)'.
1676 keyserver
1679 Locate a key using whatever keyserver is defined using
1680 the --keyserver option.
1681 keyserver-URL
1684 In addition, a keyserver URL as used in the --keyserver
1685 option may be used here to query that particular key‐
1686 server.
1687 local Locate the key using the local keyrings. This mechanism
1690 allows the user to select the order a local key lookup is
1691 done. Thus using '--auto-key-locate local' is identical
1692 to --no-auto-key-locate.
1693 nodefault
1696 This flag disables the standard local key lookup, done
1697 before any of the mechanisms defined by the --auto-key-
1698 locate are tried. The position of this mechanism in the
1699 list does not matter. It is not required if local is
1700 also used.
1701 clear Clear all defined mechanisms. This is useful to override
1704 mechanisms given in a config file.
1705 --auto-key-retrieve
1710 --no-auto-key-retrieve
1711 These options enable or disable the automatic retrieving of keys
1712 from a keyserver when verifying signatures made by keys that are
1713 not on the local keyring. The default is --no-auto-key-
1714 retrieve.
1715 If the method "wkd" is included in the list of methods given to
1717 auto-key-locate, the signer's user ID is part of the signature,
1718 and the option --disable-signer-uid is not used, the "wkd"
1719 method may also be used to retrieve a key.
1720 Note that this option makes a "web bug" like behavior possible.
1722 Keyserver or Web Key Directory operators can see which keys you
1723 request, so by sending you a message signed by a brand new key
1724 (which you naturally will not have on your local keyring), the
1725 operator can tell both your IP address and the time when you
1726 verified the signature.
1727 --keyid-format {none|short|0xshort|long|0xlong}
1730 Select how to display key IDs. "none" does not show the key ID
1731 at all but shows the fingerprint in a separate line. "short" is
1732 the traditional 8-character key ID. "long" is the more accurate
1733 (but less convenient) 16-character key ID. Add an "0x" to
1734 either to include an "0x" at the beginning of the key ID, as in
1735 0x99242560. Note that this option is ignored if the option
1736 --with-colons is used.
1737 --keyserver name
1740 This option is deprecated - please use the --keyserver in ‘dirm‐
1741 ngr.conf’ instead.
1742 Use name as your keyserver. This is the server that --receive-
1744 keys, --send-keys, and --search-keys will communicate with to
1745 receive keys from, send keys to, and search for keys on. The
1746 format of the name is a URI: `scheme:[//]keyservername[:port]'
1747 The scheme is the type of keyserver: "hkp" for the HTTP (or com‐
1748 patible) keyservers, "ldap" for the LDAP keyservers, or "mailto"
1749 for the Graff email keyserver. Note that your particular instal‐
1750 lation of GnuPG may have other keyserver types available as
1751 well. Keyserver schemes are case-insensitive. After the key‐
1752 server name, optional keyserver configuration options may be
1753 provided. These are the same as the global --keyserver-options
1754 from below, but apply only to this particular keyserver.
1755 Most keyservers synchronize with each other, so there is gener‐
1757 ally no need to send keys to more than one server. The keyserver
1758 hkp://keys.gnupg.net uses round robin DNS to give a different
1759 keyserver each time you use it.
1760 --keyserver-options {name=value}
1763 This is a space or comma delimited string that gives options for
1764 the keyserver. Options can be prefixed with a `no-' to give the
1765 opposite meaning. Valid import-options or export-options may be
1766 used here as well to apply to importing (--recv-key) or export‐
1767 ing (--send-key) a key from a keyserver. While not all options
1768 are available for all keyserver types, some common options are:
1769 include-revoked
1773 When searching for a key with --search-keys, include keys
1774 that are marked on the keyserver as revoked. Note that
1775 not all keyservers differentiate between revoked and
1776 unrevoked keys, and for such keyservers this option is
1777 meaningless. Note also that most keyservers do not have
1778 cryptographic verification of key revocations, and so
1779 turning this option off may result in skipping keys that
1780 are incorrectly marked as revoked.
1781 include-disabled
1784 When searching for a key with --search-keys, include keys
1785 that are marked on the keyserver as disabled. Note that
1786 this option is not used with HKP keyservers.
1787 auto-key-retrieve
1790 This is an obsolete alias for the option auto-key-
1791 retrieve. Please do not use it; it will be removed in
1792 future versions..
1793 honor-keyserver-url
1796 When using --refresh-keys, if the key in question has a
1797 preferred keyserver URL, then use that preferred key‐
1798 server to refresh the key from. In addition, if auto-key-
1799 retrieve is set, and the signature being verified has a
1800 preferred keyserver URL, then use that preferred key‐
1801 server to fetch the key from. Note that this option
1802 introduces a "web bug": The creator of the key can see
1803 when the keys is refreshed. Thus this option is not
1804 enabled by default.
1805 honor-pka-record
1808 If --auto-key-retrieve is used, and the signature being
1809 verified has a PKA record, then use the PKA information
1810 to fetch the key. Defaults to "yes".
1811 include-subkeys
1814 When receiving a key, include subkeys as potential tar‐
1815 gets. Note that this option is not used with HKP key‐
1816 servers, as they do not support retrieving keys by subkey
1817 id.
1818 timeout
1821 Tell the keyserver helper program how long (in seconds)
1822 to try and perform a keyserver action before giving up.
1823 Note that performing multiple actions at the same time
1824 uses this timeout value per action. For example, when
1825 retrieving multiple keys via --receive-keys, the timeout
1826 applies separately to each key retrieval, and not to the
1827 --receive-keys command as a whole. Defaults to 30 sec‐
1828 onds.
1829 http-proxy=value
1832 This option is deprecated. Set the proxy to use for HTTP
1833 and HKP keyservers. This overrides any proxy defined in
1834 ‘dirmngr.conf’.
1835 verbose
1838 This option has no more function since GnuPG 2.1. Use
1839 the dirmngr configuration options instead.
1840 debug This option has no more function since GnuPG 2.1. Use
1843 the dirmngr configuration options instead.
1844 check-cert
1847 This option has no more function since GnuPG 2.1. Use
1848 the dirmngr configuration options instead.
1849 ca-cert-file
1852 This option has no more function since GnuPG 2.1. Use
1853 the dirmngr configuration options instead.
1854 --completes-needed n
1858 Number of completely trusted users to introduce a new key signer
1859 (defaults to 1).
1860 --marginals-needed n
1863 Number of marginally trusted users to introduce a new key signer
1864 (defaults to 3)
1865 --tofu-default-policy {auto|good|unknown|bad|ask}
1868 The default TOFU policy (defaults to auto). For more informa‐
1869 tion about the meaning of this option, see: [trust-model-tofu].
1870 --max-cert-depth n
1873 Maximum depth of a certification chain (default is 5).
1874 --no-sig-cache
1877 Do not cache the verification status of key signatures. Caching
1878 gives a much better performance in key listings. However, if you
1879 suspect that your public keyring is not safe against write modi‐
1880 fications, you can use this option to disable the caching. It
1881 probably does not make sense to disable it because all kind of
1882 damage can be done if someone else has write access to your pub‐
1883 lic keyring.
1884 --auto-check-trustdb
1887 --no-auto-check-trustdb
1888 If GnuPG feels that its information about the Web of Trust has
1889 to be updated, it automatically runs the --check-trustdb command
1890 internally. This may be a time consuming process. --no-auto-
1891 check-trustdb disables this option.
1892 --use-agent
1895 --no-use-agent
1896 This is dummy option. gpg always requires the agent.
1897 --gpg-agent-info
1900 This is dummy option. It has no effect when used with gpg.
1901 --agent-program file
1905 Specify an agent program to be used for secret key operations.
1906 The default value is determined by running gpgconf with the
1907 option --list-dirs. Note that the pipe symbol (|) is used for a
1908 regression test suite hack and may thus not be used in the file
1909 name.
1910 --dirmngr-program file
1913 Specify a dirmngr program to be used for keyserver access. The
1914 default value is ‘/usr/bin/dirmngr’.
1915 --disable-dirmngr
1918 Entirely disable the use of the Dirmngr.
1919 --no-autostart
1922 Do not start the gpg-agent or the dirmngr if it has not yet been
1923 started and its service is required. This option is mostly use‐
1924 ful on machines where the connection to gpg-agent has been redi‐
1925 rected to another machines. If dirmngr is required on the
1926 remote machine, it may be started manually using gpgconf
1927 --launch dirmngr.
1928 --lock-once
1931 Lock the databases the first time a lock is requested and do not
1932 release the lock until the process terminates.
1933 --lock-multiple
1936 Release the locks every time a lock is no longer needed. Use
1937 this to override a previous --lock-once from a config file.
1938 --lock-never
1941 Disable locking entirely. This option should be used only in
1942 very special environments, where it can be assured that only one
1943 process is accessing those files. A bootable floppy with a
1944 stand-alone encryption system will probably use this. Improper
1945 usage of this option may lead to data and key corruption.
