1 This is gnupg.info, produced by makeinfo version 6.3 from gnupg.texi.
3 This is the 'The GNU Privacy Guard Manual' (version 2.1.17, December
6 (C) 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2010 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
7 (C) 2013, 2014, 2015 Werner Koch.
8 (C) 2015 g10 Code GmbH.
10 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this
11 document under the terms of the GNU General Public License as
12 published by the Free Software Foundation; either version 3 of the
13 License, or (at your option) any later version. The text of the
14 license can be found in the section entitled "Copying".
15 INFO-DIR-SECTION GNU Utilities
17 * gpg2: (gnupg). OpenPGP encryption and signing tool.
18 * gpgsm: (gnupg). S/MIME encryption and signing tool.
19 * gpg-agent: (gnupg). The secret key daemon.
20 * dirmngr: (gnupg). X.509 CRL and OCSP server.
21 * dirmngr-client: (gnupg). X.509 CRL and OCSP client.
25 File: gnupg.info, Node: Top, Next: Installation, Up: (dir)
27 Using the GNU Privacy Guard
28 ***************************
30 This is the 'The GNU Privacy Guard Manual' (version 2.1.17, December
33 (C) 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2010 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
34 (C) 2013, 2014, 2015 Werner Koch.
35 (C) 2015 g10 Code GmbH.
37 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this
38 document under the terms of the GNU General Public License as
39 published by the Free Software Foundation; either version 3 of the
40 License, or (at your option) any later version. The text of the
41 license can be found in the section entitled "Copying".
43 This manual documents how to use the GNU Privacy Guard system as well
44 as the administration and the architecture.
48 * Installation:: A short installation guide.
50 * Invoking GPG-AGENT:: How to launch the secret key daemon.
51 * Invoking DIRMNGR:: How to launch the CRL and OCSP daemon.
52 * Invoking GPG:: Using the OpenPGP protocol.
53 * Invoking GPGSM:: Using the S/MIME protocol.
54 * Invoking SCDAEMON:: How to handle Smartcards.
55 * Specify a User ID:: How to Specify a User Id.
57 * Helper Tools:: Description of small helper tools
59 * Howtos:: How to do certain things.
60 * System Notes:: Notes pertaining to certain OSes.
61 * Debugging:: How to solve problems
63 * Copying:: GNU General Public License says
64 how you can copy and share GnuPG
65 * Contributors:: People who have contributed to GnuPG.
67 * Glossary:: Short description of terms used.
68 * Option Index:: Index to command line options.
69 * Environment Index:: Index to environment variables and files.
70 * Index:: Index of concepts and symbol names.
73 File: gnupg.info, Node: Installation, Next: Invoking GPG-AGENT, Prev: Top, Up: Top
75 1 A short installation guide
76 ****************************
78 Unfortunately the installation guide has not been finished in time.
79 Instead of delaying the release of GnuPG 2.0 even further, I decided to
80 release without that guide. The chapter on gpg-agent and gpgsm do
81 include brief information on how to set up the whole thing. Please
82 watch the GnuPG website for updates of the documentation. In the
83 meantime you may search the GnuPG mailing list archives or ask on the
84 gnupg-users mailing list for advise on how to solve problems or how to
85 get that whole thing up and running.
87 ** Building the software
89 Building the software is described in the file 'INSTALL'. Given that
90 you are already reading this documentation we can only give some extra
93 To comply with the rules on GNU systems you should have build time
94 configured 'gnupg' using:
96 ./configure --sysconfdir=/etc --localstatedir=/var
98 This is to make sure that system wide configuration files are
99 searched in the directory '/etc' and variable data below '/var'; the
100 default would be to also install them below '/usr/local' where the
101 binaries get installed. If you selected to use the '--prefix=/' you
102 obviously don't need those option as they are the default then.
104 ** Notes on setting a root CA key to trusted
106 X.509 is based on a hierarchical key infrastructure. At the root of
107 the tree a trusted anchor (root certificate) is required. There are
108 usually no other means of verifying whether this root certificate is
109 trustworthy than looking it up in a list. GnuPG uses a file
110 ('trustlist.txt') to keep track of all root certificates it knows about.