1946 --exit-on-status-write-error
1949 This option will cause write errors on the status FD to immedi‐
1950 ately terminate the process. That should in fact be the default
1951 but it never worked this way and thus we need an option to
1952 enable this, so that the change won't break applications which
1953 close their end of a status fd connected pipe too early. Using
1954 this option along with --enable-progress-filter may be used to
1955 cleanly cancel long running gpg operations.
1956 --limit-card-insert-tries n
1959 With n greater than 0 the number of prompts asking to insert a
1960 smartcard gets limited to N-1. Thus with a value of 1 gpg won't
1961 at all ask to insert a card if none has been inserted at
1962 startup. This option is useful in the configuration file in case
1963 an application does not know about the smartcard support and
1964 waits ad infinitum for an inserted card.
1965 --no-random-seed-file
1968 GnuPG uses a file to store its internal random pool over invoca‐
1969 tions. This makes random generation faster; however sometimes
1970 write operations are not desired. This option can be used to
1971 achieve that with the cost of slower random generation.
1972 --no-greeting
1975 Suppress the initial copyright message.
1976 --no-secmem-warning
1979 Suppress the warning about "using insecure memory".
1980 --no-permission-warning
1983 Suppress the warning about unsafe file and home directory
1984 (--homedir) permissions. Note that the permission checks that
1985 GnuPG performs are not intended to be authoritative, but rather
1986 they simply warn about certain common permission problems. Do
1987 not assume that the lack of a warning means that your system is
1988 secure.
1989 Note that the warning for unsafe --homedir permissions cannot be
1991 suppressed in the gpg.conf file, as this would allow an attacker
1992 to place an unsafe gpg.conf file in place, and use this file to
1993 suppress warnings about itself. The --homedir permissions warn‐
1994 ing may only be suppressed on the command line.
1995 --require-secmem
1998 --no-require-secmem
1999 Refuse to run if GnuPG cannot get secure memory. Defaults to no
2000 (i.e. run, but give a warning).
2001 --require-cross-certification
2005 --no-require-cross-certification
2006 When verifying a signature made from a subkey, ensure that the
2007 cross certification "back signature" on the subkey is present
2008 and valid. This protects against a subtle attack against sub‐
2009 keys that can sign. Defaults to --require-cross-certification
2010 for gpg.
2011 --expert
2014 --no-expert
2015 Allow the user to do certain nonsensical or "silly" things like
2016 signing an expired or revoked key, or certain potentially incom‐
2017 patible things like generating unusual key types. This also dis‐
2018 ables certain warning messages about potentially incompatible
2019 actions. As the name implies, this option is for experts only.
2020 If you don't fully understand the implications of what it allows
2021 you to do, leave this off. --no-expert disables this option.
2022 Key related options
2025 --recipient name
2030 -r Encrypt for user id name. If this option or --hidden-recipient
2031 is not specified, GnuPG asks for the user-id unless --default-
2032 recipient is given.
2033 --hidden-recipient name
2036 -R Encrypt for user ID name, but hide the key ID of this user's
2037 key. This option helps to hide the receiver of the message and
2038 is a limited countermeasure against traffic analysis. If this
2039 option or --recipient is not specified, GnuPG asks for the user
2040 ID unless --default-recipient is given.
2041 --recipient-file file
2044 -f This option is similar to --recipient except that it encrypts to
2045 a key stored in the given file. file must be the name of a file
2046 containing exactly one key. gpg assumes that the key in this
2047 file is fully valid.
2048 --hidden-recipient-file file
2051 -F This option is similar to --hidden-recipient except that it
2052 encrypts to a key stored in the given file. file must be the
2053 name of a file containing exactly one key. gpg assumes that the
2054 key in this file is fully valid.
2055 --encrypt-to name
2058 Same as --recipient but this one is intended for use in the
2059 options file and may be used with your own user-id as an
2060 "encrypt-to-self". These keys are only used when there are other
2061 recipients given either by use of --recipient or by the asked
2062 user id. No trust checking is performed for these user ids and
2063 even disabled keys can be used.
2064 --hidden-encrypt-to name
2067 Same as --hidden-recipient but this one is intended for use in
2068 the options file and may be used with your own user-id as a hid‐
2069 den "encrypt-to-self". These keys are only used when there are
2070 other recipients given either by use of --recipient or by the
2071 asked user id. No trust checking is performed for these user
2072 ids and even disabled keys can be used.
2073 --no-encrypt-to
2076 Disable the use of all --encrypt-to and --hidden-encrypt-to
2077 keys.
2078 --group {name=value}
2081 Sets up a named group, which is similar to aliases in email pro‐
2082 grams. Any time the group name is a recipient (-r or --recipi‐
2083 ent), it will be expanded to the values specified. Multiple
2084 groups with the same name are automatically merged into a single
2085 group.
2086 The values are key IDs or fingerprints, but any key description
2088 is accepted. Note that a value with spaces in it will be treated
2089 as two different values. Note also there is only one level of
2090 expansion --- you cannot make an group that points to another
2091 group. When used from the command line, it may be necessary to
2092 quote the argument to this option to prevent the shell from
2093 treating it as multiple arguments.
2094 --ungroup name
2097 Remove a given entry from the --group list.
2098 --no-groups
2101 Remove all entries from the --group list.
2102 --local-user name
2105 -u Use name as the key to sign with. Note that this option over‐
2106 rides --default-key.
2107 --sender mbox
2110 This option has two purposes. mbox must either be a complete
2111 user id with a proper mail address or just a mail address. When
2112 creating a signature this option tells gpg the user id of a key
2113 used to make a signature if the key was not directly specified
2114 by a user id. When verifying a signature the mbox is used to
2115 restrict the information printed by the TOFU code to matching
2116 user ids.
2117 --try-secret-key name
2120 For hidden recipients GPG needs to know the keys to use for
2121 trial decryption. The key set with --default-key is always
2122 tried first, but this is often not sufficient. This option
2123 allows setting more keys to be used for trial decryption.
2124 Although any valid user-id specification may be used for name it
2125 makes sense to use at least the long keyid to avoid ambiguities.
2126 Note that gpg-agent might pop up a pinentry for a lot keys to do
2127 the trial decryption. If you want to stop all further trial
2128 decryption you may use close-window button instead of the cancel
2129 button.
2130 --try-all-secrets
2133 Don't look at the key ID as stored in the message but try all
2134 secret keys in turn to find the right decryption key. This
2135 option forces the behaviour as used by anonymous recipients
2136 (created by using --throw-keyids or --hidden-recipient) and
2137 might come handy in case where an encrypted message contains a
2138 bogus key ID.
2139 --skip-hidden-recipients
2142 --no-skip-hidden-recipients
2143 During decryption skip all anonymous recipients. This option
2144 helps in the case that people use the hidden recipients feature
2145 to hide their own encrypt-to key from others. If one has many
2146 secret keys this may lead to a major annoyance because all keys
2147 are tried in turn to decrypt something which was not really
2148 intended for it. The drawback of this option is that it is cur‐
2149 rently not possible to decrypt a message which includes real
2150 anonymous recipients.
2151 Input and Output
2155 --armor
2160 -a Create ASCII armored output. The default is to create the
2161 binary OpenPGP format.
2162 --no-armor
2165 Assume the input data is not in ASCII armored format.
2166 --output file
2169 -o file
2170 Write output to file. To write to stdout use - as the filename.
2171 --max-output n
2174 This option sets a limit on the number of bytes that will be
2175 generated when processing a file. Since OpenPGP supports various
2176 levels of compression, it is possible that the plaintext of a
2177 given message may be significantly larger than the original
2178 OpenPGP message. While GnuPG works properly with such messages,
2179 there is often a desire to set a maximum file size that will be
2180 generated before processing is forced to stop by the OS limits.
2181 Defaults to 0, which means "no limit".
2182 --input-size-hint n
2185 This option can be used to tell GPG the size of the input data
2186 in bytes. n must be a positive base-10 number. This option is
2187 only useful if the input is not taken from a file. GPG may use
2188 this hint to optimize its buffer allocation strategy. It is
2189 also used by the --status-fd line ``PROGRESS'' to provide a
2190 value for ``total'' if that is not available by other means.
2191 --key-origin string[,url]
2194 gpg can track the origin of a key. Certain origins are implic‐
2195 itly known (e.g. keyserver, web key directory) and set. For a
2196 standard import the origin of the keys imported can be set with
2197 this option. To list the possible values use "help" for string.
2198 Some origins can store an optional url argument. That URL can
2199 appended to string after a comma.
2200 --import-options parameters
2203 This is a space or comma delimited string that gives options for
2204 importing keys. Options can be prepended with a `no-' to give
2205 the opposite meaning. The options are:
2206 import-local-sigs
2210 Allow importing key signatures marked as "local". This is
2211 not generally useful unless a shared keyring scheme is
2212 being used. Defaults to no.
2213 keep-ownertrust
2216 Normally possible still existing ownertrust values of a
2217 key are cleared if a key is imported. This is in general
2218 desirable so that a formerly deleted key does not auto‐
2219 matically gain an ownertrust values merely due to import.
2220 On the other hand it is sometimes necessary to re-import
2221 a trusted set of keys again but keeping already assigned
2222 ownertrust values. This can be achieved by using this
2223 option.
2224 repair-pks-subkey-bug
2227 During import, attempt to repair the damage caused by the
2228 PKS keyserver bug (pre version 0.9.6) that mangles keys
2229 with multiple subkeys. Note that this cannot completely
2230 repair the damaged key as some crucial data is removed by
2231 the keyserver, but it does at least give you back one
2232 subkey. Defaults to no for regular --import and to yes
2233 for keyserver --receive-keys.
2234 import-show
2237 show-only
2238 Show a listing of the key as imported right before it is
2239 stored. This can be combined with the option --dry-run
2240 to only look at keys; the option show-only is a shortcut
2241 for this combination. The command --show-keys is another
2242 shortcut for this. Note that suffixes like '#' for "sec"
2243 and "sbb" lines may or may not be printed.
2244 import-export
2247 Run the entire import code but instead of storing the key
2248 to the local keyring write it to the output. The export
2249 options export-pka and export-dane affect the output.
2250 This option can be used to remove all invalid parts from
2251 a key without the need to store it.
2252 merge-only
2255 During import, allow key updates to existing keys, but do
2256 not allow any new keys to be imported. Defaults to no.
2257 import-clean
2260 After import, compact (remove all signatures except the
2261 self-signature) any user IDs from the new key that are
2262 not usable. Then, remove any signatures from the new key
2263 that are not usable. This includes signatures that were
2264 issued by keys that are not present on the keyring. This
2265 option is the same as running the --edit-key command
2266 "clean" after import. Defaults to no.
2267 repair-keys. After import, fix various problems with the
2270 keys. For example, this reorders signatures, and strips
2271 duplicate signatures. Defaults to yes.
2272 import-minimal
2275 Import the smallest key possible. This removes all signa‐
2276 tures except the most recent self-signature on each user
2277 ID. This option is the same as running the --edit-key
2278 command "minimize" after import. Defaults to no.
2279 restore
2282 import-restore
2283 Import in key restore mode. This imports all data which
2284 is usually skipped during import; including all GnuPG
2285 specific data. All other contradicting options are over‐
2286 ridden.
2287 --import-filter {name=expr}
2290 --export-filter {name=expr}
2291 These options define an import/export filter which are applied
2292 to the imported/exported keyblock right before it will be
2293 stored/written. name defines the type of filter to use, expr
2294 the expression to evaluate. The option can be used several
2295 times which then appends more expression to the same name.
2296 The available filter types are:
2299 keep-uid
2303 This filter will keep a user id packet and its dependent
2304 packets in the keyblock if the expression evaluates to
2305 true.
2306 drop-subkey
2309 This filter drops the selected subkeys. Currently only
2310 implemented for --export-filter.
2311 drop-sig
2314 This filter drops the selected key signatures on user
2315 ids. Self-signatures are not considered. Currently only
2316 implemented for --import-filter.
2317 For the syntax of the expression see the chapter "FILTER EXPRESSIONS".
2320 The property names for the expressions depend on the actual filter type
2321 and are indicated in the following table.
2322 The available properties are:
2324 uid A string with the user id. (keep-uid)
2328 mbox The addr-spec part of a user id with mailbox or the empty
2331 string. (keep-uid)
2332 key_algo
2335 A number with the public key algorithm of a key or subkey
2336 packet. (drop-subkey)
2337 key_created
2340 key_created_d
2341 The first is the timestamp a public key or subkey packet
2342 was created. The second is the same but given as an ISO
2343 string, e.g. "2016-08-17". (drop-subkey)
2344 primary
2347 Boolean indicating whether the user id is the primary
2348 one. (keep-uid)
2349 expired
2352 Boolean indicating whether a user id (keep-uid), a key
2353 (drop-subkey), or a signature (drop-sig) expired.
2354 revoked
2357 Boolean indicating whether a user id (keep-uid) or a key
2358 (drop-subkey) has been revoked.
2359 disabled
2362 Boolean indicating whether a primary key is disabled.
2363 (not used)
2364 secret Boolean indicating whether a key or subkey is a secret
2367 one. (drop-subkey)
2368 usage A string indicating the usage flags for the subkey, from
2371 the sequence ``ecsa?''. For example, a subkey capable of
2372 just signing and authentication would be an exact match
2373 for ``sa''. (drop-subkey)
2374 sig_created
2377 sig_created_d
2378 The first is the timestamp a signature packet was cre‐
2379 ated. The second is the same but given as an ISO date
2380 string, e.g. "2016-08-17". (drop-sig)
2381 sig_algo
2384 A number with the public key algorithm of a signature
2385 packet. (drop-sig)
2386 sig_digest_algo
2389 A number with the digest algorithm of a signature packet.
2390 (drop-sig)
2391 --export-options parameters
2395 This is a space or comma delimited string that gives options for
2396 exporting keys. Options can be prepended with a `no-' to give
2397 the opposite meaning. The options are:
2398 export-local-sigs
2402 Allow exporting key signatures marked as "local". This is
2403 not generally useful unless a shared keyring scheme is
2404 being used. Defaults to no.
2405 export-attributes
2408 Include attribute user IDs (photo IDs) while exporting.
2409 Not including attribute user IDs is useful to export keys
2410 that are going to be used by an OpenPGP program that does
2411 not accept attribute user IDs. Defaults to yes.
2412 export-sensitive-revkeys
2415 Include designated revoker information that was marked as
2416 "sensitive". Defaults to no.
2417 backup
2421 export-backup
2422 Export for use as a backup. The exported data includes
2423 all data which is needed to restore the key or keys later
2424 with GnuPG. The format is basically the OpenPGP format
2425 but enhanced with GnuPG specific data. All other contra‐
2426 dicting options are overridden.
2427 export-clean
2430 Compact (remove all signatures from) user IDs on the key
2431 being exported if the user IDs are not usable. Also, do
2432 not export any signatures that are not usable. This
2433 includes signatures that were issued by keys that are not
2434 present on the keyring. This option is the same as run‐
2435 ning the --edit-key command "clean" before export except
2436 that the local copy of the key is not modified. Defaults
2437 to no.
2438 export-minimal
2441 Export the smallest key possible. This removes all signa‐
2442 tures except the most recent self-signature on each user
2443 ID. This option is the same as running the --edit-key
2444 command "minimize" before export except that the local
2445 copy of the key is not modified. Defaults to no.
2446 export-pka
2449 Instead of outputting the key material output PKA records
2450 suitable to put into DNS zone files. An ORIGIN line is
2451 printed before each record to allow diverting the records
2452 to the corresponding zone file.
2453 export-dane
2456 Instead of outputting the key material output OpenPGP
2457 DANE records suitable to put into DNS zone files. An
2458 ORIGIN line is printed before each record to allow
2459 diverting the records to the corresponding zone file.
2460 --with-colons
2464 Print key listings delimited by colons. Note that the output
2465 will be encoded in UTF-8 regardless of any --display-charset
2466 setting. This format is useful when GnuPG is called from scripts
2467 and other programs as it is easily machine parsed. The details
2468 of this format are documented in the file ‘doc/DETAILS’, which
2469 is included in the GnuPG source distribution.
2470 --fixed-list-mode
2473 Do not merge primary user ID and primary key in --with-colon
2474 listing mode and print all timestamps as seconds since
2475 1970-01-01. Since GnuPG 2.0.10, this mode is always used and
2476 thus this option is obsolete; it does not harm to use it though.
2477 --legacy-list-mode
2480 Revert to the pre-2.1 public key list mode. This only affects
2481 the human readable output and not the machine interface (i.e.
2482 --with-colons). Note that the legacy format does not convey
2483 suitable information for elliptic curves.
2484 --with-fingerprint
2487 Same as the command --fingerprint but changes only the format of
2488 the output and may be used together with another command.
2489 --with-subkey-fingerprint
2492 If a fingerprint is printed for the primary key, this option
2493 forces printing of the fingerprint for all subkeys. This could
2494 also be achieved by using the --with-fingerprint twice but by
2495 using this option along with keyid-format "none" a compact fin‐
2496 gerprint is printed.
2497 --with-icao-spelling
2500 Print the ICAO spelling of the fingerprint in addition to the
2501 hex digits.
2502 --with-keygrip
2505 Include the keygrip in the key listings. In --with-colons mode
2506 this is implicitly enable for secret keys.
2507 --with-key-origin
2510 Include the locally held information on the origin and last
2511 update of a key in a key listing. In --with-colons mode this is
2512 always printed. This data is currently experimental and shall
2513 not be considered part of the stable API.
2514 --with-wkd-hash
2517 Print a Web Key Directory identifier along with each user ID in
2518 key listings. This is an experimental feature and semantics may
2519 change.
2520 --with-secret
2523 Include info about the presence of a secret key in public key
2524 listings done with --with-colons.