111 There are 3 ways to get certificates into this list:
113 * Use the list which comes with GnuPG. However this list only
114 contains a few root certificates. Most installations will need
117 * Let 'gpgsm' ask you whether you want to insert a new root
118 certificate. This feature is enabled by default; you may disable
119 it using the option 'no-allow-mark-trusted' into 'gpg-agent.conf'.
121 * Manually maintain the list of trusted root certificates. For a
122 multi user installation this can be done once for all users on a
123 machine. Specific changes on a per-user base are also possible.
126 File: gnupg.info, Node: Invoking GPG-AGENT, Next: Invoking DIRMNGR, Prev: Installation, Up: Top
131 'gpg-agent' is a daemon to manage secret (private) keys independently
132 from any protocol. It is used as a backend for 'gpg' and 'gpgsm' as
133 well as for a couple of other utilities.
135 The agent is automatically started on demand by 'gpg', 'gpgsm',
136 'gpgconf', or 'gpg-connect-agent'. Thus there is no reason to start it
137 manually. In case you want to use the included Secure Shell Agent you
138 may start the agent using:
140 gpg-connect-agent /bye
142 If you want to manually terminate the currently-running agent, you can
145 gpgconf --kill gpg-agent
147 You should always add the following lines to your '.bashrc' or whatever
148 initialization file is used for all shell invocations:
153 It is important that this environment variable always reflects the
154 output of the 'tty' command. For W32 systems this option is not
157 Please make sure that a proper pinentry program has been installed
158 under the default filename (which is system dependent) or use the option
159 'pinentry-program' to specify the full name of that program. It is
160 often useful to install a symbolic link from the actual used pinentry
161 (e.g. '/usr/local/bin/pinentry-gtk') to the expected one (e.g.
162 '/usr/local/bin/pinentry').
164 *Note Option Index::, for an index to 'GPG-AGENT''s commands and
169 * Agent Commands:: List of all commands.
170 * Agent Options:: List of all options.
171 * Agent Configuration:: Configuration files.
172 * Agent Signals:: Use of some signals.
173 * Agent Examples:: Some usage examples.
174 * Agent Protocol:: The protocol the agent uses.
177 File: gnupg.info, Node: Agent Commands, Next: Agent Options, Up: Invoking GPG-AGENT
182 Commands are not distinguished from options except for the fact that
183 only one command is allowed.
186 Print the program version and licensing information. Note that you
187 cannot abbreviate this command.
191 Print a usage message summarizing the most useful command-line
192 options. Note that you cannot abbreviate this command.
195 Print a list of all available options and commands. Note that you
196 cannot abbreviate this command.
199 Run in server mode and wait for commands on the 'stdin'. The
200 default mode is to create a socket and listen for commands there.
202 '--daemon [COMMAND LINE]'
203 Start the gpg-agent as a daemon; that is, detach it from the
204 console and run it in the background.
206 As an alternative you may create a new process as a child of
207 gpg-agent: 'gpg-agent --daemon /bin/sh'. This way you get a new
208 shell with the environment setup properly; after you exit from this
209 shell, gpg-agent terminates within a few seconds.
212 Run in the foreground, sending logs by default to stderr, and
213 listening on provided file descriptors, which must already be bound
214 to listening sockets. This command is useful when running under
215 systemd or other similar process supervision schemes. This option
216 is not supported on Windows.
218 In -supervised mode, different file descriptors can be provided for
219 use as different socket types (e.g. ssh, extra) as long as they
220 are identified in the environment variable 'LISTEN_FDNAMES' (see
221 sd_listen_fds(3) on some Linux distributions for more information
225 File: gnupg.info, Node: Agent Options, Next: Agent Configuration, Prev: Agent Commands, Up: Invoking GPG-AGENT
231 Reads configuration from FILE instead of from the default per-user
232 configuration file. The default configuration file is named
233 'gpg-agent.conf' and expected in the '.gnupg' directory directly
234 below the home directory of the user.