2525 OpenPGP protocol specific options
2528 -t, --textmode
2533 --no-textmode
2534 Treat input files as text and store them in the OpenPGP canoni‐
2535 cal text form with standard "CRLF" line endings. This also sets
2536 the necessary flags to inform the recipient that the encrypted
2537 or signed data is text and may need its line endings converted
2538 back to whatever the local system uses. This option is useful
2539 when communicating between two platforms that have different
2540 line ending conventions (UNIX-like to Mac, Mac to Windows, etc).
2541 --no-textmode disables this option, and is the default.
2542 --force-v3-sigs
2545 --no-force-v3-sigs
2546 --force-v4-certs
2548 --no-force-v4-certs
2549 These options are obsolete and have no effect since GnuPG 2.1.
2550 --force-mdc
2553 --disable-mdc
2554 These options are obsolete and have no effect since GnuPG 2.2.8.
2555 The MDC is always used. But note: If the creation of a legacy
2556 non-MDC message is exceptionally required, the option --rfc2440
2557 allows for this.
2558 --disable-signer-uid
2561 By default the user ID of the signing key is embedded in the
2562 data signature. As of now this is only done if the signing key
2563 has been specified with local-user using a mail address. This
2564 information can be helpful for verifier to locate the key; see
2565 option --auto-key-retrieve.
2566 --personal-cipher-preferences string
2569 Set the list of personal cipher preferences to string. Use gpg
2570 --version to get a list of available algorithms, and use none to
2571 set no preference at all. This allows the user to safely over‐
2572 ride the algorithm chosen by the recipient key preferences, as
2573 GPG will only select an algorithm that is usable by all recipi‐
2574 ents. The most highly ranked cipher in this list is also used
2575 for the --symmetric encryption command.
2576 --personal-digest-preferences string
2579 Set the list of personal digest preferences to string. Use gpg
2580 --version to get a list of available algorithms, and use none to
2581 set no preference at all. This allows the user to safely over‐
2582 ride the algorithm chosen by the recipient key preferences, as
2583 GPG will only select an algorithm that is usable by all recipi‐
2584 ents. The most highly ranked digest algorithm in this list is
2585 also used when signing without encryption (e.g. --clear-sign or
2586 --sign).
2587 --personal-compress-preferences string
2590 Set the list of personal compression preferences to string. Use
2591 gpg --version to get a list of available algorithms, and use
2592 none to set no preference at all. This allows the user to
2593 safely override the algorithm chosen by the recipient key pref‐
2594 erences, as GPG will only select an algorithm that is usable by
2595 all recipients. The most highly ranked compression algorithm in
2596 this list is also used when there are no recipient keys to con‐
2597 sider (e.g. --symmetric).
2598 --s2k-cipher-algo name
2601 Use name as the cipher algorithm for symmetric encryption with a
2602 passphrase if --personal-cipher-preferences and --cipher-algo
2603 are not given. The default is AES-128.
2604 --s2k-digest-algo name
2607 Use name as the digest algorithm used to mangle the passphrases
2608 for symmetric encryption. The default is SHA-1.
2609 --s2k-mode n
2612 Selects how passphrases for symmetric encryption are mangled. If
2613 n is 0 a plain passphrase (which is in general not recommended)
2614 will be used, a 1 adds a salt (which should not be used) to the
2615 passphrase and a 3 (the default) iterates the whole process a
2616 number of times (see --s2k-count).
2617 --s2k-count n
2620 Specify how many times the passphrases mangling for symmetric
2621 encryption is repeated. This value may range between 1024 and
2622 65011712 inclusive. The default is inquired from gpg-agent.
2623 Note that not all values in the 1024-65011712 range are legal
2624 and if an illegal value is selected, GnuPG will round up to the
2625 nearest legal value. This option is only meaningful if --s2k-
2626 mode is set to the default of 3.
2627 Compliance options
2631 These options control what GnuPG is compliant to. Only one of these
2634 options may be active at a time. Note that the default setting of this
2635 is nearly always the correct one. See the INTEROPERABILITY WITH OTHER
2636 OPENPGP PROGRAMS section below before using one of these options.
2637 --gnupg
2641 Use standard GnuPG behavior. This is essentially OpenPGP behav‐
2642 ior (see --openpgp), but with some additional workarounds for
2643 common compatibility problems in different versions of PGP. This
2644 is the default option, so it is not generally needed, but it may
2645 be useful to override a different compliance option in the
2646 gpg.conf file.
2647 --openpgp
2650 Reset all packet, cipher and digest options to strict OpenPGP
2651 behavior. Use this option to reset all previous options like
2652 --s2k-*, --cipher-algo, --digest-algo and --compress-algo to
2653 OpenPGP compliant values. All PGP workarounds are disabled.
2654 --rfc4880
2657 Reset all packet, cipher and digest options to strict RFC-4880
2658 behavior. Note that this is currently the same thing as
2659 --openpgp.
2660 --rfc4880bis
2663 Enable experimental features from proposed updates to RFC-4880.
2664 This option can be used in addition to the other compliance
2665 options. Warning: The behavior may change with any GnuPG
2666 release and created keys or data may not be usable with future
2667 GnuPG versions.
2668 --rfc2440
2671 Reset all packet, cipher and digest options to strict RFC-2440
2672 behavior. Note that by using this option encryption packets are
2673 created in a legacy mode without MDC protection. This is dan‐
2674 gerous and should thus only be used for experiments. See also
2675 option --ignore-mdc-error.
2676 --pgp6 Set up all options to be as PGP 6 compliant as possible. This
2679 restricts you to the ciphers IDEA (if the IDEA plugin is
2680 installed), 3DES, and CAST5, the hashes MD5, SHA1 and RIPEMD160,
2681 and the compression algorithms none and ZIP. This also disables
2682 --throw-keyids, and making signatures with signing subkeys as
2683 PGP 6 does not understand signatures made by signing subkeys.
2684 This option implies --escape-from-lines.
2686 --pgp7 Set up all options to be as PGP 7 compliant as possible. This is
2689 identical to --pgp6 except that MDCs are not disabled, and the
2690 list of allowable ciphers is expanded to add AES128, AES192,
2691 AES256, and TWOFISH.
2692 --pgp8 Set up all options to be as PGP 8 compliant as possible. PGP 8
2695 is a lot closer to the OpenPGP standard than previous versions
2696 of PGP, so all this does is disable --throw-keyids and set
2697 --escape-from-lines. All algorithms are allowed except for the
2698 SHA224, SHA384, and SHA512 digests.
2699 --compliance string
2702 This option can be used instead of one of the options above.
2703 Valid values for string are the above option names (without the
2704 double dash) and possibly others as shown when using "help" for
2705 value.
2706 Doing things one usually doesn't want to do
2709 -n
2714 --dry-run
2715 Don't make any changes (this is not completely implemented).
2716 --list-only
2719 Changes the behaviour of some commands. This is like --dry-run
2720 but different in some cases. The semantic of this option may be
2721 extended in the future. Currently it only skips the actual
2722 decryption pass and therefore enables a fast listing of the
2723 encryption keys.
2724 -i
2727 --interactive
2728 Prompt before overwriting any files.
2729 --debug-level level
2732 Select the debug level for investigating problems. level may be
2733 a numeric value or by a keyword:
2734 none No debugging at all. A value of less than 1 may be used
2737 instead of the keyword.
2738 basic Some basic debug messages. A value between 1 and 2 may
2740 be used instead of the keyword.
2741 advanced
2743 More verbose debug messages. A value between 3 and 5 may
2744 be used instead of the keyword.
2745 expert Even more detailed messages. A value between 6 and 8 may
2747 be used instead of the keyword.
2748 guru All of the debug messages you can get. A value greater
2750 than 8 may be used instead of the keyword. The creation
2751 of hash tracing files is only enabled if the keyword is
2752 used.
2753 How these messages are mapped to the actual debugging flags is not
2755 specified and may change with newer releases of this program. They are
2756 however carefully selected to best aid in debugging.
2757 --debug flags
2760 Set debugging flags. All flags are or-ed and flags may be given
2761 in C syntax (e.g. 0x0042) or as a comma separated list of flag
2762 names. To get a list of all supported flags the single word
2763 "help" can be used.
2764 --debug-all
2767 Set all useful debugging flags.
2768 --debug-iolbf
2771 Set stdout into line buffered mode. This option is only honored
2772 when given on the command line.
2773 --faked-system-time epoch
2776 This option is only useful for testing; it sets the system time
2777 back or forth to epoch which is the number of seconds elapsed
2778 since the year 1970. Alternatively epoch may be given as a full
2779 ISO time string (e.g. "20070924T154812").
2780 If you suffix epoch with an exclamation mark (!), the system
2782 time will appear to be frozen at the specified time.
2783 --enable-progress-filter
2786 Enable certain PROGRESS status outputs. This option allows fron‐
2787 tends to display a progress indicator while gpg is processing
2788 larger files. There is a slight performance overhead using it.
2789 --status-fd n
2792 Write special status strings to the file descriptor n. See the
2793 file DETAILS in the documentation for a listing of them.
2794 --status-file file
2797 Same as --status-fd, except the status data is written to file
2798 file.
2799 --logger-fd n
2802 Write log output to file descriptor n and not to STDERR.
2803 --log-file file
2806 --logger-file file
2807 Same as --logger-fd, except the logger data is written to file
2808 file. Use ‘socket://’ to log to s socket.
2809 --attribute-fd n
2812 Write attribute subpackets to the file descriptor n. This is
2813 most useful for use with --status-fd, since the status messages
2814 are needed to separate out the various subpackets from the
2815 stream delivered to the file descriptor.
2816 --attribute-file file
2819 Same as --attribute-fd, except the attribute data is written to
2820 file file.
2821 --comment string
2824 --no-comments
2825 Use string as a comment string in cleartext signatures and ASCII
2826 armored messages or keys (see --armor). The default behavior is
2827 not to use a comment string. --comment may be repeated multiple
2828 times to get multiple comment strings. --no-comments removes all
2829 comments. It is a good idea to keep the length of a single com‐
2830 ment below 60 characters to avoid problems with mail programs
2831 wrapping such lines. Note that comment lines, like all other
2832 header lines, are not protected by the signature.
2833 --emit-version
2836 --no-emit-version
2837 Force inclusion of the version string in ASCII armored output.
2838 If given once only the name of the program and the major number
2839 is emitted, given twice the minor is also emitted, given thrice
2840 the micro is added, and given four times an operating system
2841 identification is also emitted. --no-emit-version (default)
2842 disables the version line.
2843 --sig-notation {name=value}
2846 --cert-notation {name=value}
2847 -N, --set-notation {name=value}
2848 Put the name value pair into the signature as notation data.
2849 name must consist only of printable characters or spaces, and
2850 must contain a '@' character in the form keyname@domain.exam‐
2851 ple.com (substituting the appropriate keyname and domain name,
2852 of course). This is to help prevent pollution of the IETF
2853 reserved notation namespace. The --expert flag overrides the '@'
2854 check. value may be any printable string; it will be encoded in
2855 UTF-8, so you should check that your --display-charset is set
2856 correctly. If you prefix name with an exclamation mark (!), the
2857 notation data will be flagged as critical (rfc4880:5.2.3.16).
2858 --sig-notation sets a notation for data signatures. --cert-nota‐
2859 tion sets a notation for key signatures (certifications). --set-
2860 notation sets both.
2861 There are special codes that may be used in notation names. "%k"
2863 will be expanded into the key ID of the key being signed, "%K"
2864 into the long key ID of the key being signed, "%f" into the fin‐
2865 gerprint of the key being signed, "%s" into the key ID of the
2866 key making the signature, "%S" into the long key ID of the key
2867 making the signature, "%g" into the fingerprint of the key mak‐
2868 ing the signature (which might be a subkey), "%p" into the fin‐
2869 gerprint of the primary key of the key making the signature,
2870 "%c" into the signature count from the OpenPGP smartcard, and
2871 "%%" results in a single "%". %k, %K, and %f are only meaningful
2872 when making a key signature (certification), and %c is only
2873 meaningful when using the OpenPGP smartcard.
2874 --sig-policy-url string
2877 --cert-policy-url string
2878 --set-policy-url string
2879 Use string as a Policy URL for signatures (rfc4880:5.2.3.20).
2880 If you prefix it with an exclamation mark (!), the policy URL
2881 packet will be flagged as critical. --sig-policy-url sets a pol‐
2882 icy url for data signatures. --cert-policy-url sets a policy url
2883 for key signatures (certifications). --set-policy-url sets both.
2884 The same %-expandos used for notation data are available here as
2886 well.
2887 --sig-keyserver-url string
2890 Use string as a preferred keyserver URL for data signatures. If
2891 you prefix it with an exclamation mark (!), the keyserver URL
2892 packet will be flagged as critical.
2893 The same %-expandos used for notation data are available here as
2895 well.
2896 --set-filename string
2899 Use string as the filename which is stored inside messages.
2900 This overrides the default, which is to use the actual filename
2901 of the file being encrypted. Using the empty string for string
2902 effectively removes the filename from the output.
2903 --for-your-eyes-only
2906 --no-for-your-eyes-only
2907 Set the `for your eyes only' flag in the message. This causes
2908 GnuPG to refuse to save the file unless the --output option is
2909 given, and PGP to use a "secure viewer" with a claimed Tempest-
2910 resistant font to display the message. This option overrides
2911 --set-filename. --no-for-your-eyes-only disables this option.
2912 --use-embedded-filename
2915 --no-use-embedded-filename
2916 Try to create a file with a name as embedded in the data. This
2917 can be a dangerous option as it enables overwriting files.
2918 Defaults to no.
2919 --cipher-algo name
2922 Use name as cipher algorithm. Running the program with the com‐
2923 mand --version yields a list of supported algorithms. If this is
2924 not used the cipher algorithm is selected from the preferences
2925 stored with the key. In general, you do not want to use this
2926 option as it allows you to violate the OpenPGP standard. --per‐
2927 sonal-cipher-preferences is the safe way to accomplish the same
2928 thing.
2929 --digest-algo name
2932 Use name as the message digest algorithm. Running the program
2933 with the command --version yields a list of supported algo‐
2934 rithms. In general, you do not want to use this option as it
2935 allows you to violate the OpenPGP standard. --personal-digest-
2936 preferences is the safe way to accomplish the same thing.
2937 --compress-algo name
2940 Use compression algorithm name. "zlib" is RFC-1950 ZLIB compres‐
2941 sion. "zip" is RFC-1951 ZIP compression which is used by PGP.
2942 "bzip2" is a more modern compression scheme that can compress
2943 some things better than zip or zlib, but at the cost of more
2944 memory used during compression and decompression. "uncompressed"
2945 or "none" disables compression. If this option is not used, the
2946 default behavior is to examine the recipient key preferences to
2947 see which algorithms the recipient supports. If all else fails,
2948 ZIP is used for maximum compatibility.
2949 ZLIB may give better compression results than ZIP, as the com‐
2951 pression window size is not limited to 8k. BZIP2 may give even
2952 better compression results than that, but will use a signifi‐
2953 cantly larger amount of memory while compressing and decompress‐
2954 ing. This may be significant in low memory situations. Note,
2955 however, that PGP (all versions) only supports ZIP compression.
2956 Using any algorithm other than ZIP or "none" will make the mes‐
2957 sage unreadable with PGP. In general, you do not want to use
2958 this option as it allows you to violate the OpenPGP standard.
2959 --personal-compress-preferences is the safe way to accomplish
2960 the same thing.
2961 --cert-digest-algo name
2964 Use name as the message digest algorithm used when signing a
2965 key. Running the program with the command --version yields a
2966 list of supported algorithms. Be aware that if you choose an
2967 algorithm that GnuPG supports but other OpenPGP implementations
2968 do not, then some users will not be able to use the key signa‐
2969 tures you make, or quite possibly your entire key.
2970 --disable-cipher-algo name
2973 Never allow the use of name as cipher algorithm. The given name
2974 will not be checked so that a later loaded algorithm will still
2975 get disabled.
2976 --disable-pubkey-algo name
2979 Never allow the use of name as public key algorithm. The given
2980 name will not be checked so that a later loaded algorithm will
2981 still get disabled.
2982 --throw-keyids
2985 --no-throw-keyids
2986 Do not put the recipient key IDs into encrypted messages. This
2987 helps to hide the receivers of the message and is a limited
2988 countermeasure against traffic analysis. ([Using a little social
2989 engineering anyone who is able to decrypt the message can check
2990 whether one of the other recipients is the one he suspects.])
2991 On the receiving side, it may slow down the decryption process
2992 because all available secret keys must be tried. --no-throw-
2993 keyids disables this option. This option is essentially the same
2994 as using --hidden-recipient for all recipients.
2995 --not-dash-escaped
2998 This option changes the behavior of cleartext signatures so that
2999 they can be used for patch files. You should not send such an
3000 armored file via email because all spaces and line endings are
3001 hashed too. You can not use this option for data which has 5
3002 dashes at the beginning of a line, patch files don't have this.
3003 A special armor header line tells GnuPG about this cleartext
3004 signature option.
3005 --escape-from-lines
3008 --no-escape-from-lines
3009 Because some mailers change lines starting with "From " to
3010 ">From " it is good to handle such lines in a special way when
3011 creating cleartext signatures to prevent the mail system from
3012 breaking the signature. Note that all other PGP versions do it
3013 this way too. Enabled by default. --no-escape-from-lines dis‐
3014 ables this option.
3015 --passphrase-repeat n
3018 Specify how many times gpg will request a new passphrase be
3019 repeated. This is useful for helping memorize a passphrase.
3020 Defaults to 1 repetition.
3021 --passphrase-fd n
3024 Read the passphrase from file descriptor n. Only the first line
3025 will be read from file descriptor n. If you use 0 for n, the
3026 passphrase will be read from STDIN. This can only be used if
3027 only one passphrase is supplied.