237 Set the name of the home directory to DIR. If this option is not
238 used, the home directory defaults to '~/.gnupg'. It is only
239 recognized when given on the command line. It also overrides any
240 home directory stated through the environment variable 'GNUPGHOME'
241 or (on Windows systems) by means of the Registry entry
242 HKCU\SOFTWARE\GNU\GNUPG:HOMEDIR.
244 On Windows systems it is possible to install GnuPG as a portable
245 application. In this case only this command line option is
246 considered, all other ways to set a home directory are ignored.
248 To install GnuPG as a portable application under Windows, create an
249 empty file named 'gpgconf.ctl' in the same directory as the tool
250 'gpgconf.exe'. The root of the installation is then that
251 directory; or, if 'gpgconf.exe' has been installed directly below a
252 directory named 'bin', its parent directory. You also need to make
253 sure that the following directories exist and are writable:
254 'ROOT/home' for the GnuPG home and 'ROOT/usr/local/var/cache/gnupg'
255 for internal cache files.
259 Outputs additional information while running. You can increase the
260 verbosity by giving several verbose commands to 'gpgsm', such as
265 Try to be as quiet as possible.
268 Don't invoke a pinentry or do any other thing requiring human
271 '--faked-system-time EPOCH'
272 This option is only useful for testing; it sets the system time
273 back or forth to EPOCH which is the number of seconds elapsed since
276 '--debug-level LEVEL'
277 Select the debug level for investigating problems. LEVEL may be a
278 numeric value or a keyword:
281 No debugging at all. A value of less than 1 may be used
282 instead of the keyword.
284 Some basic debug messages. A value between 1 and 2 may be
285 used instead of the keyword.
287 More verbose debug messages. A value between 3 and 5 may be
288 used instead of the keyword.
290 Even more detailed messages. A value between 6 and 8 may be
291 used instead of the keyword.
293 All of the debug messages you can get. A value greater than 8
294 may be used instead of the keyword. The creation of hash
295 tracing files is only enabled if the keyword is used.
297 How these messages are mapped to the actual debugging flags is not
298 specified and may change with newer releases of this program. They
299 are however carefully selected to best aid in debugging.
302 This option is only useful for debugging and the behavior may
303 change at any time without notice. FLAGS are bit encoded and may
304 be given in usual C-Syntax. The currently defined bits are:
307 X.509 or OpenPGP protocol related data
309 values of big number integers
311 low level crypto operations
317 show memory statistics
319 write hashed data to files named 'dbgmd-000*'
321 trace Assuan protocol
323 bypass all certificate validation
326 Same as '--debug=0xffffffff'
329 When running in server mode, wait N seconds before entering the
330 actual processing loop and print the pid. This gives time to
333 '--debug-quick-random'
334 This option inhibits the use of the very secure random quality
335 level (Libgcrypt’s 'GCRY_VERY_STRONG_RANDOM') and degrades all
336 request down to standard random quality. It is only used for
337 testing and should not be used for any production quality keys.
338 This option is only effective when given on the command line.
340 On GNU/Linux, another way to quickly generate insecure keys is to
341 use 'rngd' to fill the kernel's entropy pool with lower quality
342 random data. 'rngd' is typically provided by the 'rng-tools'
343 package. It can be run as follows: 'sudo rngd -f -r /dev/urandom'.
346 This option enables extra debug information pertaining to the
347 Pinentry. As of now it is only useful when used along with
351 Don't detach the process from the console. This is mainly useful
358 Format the info output in daemon mode for use with the standard
359 Bourne shell or the C-shell respectively. The default is to guess
360 it based on the environment variable 'SHELL' which is correct in
364 Tell the pinentry not to grab the keyboard and mouse. This option
365 should in general not be used to avoid X-sniffing attacks.
368 Append all logging output to FILE. This is very helpful in seeing
369 what the agent actually does. Use 'socket://' to log to socket.
370 If neither a log file nor a log file descriptor has been set on a
371 Windows platform, the Registry entry
372 'HKCU\Software\GNU\GnuPG:DefaultLogFile', if set, is used to
373 specify the logging output.
375 '--no-allow-mark-trusted'
376 Do not allow clients to mark keys as trusted, i.e. put them into
377 the 'trustlist.txt' file. This makes it harder for users to
378 inadvertently accept Root-CA keys.