3028 Note that since Version 2.0 this passphrase is only used if the
3030 option --batch has also been given. Since Version 2.1 the
3031 --pinentry-mode also needs to be set to loopback.
3032 --passphrase-file file
3035 Read the passphrase from file file. Only the first line will be
3036 read from file file. This can only be used if only one
3037 passphrase is supplied. Obviously, a passphrase stored in a file
3038 is of questionable security if other users can read this file.
3039 Don't use this option if you can avoid it.
3040 Note that since Version 2.0 this passphrase is only used if the
3042 option --batch has also been given. Since Version 2.1 the
3043 --pinentry-mode also needs to be set to loopback.
3044 --passphrase string
3047 Use string as the passphrase. This can only be used if only one
3048 passphrase is supplied. Obviously, this is of very questionable
3049 security on a multi-user system. Don't use this option if you
3050 can avoid it.
3051 Note that since Version 2.0 this passphrase is only used if the
3053 option --batch has also been given. Since Version 2.1 the
3054 --pinentry-mode also needs to be set to loopback.
3055 --pinentry-mode mode
3058 Set the pinentry mode to mode. Allowed values for mode are:
3059 default
3061 Use the default of the agent, which is ask.
3062 ask Force the use of the Pinentry.
3064 cancel Emulate use of Pinentry's cancel button.
3066 error Return a Pinentry error (``No Pinentry'').
3068 loopback
3070 Redirect Pinentry queries to the caller. Note that in
3071 contrast to Pinentry the user is not prompted again if he
3072 enters a bad password.
3073 --no-symkey-cache
3076 Disable the passphrase cache used for symmetrical en- and
3077 decryption. This cache is based on the message specific salt
3078 value (cf. --s2k-mode).
3079 --request-origin origin
3082 Tell gpg to assume that the operation ultimately originated at
3083 origin. Depending on the origin certain restrictions are
3084 applied and the Pinentry may include an extra note on the ori‐
3085 gin. Supported values for origin are: local which is the
3086 default, remote to indicate a remote origin or browser for an
3087 operation requested by a web browser.
3088 --command-fd n
3091 This is a replacement for the deprecated shared-memory IPC mode.
3092 If this option is enabled, user input on questions is not
3093 expected from the TTY but from the given file descriptor. It
3094 should be used together with --status-fd. See the file
3095 doc/DETAILS in the source distribution for details on how to use
3096 it.
3097 --command-file file
3100 Same as --command-fd, except the commands are read out of file
3101 file
3102 --allow-non-selfsigned-uid
3105 --no-allow-non-selfsigned-uid
3106 Allow the import and use of keys with user IDs which are not
3107 self-signed. This is not recommended, as a non self-signed user
3108 ID is trivial to forge. --no-allow-non-selfsigned-uid disables.
3109 --allow-freeform-uid
3112 Disable all checks on the form of the user ID while generating a
3113 new one. This option should only be used in very special envi‐
3114 ronments as it does not ensure the de-facto standard format of
3115 user IDs.
3116 --ignore-time-conflict
3119 GnuPG normally checks that the timestamps associated with keys
3120 and signatures have plausible values. However, sometimes a sig‐
3121 nature seems to be older than the key due to clock problems.
3122 This option makes these checks just a warning. See also
3123 --ignore-valid-from for timestamp issues on subkeys.
3124 --ignore-valid-from
3127 GnuPG normally does not select and use subkeys created in the
3128 future. This option allows the use of such keys and thus
3129 exhibits the pre-1.0.7 behaviour. You should not use this option
3130 unless there is some clock problem. See also --ignore-time-con‐
3131 flict for timestamp issues with signatures.
3132 --ignore-crc-error
3135 The ASCII armor used by OpenPGP is protected by a CRC checksum
3136 against transmission errors. Occasionally the CRC gets mangled
3137 somewhere on the transmission channel but the actual content
3138 (which is protected by the OpenPGP protocol anyway) is still
3139 okay. This option allows GnuPG to ignore CRC errors.
3140 --ignore-mdc-error
3143 This option changes a MDC integrity protection failure into a
3144 warning. It is required to decrypt old messages which did not
3145 use an MDC. It may also be useful if a message is partially
3146 garbled, but it is necessary to get as much data as possible out
3147 of that garbled message. Be aware that a missing or failed MDC
3148 can be an indication of an attack. Use with great caution; see
3149 also option --rfc2440.
3150 --allow-weak-digest-algos
3153 Signatures made with known-weak digest algorithms are normally
3154 rejected with an ``invalid digest algorithm'' message. This
3155 option allows the verification of signatures made with such weak
3156 algorithms. MD5 is the only digest algorithm considered weak by
3157 default. See also --weak-digest to reject other digest algo‐
3158 rithms.
3159 --weak-digest name
3162 Treat the specified digest algorithm as weak. Signatures made
3163 over weak digests algorithms are normally rejected. This option
3164 can be supplied multiple times if multiple algorithms should be
3165 considered weak. See also --allow-weak-digest-algos to disable
3166 rejection of weak digests. MD5 is always considered weak, and
3167 does not need to be listed explicitly.
3168 --no-default-keyring
3171 Do not add the default keyrings to the list of keyrings. Note
3172 that GnuPG will not operate without any keyrings, so if you use
3173 this option and do not provide alternate keyrings via --keyring
3174 or --secret-keyring, then GnuPG will still use the default pub‐
3175 lic or secret keyrings.
3176 --no-keyring
3179 Do not add use any keyrings even if specified as options.
3180 --skip-verify
3183 Skip the signature verification step. This may be used to make
3184 the decryption faster if the signature verification is not
3185 needed.
3186 --with-key-data
3189 Print key listings delimited by colons (like --with-colons) and
3190 print the public key data.
3191 --list-signatures
3194 --list-sigs
3195 Same as --list-keys, but the signatures are listed too. This
3196 command has the same effect as using --list-keys with --with-
3197 sig-list. Note that in contrast to --check-signatures the key
3198 signatures are not verified. This command can be used to create
3199 a list of signing keys missing in the lcoal keyring; for exam‐
3200 ple:
3201 gpg --list-sigs --with-colons USERID | \
3203 awk -F: '$1=="sig" && $2=="?" {if($13){print $13}else{print $5}}'
3204 --fast-list-mode
3207 Changes the output of the list commands to work faster; this is
3208 achieved by leaving some parts empty. Some applications don't
3209 need the user ID and the trust information given in the list‐
3210 ings. By using this options they can get a faster listing. The
3211 exact behaviour of this option may change in future versions.
3212 If you are missing some information, don't use this option.
3213 --no-literal
3216 This is not for normal use. Use the source to see for what it
3217 might be useful.
3218 --set-filesize
3221 This is not for normal use. Use the source to see for what it
3222 might be useful.
3223 --show-session-key
3226 Display the session key used for one message. See --override-
3227 session-key for the counterpart of this option.
3228 We think that Key Escrow is a Bad Thing; however the user should
3230 have the freedom to decide whether to go to prison or to reveal
3231 the content of one specific message without compromising all
3232 messages ever encrypted for one secret key.
3233 You can also use this option if you receive an encrypted message
3235 which is abusive or offensive, to prove to the administrators of
3236 the messaging system that the ciphertext transmitted corresponds
3237 to an inappropriate plaintext so they can take action against
3238 the offending user.
3239 --override-session-key string
3242 --override-session-key-fd fd
3243 Don't use the public key but the session key string respective
3244 the session key taken from the first line read from file
3245 descriptor fd. The format of this string is the same as the one
3246 printed by --show-session-key. This option is normally not used
3247 but comes handy in case someone forces you to reveal the content
3248 of an encrypted message; using this option you can do this with‐
3249 out handing out the secret key. Note that using --override-ses‐
3250 sion-key may reveal the session key to all local users via the
3251 global process table.
3252 --ask-sig-expire
3255 --no-ask-sig-expire
3256 When making a data signature, prompt for an expiration time. If
3257 this option is not specified, the expiration time set via
3258 --default-sig-expire is used. --no-ask-sig-expire disables this
3259 option.
3260 --default-sig-expire
3263 The default expiration time to use for signature expiration.
3264 Valid values are "0" for no expiration, a number followed by the
3265 letter d (for days), w (for weeks), m (for months), or y (for
3266 years) (for example "2m" for two months, or "5y" for five
3267 years), or an absolute date in the form YYYY-MM-DD. Defaults to
3268 "0".
3269 --ask-cert-expire
3272 --no-ask-cert-expire
3273 When making a key signature, prompt for an expiration time. If
3274 this option is not specified, the expiration time set via
3275 --default-cert-expire is used. --no-ask-cert-expire disables
3276 this option.
3277 --default-cert-expire
3280 The default expiration time to use for key signature expiration.
3281 Valid values are "0" for no expiration, a number followed by the
3282 letter d (for days), w (for weeks), m (for months), or y (for
3283 years) (for example "2m" for two months, or "5y" for five
3284 years), or an absolute date in the form YYYY-MM-DD. Defaults to
3285 "0".
3286 --default-new-key-algo string
3289 This option can be used to change the default algorithms for key
3290 generation. The string is similar to the arguments required for
3291 the command --quick-add-key but slightly different. For example
3292 the current default of "rsa2048/cert,sign+rsa2048/encr" (or
3293 "rsa3072") can be changed to the value of what we currently call
3294 future default, which is "ed25519/cert,sign+cv25519/encr". You
3295 need to consult the source code to learn the details. Note that
3296 the advanced key generation commands can always be used to spec‐
3297 ify a key algorithm directly.
3298 --allow-secret-key-import
3301 This is an obsolete option and is not used anywhere.
3302 --allow-multiple-messages
3305 --no-allow-multiple-messages
3307 Allow processing of multiple OpenPGP messages contained in a
3308 single file or stream. Some programs that call GPG are not pre‐
3309 pared to deal with multiple messages being processed together,
3310 so this option defaults to no. Note that versions of GPG prior
3311 to 1.4.7 always allowed multiple messages.
3312 Warning: Do not use this option unless you need it as a tempo‐
3314 rary workaround!
3315 --enable-special-filenames
3319 This option enables a mode in which filenames of the form ‘-&n’,
3320 where n is a non-negative decimal number, refer to the file
3321 descriptor n and not to a file with that name.
3322 --no-expensive-trust-checks
3325 Experimental use only.
3326 --preserve-permissions
3329 Don't change the permissions of a secret keyring back to user
3330 read/write only. Use this option only if you really know what
3331 you are doing.
3332 --default-preference-list string
3335 Set the list of default preferences to string. This preference
3336 list is used for new keys and becomes the default for "setpref"
3337 in the edit menu.
3338 --default-keyserver-url name
3341 Set the default keyserver URL to name. This keyserver will be
3342 used as the keyserver URL when writing a new self-signature on a
3343 key, which includes key generation and changing preferences.
3344 --list-config
3347 Display various internal configuration parameters of GnuPG. This
3348 option is intended for external programs that call GnuPG to per‐
3349 form tasks, and is thus not generally useful. See the file
3350 ‘doc/DETAILS’ in the source distribution for the details of
3351 which configuration items may be listed. --list-config is only
3352 usable with --with-colons set.
3353 --list-gcrypt-config
3356 Display various internal configuration parameters of Libgcrypt.
3357 --gpgconf-list
3360 This command is similar to --list-config but in general only
3361 internally used by the gpgconf tool.
3362 --gpgconf-test
3365 This is more or less dummy action. However it parses the con‐
3366 figuration file and returns with failure if the configuration
3367 file would prevent gpg from startup. Thus it may be used to run
3368 a syntax check on the configuration file.
3369 Deprecated options
3372 --show-photos
3377 --no-show-photos
3378 Causes --list-keys, --list-signatures, --list-public-keys,
3379 --list-secret-keys, and verifying a signature to also display
3380 the photo ID attached to the key, if any. See also --photo-
3381 viewer. These options are deprecated. Use --list-options
3382 [no-]show-photos and/or --verify-options [no-]show-photos
3383 instead.
3384 --show-keyring
3387 Display the keyring name at the head of key listings to show
3388 which keyring a given key resides on. This option is deprecated:
3389 use --list-options [no-]show-keyring instead.
3390 --always-trust
3393 Identical to --trust-model always. This option is deprecated.
3394 --show-notation
3397 --no-show-notation
3398 Show signature notations in the --list-signatures or --check-
3399 signatures listings as well as when verifying a signature with a
3400 notation in it. These options are deprecated. Use --list-options
3401 [no-]show-notation and/or --verify-options [no-]show-notation
3402 instead.
3403 --show-policy-url
3406 --no-show-policy-url
3407 Show policy URLs in the --list-signatures or --check-signatures
3408 listings as well as when verifying a signature with a policy URL
3409 in it. These options are deprecated. Use --list-options
3410 [no-]show-policy-url and/or --verify-options [no-]show-policy-
3411 url instead.
3412
3416 gpg -se -r Bob file
3417 sign and encrypt for user Bob
3418 gpg --clear-sign file
3421 make a cleartext signature
3422 gpg -sb file
3425 make a detached signature
3426 gpg -u 0x12345678 -sb file
3429 make a detached signature with the key 0x12345678
3430 gpg --list-keys user_ID
3433 show keys
3434 gpg --fingerprint user_ID
3437 show fingerprint
3438 gpg --verify pgpfile
3441 gpg --verify sigfile [datafile]
3442 Verify the signature of the file but do not output the data
3443 unless requested. The second form is used for detached signa‐
3444 tures, where sigfile is the detached signature (either ASCII
3445 armored or binary) and datafile are the signed data; if this is
3446 not given, the name of the file holding the signed data is con‐
3447 structed by cutting off the extension (".asc" or ".sig") of sig‐
3448 file or by asking the user for the filename. If the option
3449 --output is also used the signed data is written to the file
3450 specified by that option; use - to write the signed data to std‐
3451 out.
3452
3454 There are different ways to specify a user ID to GnuPG. Some of them
3455 are only valid for gpg others are only good for gpgsm. Here is the
3456 entire list of ways to specify a key:
3457 By key Id.
3461 This format is deduced from the length of the string and its
3462 content or 0x prefix. The key Id of an X.509 certificate are the
3463 low 64 bits of its SHA-1 fingerprint. The use of key Ids is
3464 just a shortcut, for all automated processing the fingerprint
3465 should be used.
3466 When using gpg an exclamation mark (!) may be appended to force
3468 using the specified primary or secondary key and not to try and
3469 calculate which primary or secondary key to use.
3470 The last four lines of the example give the key ID in their long
3472 form as internally used by the OpenPGP protocol. You can see the
3473 long key ID using the option --with-colons.
3474 234567C4
3476 0F34E556E
3477 01347A56A
3478 0xAB123456
3479 234AABBCC34567C4
3481 0F323456784E56EAB
3482 01AB3FED1347A5612
3483 0x234AABBCC34567C4
3484 By fingerprint.
3489 This format is deduced from the length of the string and its
3490 content or the 0x prefix. Note, that only the 20 byte version
3491 fingerprint is available with gpgsm (i.e. the SHA-1 hash of the
3492 certificate).
3493 When using gpg an exclamation mark (!) may be appended to force
3495 using the specified primary or secondary key and not to try and
3496 calculate which primary or secondary key to use.
3497 The best way to specify a key Id is by using the fingerprint.
3499 This avoids any ambiguities in case that there are duplicated
3500 key IDs.
3501 1234343434343434C434343434343434
3503 123434343434343C3434343434343734349A3434
3504 0E12343434343434343434EAB3484343434343434
3505 0xE12343434343434343434EAB3484343434343434
3506 gpgsm also accepts colons between each pair of hexadecimal digits
3509 because this is the de-facto standard on how to present X.509 finger‐
3510 prints. gpg also allows the use of the space separated SHA-1 finger‐
3511 print as printed by the key listing commands.
3512 By exact match on OpenPGP user ID.
3515 This is denoted by a leading equal sign. It does not make sense
3516 for X.509 certificates.
3517 =Heinrich Heine <heinrichh@uni-duesseldorf.de>
3519 By exact match on an email address.
3522 This is indicated by enclosing the email address in the usual
3523 way with left and right angles.
3524 <heinrichh@uni-duesseldorf.de>
3526 By partial match on an email address.
3530 This is indicated by prefixing the search string with an @.
3531 This uses a substring search but considers only the mail address
3532 (i.e. inside the angle brackets).
3533 @heinrichh
3535 By exact match on the subject's DN.
3538 This is indicated by a leading slash, directly followed by the
3539 RFC-2253 encoded DN of the subject. Note that you can't use the
3540 string printed by gpgsm --list-keys because that one has been
3541 reordered and modified for better readability; use --with-colons
3542 to print the raw (but standard escaped) RFC-2253 string.
3543 /CN=Heinrich Heine,O=Poets,L=Paris,C=FR
3545 By exact match on the issuer's DN.
3548 This is indicated by a leading hash mark, directly followed by a
3549 slash and then directly followed by the RFC-2253 encoded DN of
3550 the issuer. This should return the Root cert of the issuer.
3551 See note above.
3552 #/CN=Root Cert,O=Poets,L=Paris,C=FR
3554 By exact match on serial number and issuer's DN.
3558 This is indicated by a hash mark, followed by the hexadecimal
3559 representation of the serial number, then followed by a slash
3560 and the RFC-2253 encoded DN of the issuer. See note above.
3561 #4F03/CN=Root Cert,O=Poets,L=Paris,C=FR
3563 By keygrip.
3566 This is indicated by an ampersand followed by the 40 hex digits
3567 of a keygrip. gpgsm prints the keygrip when using the command
3568 --dump-cert. It does not yet work for OpenPGP keys.
3569 &D75F22C3F86E355877348498CDC92BD21010A480
3571 By substring match.
3575 This is the default mode but applications may want to explicitly
3576 indicate this by putting the asterisk in front. Match is not
3577 case sensitive.