380 '--allow-preset-passphrase'
381 This option allows the use of 'gpg-preset-passphrase' to seed the
382 internal cache of 'gpg-agent' with passphrases.
384 '--no-allow-loopback-pinentry'
385 '--allow-loopback-pinentry'
386 Disallow or allow clients to use the loopback pinentry features;
387 see the option 'pinentry-mode' for details. Allow is the default.
389 The '--force' option of the Assuan command 'DELETE_KEY' is also
390 controlled by this option: The option is ignored if a loopback
391 pinentry is disallowed.
393 '--no-allow-external-cache'
394 Tell Pinentry not to enable features which use an external cache
397 Some desktop environments prefer to unlock all credentials with one
398 master password and may have installed a Pinentry which employs an
399 additional external cache to implement such a policy. By using
400 this option the Pinentry is advised not to make use of such a cache
401 and instead always ask the user for the requested passphrase.
403 '--allow-emacs-pinentry'
404 Tell Pinentry to allow features to divert the passphrase entry to a
405 running Emacs instance. How this is exactly handled depends on the
406 version of the used Pinentry.
408 '--ignore-cache-for-signing'
409 This option will let 'gpg-agent' bypass the passphrase cache for
410 all signing operation. Note that there is also a per-session
411 option to control this behavior but this command line option takes
414 '--default-cache-ttl N'
415 Set the time a cache entry is valid to N seconds. The default is
416 600 seconds. Each time a cache entry is accessed, the entry's
417 timer is reset. To set an entry's maximum lifetime, use
420 '--default-cache-ttl-ssh N'
421 Set the time a cache entry used for SSH keys is valid to N seconds.
422 The default is 1800 seconds. Each time a cache entry is accessed,
423 the entry's timer is reset. To set an entry's maximum lifetime,
424 use 'max-cache-ttl-ssh'.
427 Set the maximum time a cache entry is valid to N seconds. After
428 this time a cache entry will be expired even if it has been
429 accessed recently or has been set using 'gpg-preset-passphrase'.
430 The default is 2 hours (7200 seconds).
432 '--max-cache-ttl-ssh N'
433 Set the maximum time a cache entry used for SSH keys is valid to N
434 seconds. After this time a cache entry will be expired even if it
435 has been accessed recently or has been set using
436 'gpg-preset-passphrase'. The default is 2 hours (7200 seconds).
438 '--enforce-passphrase-constraints'
439 Enforce the passphrase constraints by not allowing the user to
440 bypass them using the "Take it anyway" button.
442 '--min-passphrase-len N'
443 Set the minimal length of a passphrase. When entering a new
444 passphrase shorter than this value a warning will be displayed.
447 '--min-passphrase-nonalpha N'
448 Set the minimal number of digits or special characters required in
449 a passphrase. When entering a new passphrase with less than this
450 number of digits or special characters a warning will be displayed.
453 '--check-passphrase-pattern FILE'
454 Check the passphrase against the pattern given in FILE. When
455 entering a new passphrase matching one of these pattern a warning
456 will be displayed. FILE should be an absolute filename. The
457 default is not to use any pattern file.
459 Security note: It is known that checking a passphrase against a
460 list of pattern or even against a complete dictionary is not very
461 effective to enforce good passphrases. Users will soon figure up
462 ways to bypass such a policy. A better policy is to educate users
463 on good security behavior and optionally to run a passphrase
464 cracker regularly on all users passphrases to catch the very simple
467 '--max-passphrase-days N'
468 Ask the user to change the passphrase if N days have passed since
469 the last change. With '--enforce-passphrase-constraints' set the
470 user may not bypass this check.
472 '--enable-passphrase-history'
473 This option does nothing yet.
475 '--pinentry-invisible-char CHAR'
476 This option asks the Pinentry to use CHAR for displaying hidden
477 characters. CHAR must be one character UTF-8 string. A Pinentry
478 may or may not honor this request.
480 '--pinentry-timeout N'
481 This option asks the Pinentry to timeout after N seconds with no
482 user input. The default value of 0 does not ask the pinentry to
483 timeout, however a Pinentry may use its own default timeout value
484 in this case. A Pinentry may or may not honor this request.