3578 Heine
3580 *Heine
3581 . and + prefixes
3584 These prefixes are reserved for looking up mails anchored at the
3585 end and for a word search mode. They are not yet implemented
3586 and using them is undefined.
3587 Please note that we have reused the hash mark identifier which
3590 was used in old GnuPG versions to indicate the so called local-
3591 id. It is not anymore used and there should be no conflict when
3592 used with X.509 stuff.
3593 Using the RFC-2253 format of DNs has the drawback that it is not
3595 possible to map them back to the original encoding, however we
3596 don't have to do this because our key database stores this
3597 encoding as meta data.
3598
3604 The options --import-filter and --export-filter use expressions with
3605 this syntax (square brackets indicate an optional part and curly braces
3606 a repetition, white space between the elements are allowed):
3607 [lc] {[{flag}] PROPNAME op VALUE [lc]}
3609 The name of a property (PROPNAME) may only consist of letters, digits
3611 and underscores. The description for the filter type describes which
3612 properties are defined. If an undefined property is used it evaluates
3613 to the empty string. Unless otherwise noted, the VALUE must always be
3614 given and may not be the empty string. No quoting is defined for the
3615 value, thus the value may not contain the strings && or ||, which are
3616 used as logical connection operators. The flag -- can be used to
3617 remove this restriction.
3618 Numerical values are computed as long int; standard C notation applies.
3620 lc is the logical connection operator; either && for a conjunction or
3621 || for a disjunction. A conjunction is assumed at the begin of an
3622 expression. Conjunctions have higher precedence than disjunctions. If
3623 VALUE starts with one of the characters used in any op a space after
3624 the op is required.
3625 The supported operators (op) are:
3628 =~ Substring must match.
3632 !~ Substring must not match.
3635 = The full string must match.
3638 <> The full string must not match.
3641 == The numerical value must match.
3644 != The numerical value must not match.
3647 <= The numerical value of the field must be LE than the value.
3650 < The numerical value of the field must be LT than the value.
3653 > The numerical value of the field must be GT than the value.
3656 >= The numerical value of the field must be GE than the value.
3659 -le The string value of the field must be less or equal than the
3662 value.
3663 -lt The string value of the field must be less than the value.
3666 -gt The string value of the field must be greater than the value.
3669 -ge The string value of the field must be greater or equal than the
3672 value.
3673 -n True if value is not empty (no value allowed).
3676 -z True if value is empty (no value allowed).
3679 -t Alias for "PROPNAME != 0" (no value allowed).
3682 -f Alias for "PROPNAME == 0" (no value allowed).
3685 Values for flag must be space separated. The supported flags are:
3688 -- VALUE spans to the end of the expression.
3691 -c The string match in this part is done case-sensitive.
3693 The filter options concatenate several specifications for a filter of
3695 the same type. For example the four options in this example:
3696 --import-option keep-uid="uid =~ Alfa"
3698 --import-option keep-uid="&& uid !~ Test"
3699 --import-option keep-uid="|| uid =~ Alpha"
3700 --import-option keep-uid="uid !~ Test"
3701 which is equivalent to
3704 --import-option \
3706 keep-uid="uid =~ Alfa" && uid !~ Test" || uid =~ Alpha" && "uid !~ Test"
3707 imports only the user ids of a key containing the strings "Alfa" or
3709 "Alpha" but not the string "test".
3710
3713 Trust values are used to indicate ownertrust and validity of keys and
3714 user IDs. They are displayed with letters or strings:
3715 -
3719 unknown
3720 No ownertrust assigned / not yet calculated.
3721 e
3724 expired
3725 Trust calculation has failed; probably due to an expired key.
3727 q
3730 undefined, undef
3731 Not enough information for calculation.
3732 n
3735 never Never trust this key.
3736 m
3739 marginal
3740 Marginally trusted.
3741 f
3744 full Fully trusted.
3745 u
3748 ultimate
3749 Ultimately trusted.
3750 r
3753 revoked
3754 For validity only: the key or the user ID has been revoked.
3755 ?
3758 err The program encountered an unknown trust value.
3759
3762 There are a few configuration files to control certain aspects of gpg's
3763 operation. Unless noted, they are expected in the current home direc‐
3764 tory (see: [option --homedir]).
3765 gpg.conf
3769 This is the standard configuration file read by gpg on startup.
3770 It may contain any valid long option; the leading two dashes may
3771 not be entered and the option may not be abbreviated. This
3772 default name may be changed on the command line (see: [gpg-
3773 option --options]). You should backup this file.
3774 Note that on larger installations, it is useful to put predefined files
3777 into the directory ‘/etc/skel/.gnupg’ so that newly created users start
3778 up with a working configuration. For existing users a small helper
3779 script is provided to create these files (see: [addgnupghome]).
3780 For internal purposes gpg creates and maintains a few other files; They
3782 all live in the current home directory (see: [option --homedir]). Only
3783 the gpg program may modify these files.
3784 ~/.gnupg
3788 This is the default home directory which is used if neither the
3789 environment variable GNUPGHOME nor the option --homedir is
3790 given.
3791 ~/.gnupg/pubring.gpg
3794 The public keyring. You should backup this file.
3795 ~/.gnupg/pubring.gpg.lock
3798 The lock file for the public keyring.
3799 ~/.gnupg/pubring.kbx
3802 The public keyring using a different format. This file is
3803 shared with gpgsm. You should backup this file.
3804 ~/.gnupg/pubring.kbx.lock
3807 The lock file for ‘pubring.kbx’.
3808 ~/.gnupg/secring.gpg
3811 A secret keyring as used by GnuPG versions before 2.1. It is
3812 not used by GnuPG 2.1 and later.
3813 ~/.gnupg/secring.gpg.lock
3816 The lock file for the secret keyring.
3817 ~/.gnupg/.gpg-v21-migrated
3820 File indicating that a migration to GnuPG 2.1 has been done.
3821 ~/.gnupg/trustdb.gpg
3824 The trust database. There is no need to backup this file; it is
3825 better to backup the ownertrust values (see: [option --export-
3826 ownertrust]).
3827 ~/.gnupg/trustdb.gpg.lock
3830 The lock file for the trust database.
3831 ~/.gnupg/random_seed
3834 A file used to preserve the state of the internal random pool.
3835 ~/.gnupg/openpgp-revocs.d/
3838 This is the directory where gpg stores pre-generated revocation
3839 certificates. The file name corresponds to the OpenPGP finger‐
3840 print of the respective key. It is suggested to backup those
3841 certificates and if the primary private key is not stored on the
3842 disk to move them to an external storage device. Anyone who can
3843 access theses files is able to revoke the corresponding key.
3844 You may want to print them out. You should backup all files in
3845 this directory and take care to keep this backup closed away.
3846 Operation is further controlled by a few environment variables:
3849 HOME Used to locate the default home directory.
3853 GNUPGHOME
3856 If set directory used instead of "~/.gnupg".
3857 GPG_AGENT_INFO
3860 This variable is obsolete; it was used by GnuPG versions before
3861 2.1.
3862 PINENTRY_USER_DATA
3865 This value is passed via gpg-agent to pinentry. It is useful to
3866 convey extra information to a custom pinentry.
3867 COLUMNS
3870 LINES Used to size some displays to the full size of the screen.
3871 LANGUAGE
3874 Apart from its use by GNU, it is used in the W32 version to
3875 override the language selection done through the Registry. If
3876 used and set to a valid and available language name (langid),
3877 the file with the translation is loaded from
3878 gpgdir/gnupg.nls/langid.mo. Here gpgdir is the directory out of
3879 which the gpg binary has been loaded. If it can't be loaded the
3880 Registry is tried and as last resort the native Windows locale
3881 system is used.
3882
3885 On older systems this program should be installed as setuid(root). This
3886 is necessary to lock memory pages. Locking memory pages prevents the
3887 operating system from writing memory pages (which may contain
3888 passphrases or other sensitive material) to disk. If you get no warning
3889 message about insecure memory your operating system supports locking
3890 without being root. The program drops root privileges as soon as locked
3891 memory is allocated.
3892 Note also that some systems (especially laptops) have the ability to
3894 ``suspend to disk'' (also known as ``safe sleep'' or ``hibernate'').
3895 This writes all memory to disk before going into a low power or even
3896 powered off mode. Unless measures are taken in the operating system to
3897 protect the saved memory, passphrases or other sensitive material may
3898 be recoverable from it later.
3899 Before you report a bug you should first search the mailing list ar‐
3901 chives for similar problems and second check whether such a bug has
3902 already been reported to our bug tracker at https://bugs.gnupg.org.
3903
3907 gpgv(1), gpgsm(1), gpg-agent(1)
3908 The full documentation for this tool is maintained as a Texinfo manual.
3910 If GnuPG and the info program are properly installed at your site, the
3911 command
3912 info gnupg
3914 should give you access to the complete manual including a menu struc‐
3916 ture and an index.
3917GnuPG 2.2.9 2018-06-12 GPG(1)