486 '--pinentry-program FILENAME'
487 Use program FILENAME as the PIN entry. The default is installation
488 dependent. With the default configuration the name of the default
489 pinentry is 'pinentry'; if that file does not exist but a
490 'pinentry-basic' exist the latter is used.
492 On a Windows platform the default is to use the first existing
493 program from this list: 'bin\pinentry.exe',
494 '..\Gpg4win\bin\pinentry.exe', '..\Gpg4win\pinentry.exe',
495 '..\GNU\GnuPG\pinentry.exe', '..\GNU\bin\pinentry.exe',
496 'bin\pinentry-basic.exe' where the file names are relative to the
497 GnuPG installation directory.
499 '--pinentry-touch-file FILENAME'
500 By default the filename of the socket gpg-agent is listening for
501 requests is passed to Pinentry, so that it can touch that file
502 before exiting (it does this only in curses mode). This option
503 changes the file passed to Pinentry to FILENAME. The special name
504 '/dev/null' may be used to completely disable this feature. Note
505 that Pinentry will not create that file, it will only change the
506 modification and access time.
508 '--scdaemon-program FILENAME'
509 Use program FILENAME as the Smartcard daemon. The default is
510 installation dependent and can be shown with the 'gpgconf' command.
513 Do not make use of the scdaemon tool. This option has the effect
514 of disabling the ability to do smartcard operations. Note, that
515 enabling this option at runtime does not kill an already forked
518 '--disable-check-own-socket'
519 'gpg-agent' employs a periodic self-test to detect a stolen socket.
520 This usually means a second instance of 'gpg-agent' has taken over
521 the socket and 'gpg-agent' will then terminate itself. This option
522 may be used to disable this self-test for debugging purposes.
524 '--use-standard-socket'
525 '--no-use-standard-socket'
526 '--use-standard-socket-p'
527 Since GnuPG 2.1 the standard socket is always used. These options
528 have no more effect. The command 'gpg-agent
529 --use-standard-socket-p' will thus always return success.
535 '--lc-messages STRING'
536 '--xauthority STRING'
537 These options are used with the server mode to pass localization
542 Ignore requests to change the current 'tty' or X window system's
543 'DISPLAY' variable respectively. This is useful to lock the
544 pinentry to pop up at the 'tty' or display you started the agent.
546 '--extra-socket NAME'
547 The extra socket is created by default, you may use this option to
548 change the name of the socket. To disable the creation of the
549 socket use "none" or "/dev/null" for NAME.
551 Also listen on native gpg-agent connections on the given socket.
552 The intended use for this extra socket is to setup a Unix domain
553 socket forwarding from a remote machine to this socket on the local
554 machine. A 'gpg' running on the remote machine may then connect to
555 the local gpg-agent and use its private keys. This enables
556 decrypting or signing data on a remote machine without exposing the
557 private keys to the remote machine.
559 '--enable-ssh-support'
560 '--enable-putty-support'
562 The OpenSSH Agent protocol is always enabled, but 'gpg-agent' will
563 only set the 'SSH_AUTH_SOCK' variable if this flag is given.
565 In this mode of operation, the agent does not only implement the
566 gpg-agent protocol, but also the agent protocol used by OpenSSH
567 (through a separate socket). Consequently, it should be possible
568 to use the gpg-agent as a drop-in replacement for the well known
571 SSH Keys, which are to be used through the agent, need to be added
572 to the gpg-agent initially through the ssh-add utility. When a key
573 is added, ssh-add will ask for the password of the provided key
574 file and send the unprotected key material to the agent; this
575 causes the gpg-agent to ask for a passphrase, which is to be used
576 for encrypting the newly received key and storing it in a gpg-agent
579 Once a key has been added to the gpg-agent this way, the gpg-agent
580 will be ready to use the key.
582 Note: in case the gpg-agent receives a signature request, the user
583 might need to be prompted for a passphrase, which is necessary for
584 decrypting the stored key. Since the ssh-agent protocol does not
585 contain a mechanism for telling the agent on which display/terminal
586 it is running, gpg-agent's ssh-support will use the TTY or X
587 display where gpg-agent has been started. To switch this display
588 to the current one, the following command may be used:
590 gpg-connect-agent updatestartuptty /bye
592 Although all GnuPG components try to start the gpg-agent as needed,
593 this is not possible for the ssh support because ssh does not know
594 about it. Thus if no GnuPG tool which accesses the agent has been
595 run, there is no guarantee that ssh is able to use gpg-agent for
596 authentication. To fix this you may start gpg-agent if needed
597 using this simple command:
599 gpg-connect-agent /bye
601 Adding the '--verbose' shows the progress of starting the agent.
603 The '--enable-putty-support' is only available under Windows and
604 allows the use of gpg-agent with the ssh implementation 'putty'.
605 This is similar to the regular ssh-agent support but makes use of
606 Windows message queue as required by 'putty'.
608 All the long options may also be given in the configuration file
609 after stripping off the two leading dashes.
612 File: gnupg.info, Node: Agent Configuration, Next: Agent Signals, Prev: Agent Options, Up: Invoking GPG-AGENT
617 There are a few configuration files needed for the operation of the
618 agent. By default they may all be found in the current home directory
619 (*note option --homedir::).
622 This is the standard configuration file read by 'gpg-agent' on
623 startup. It may contain any valid long option; the leading two
624 dashes may not be entered and the option may not be abbreviated.
625 This file is also read after a 'SIGHUP' however only a few options
626 will actually have an effect. This default name may be changed on
627 the command line (*note option --options::). You should backup
631 This is the list of trusted keys. You should backup this file.
633 Comment lines, indicated by a leading hash mark, as well as empty
634 lines are ignored. To mark a key as trusted you need to enter its
635 fingerprint followed by a space and a capital letter 'S'. Colons
636 may optionally be used to separate the bytes of a fingerprint; this
637 enables cutting and pasting the fingerprint from a key listing
638 output. If the line is prefixed with a '!' the key is explicitly
639 marked as not trusted.
641 Here is an example where two keys are marked as ultimately trusted
642 and one as not trusted:
644 # CN=Wurzel ZS 3,O=Intevation GmbH,C=DE
645 A6935DD34EF3087973C706FC311AA2CCF733765B S
647 # CN=PCA-1-Verwaltung-02/O=PKI-1-Verwaltung/C=DE
648 DC:BD:69:25:48:BD:BB:7E:31:6E:BB:80:D3:00:80:35:D4:F8:A6:CD S
650 # CN=Root-CA/O=Schlapphuete/L=Pullach/C=DE
651 !14:56:98:D3:FE:9C:CA:5A:31:6E:BC:81:D3:11:4E:00:90:A3:44:C2 S
654 Before entering a key into this file, you need to ensure its
655 authenticity. How to do this depends on your organisation; your
656 administrator might have already entered those keys which are
657 deemed trustworthy enough into this file. Places where to look for
658 the fingerprint of a root certificate are letters received from the
659 CA or the website of the CA (after making 100% sure that this is
660 indeed the website of that CA). You may want to consider
661 disallowing interactive updates of this file by using the *note
662 option --no-allow-mark-trusted::. It might even be advisable to
663 change the permissions to read-only so that this file can't be
664 changed inadvertently.
666 As a special feature a line 'include-default' will include a global
667 list of trusted certificates (e.g. '/etc/gnupg/trustlist.txt').
668 This global list is also used if the local list is not available.
670 It is possible to add further flags after the 'S' for use by the
674 Relax checking of some root certificate requirements. As of
675 now this flag allows the use of root certificates with a
676 missing basicConstraints attribute (despite that it is a MUST
677 for CA certificates) and disables CRL checking for the root
681 If validation of a certificate finally issued by a CA with
682 this flag set fails, try again using the chain validation
686 This file is used when support for the secure shell agent protocol
687 has been enabled (*note option --enable-ssh-support::). Only keys
688 present in this file are used in the SSH protocol. You should
691 The 'ssh-add' tool may be used to add new entries to this file; you
692 may also add them manually. Comment lines, indicated by a leading
693 hash mark, as well as empty lines are ignored. An entry starts
694 with optional whitespace, followed by the keygrip of the key given
695 as 40 hex digits, optionally followed by the caching TTL in seconds
696 and another optional field for arbitrary flags. A non-zero TTL
697 overrides the global default as set by '--default-cache-ttl-ssh'.
699 The only flag support is 'confirm'. If this flag is found for a
700 key, each use of the key will pop up a pinentry to confirm the use
701 of that key. The flag is automatically set if a new key was loaded
702 into 'gpg-agent' using the option '-c' of the 'ssh-add' command.
704 The keygrip may be prefixed with a '!' to disable an entry.
706 The following example lists exactly one key. Note that keys
707 available through a OpenPGP smartcard in the active smartcard
708 reader are implicitly added to this list; i.e. there is no need to
711 # Key added on: 2011-07-20 20:38:46
712 # Fingerprint: 5e:8d:c4:ad:e7:af:6e:27:8a:d6:13:e4:79:ad:0b:81
713 34B62F25E277CF13D3C6BCEBFD3F85D08F0A864B 0 confirm
717 This is the directory where gpg-agent stores the private keys.
718 Each key is stored in a file with the name made up of the keygrip
719 and the suffix 'key'. You should backup all files in this
720 directory and take great care to keep this backup closed away.
722 Note that on larger installations, it is useful to put predefined
723 files into the directory '/etc/skel/.gnupg' so that newly created users
724 start up with a working configuration. For existing users the a small
725 helper script is provided to create these files (*note addgnupghome::).
728 File: gnupg.info, Node: Agent Signals, Next: Agent Examples, Prev: Agent Configuration, Up: Invoking GPG-AGENT
730 2.4 Use of some signals
731 =======================
733 A running 'gpg-agent' may be controlled by signals, i.e. using the
734 'kill' command to send a signal to the process.
736 Here is a list of supported signals:
739 This signal flushes all cached passphrases and if the program has
740 been started with a configuration file, the configuration file is
741 read again. Only certain options are honored: 'quiet', 'verbose',
742 'debug', 'debug-all', 'debug-level', 'debug-pinentry', 'no-grab',
743 'pinentry-program', 'pinentry-invisible-char', 'default-cache-ttl',
744 'max-cache-ttl', 'ignore-cache-for-signing',
745 'no-allow-external-cache', 'allow-emacs-pinentry',
746 'no-allow-mark-trusted', 'disable-scdaemon', and
747 'disable-check-own-socket'. 'scdaemon-program' is also supported
748 but due to the current implementation, which calls the scdaemon
749 only once, it is not of much use unless you manually kill the
753 Shuts down the process but waits until all current requests are
754 fulfilled. If the process has received 3 of these signals and
755 requests are still pending, a shutdown is forced.
758 Shuts down the process immediately.
761 Dump internal information to the log file.
764 This signal is used for internal purposes.
767 File: gnupg.info, Node: Agent Examples, Next: Agent Protocol, Prev: Agent Signals, Up: Invoking GPG-AGENT
772 It is important to set the environment variable 'GPG_TTY' in your login
773 shell, for example in the '~/.bashrc' init script:
775 export GPG_TTY=$(tty)
777 If you enabled the Ssh Agent Support, you also need to tell ssh about
778 it by adding this to your init script:
781 if [ "${gnupg_SSH_AUTH_SOCK_by:-0}" -ne $$ ]; then
782 export SSH_AUTH_SOCK="$(gpgconf --list-dirs agent-ssh-socket)"
786 File: gnupg.info, Node: Agent Protocol, Prev: Agent Examples, Up: Invoking GPG-AGENT
788 2.6 Agent's Assuan Protocol
789 ===========================
791 Note: this section does only document the protocol, which is used by
792 GnuPG components; it does not deal with the ssh-agent protocol. To see
793 the full specification of each command, use
795 gpg-connect-agent 'help COMMAND' /bye
797 or just 'help' to list all available commands.
799 The 'gpg-agent' daemon is started on demand by the GnuPG components.
801 To identify a key we use a thing called keygrip which is the SHA-1
802 hash of an canonical encoded S-Expression of the public key as used in
803 Libgcrypt. For the purpose of this interface the keygrip is given as a
804 hex string. The advantage of using this and not the hash of a
805 certificate is that it will be possible to use the same keypair for
806 different protocols, thereby saving space on the token used to keep the
809 The 'gpg-agent' may send status messages during a command or when
810 returning from a command to inform a client about the progress or result
811 of an operation. For example, the INQUIRE_MAXLEN status message may be
812 sent during a server inquire to inform the client of the maximum usable
813 length of the inquired data (which should not be exceeded).
817 * Agent PKDECRYPT:: Decrypting a session key
818 * Agent PKSIGN:: Signing a Hash
819 * Agent GENKEY:: Generating a Key
820 * Agent IMPORT:: Importing a Secret Key
821 * Agent EXPORT:: Exporting a Secret Key
822 * Agent ISTRUSTED:: Importing a Root Certificate
823 * Agent GET_PASSPHRASE:: Ask for a passphrase
824 * Agent CLEAR_PASSPHRASE:: Expire a cached passphrase
825 * Agent PRESET_PASSPHRASE:: Set a passphrase for a keygrip
826 * Agent GET_CONFIRMATION:: Ask for confirmation
827 * Agent HAVEKEY:: Check whether a key is available
828 * Agent LEARN:: Register a smartcard
829 * Agent PASSWD:: Change a Passphrase
830 * Agent UPDATESTARTUPTTY:: Change the Standard Display
831 * Agent GETEVENTCOUNTER:: Get the Event Counters
832 * Agent GETINFO:: Return information about the process
833 * Agent OPTION:: Set options for the session
836 File: gnupg.info, Node: Agent PKDECRYPT, Next: Agent PKSIGN, Up: Agent Protocol
838 2.6.1 Decrypting a session key
839 ------------------------------
841 The client asks the server to decrypt a session key. The encrypted
842 session key should have all information needed to select the appropriate
843 secret key or to delegate it to a smartcard.
847 Tell the server about the key to be used for decryption. If this is
848 not used, 'gpg-agent' may try to figure out the key by trying to decrypt
849 the message with each key available.
853 The agent checks whether this command is allowed and then does an
854 INQUIRY to get the ciphertext the client should then send the cipher
857 S: INQUIRE CIPHERTEXT
862 Please note that the server may send status info lines while reading
863 the data lines from the client. The data send is a SPKI like S-Exp with
868 (<param_name1> <mpi>)
870 (<param_namen> <mpi>)))
872 Where algo is a string with the name of the algorithm; see the
873 libgcrypt documentation for a list of valid algorithms. The number and
874 names of the parameters depend on the algorithm. The agent does return
875 an error if there is an inconsistency.
877 If the decryption was successful the decrypted data is returned by
880 Here is an example session:
882 S: INQUIRE CIPHERTEXT
883 C: D (enc-val elg (a 349324324)
884 C: D (b 3F444677CA)))
886 S: # session key follows
888 S: D (value 1234567890ABCDEF0)
889 S: OK decryption successful
891 The “PADDING” status line is only send if gpg-agent can tell what
892 kind of padding is used. As of now only the value 0 is used to indicate
893 that the padding has been removed.
896 File: gnupg.info, Node: Agent PKSIGN, Next: Agent GENKEY, Prev: Agent PKDECRYPT, Up: Agent Protocol
901 The client asks the agent to sign a given hash value. A default key
902 will be chosen if no key has been set. To set a key a client first
907 This can be used multiple times to create multiple signature, the
908 list of keys is reset with the next PKSIGN command or a RESET. The
909 server tests whether the key is a valid key to sign something and
912 SETHASH --hash=<name>|<algo> <hexstring>
914 The client can use this command to tell the server about the data
915 <hexstring> (which usually is a hash) to be signed. <algo> is the
916 decimal encoded hash algorithm number as used by Libgcrypt. Either
917 <algo> or -hash=<name> must be given. Valid names for <name> are:
920 The SHA-1 hash algorithm
922 The SHA-256 hash algorithm
924 The RIPE-MD160 hash algorithm
926 The old and broken MD5 hash algorithm
928 A combined hash algorithm as used by the TLS protocol.
930 The actual signing is done using
934 Options are not yet defined, but may later be used to choose among
935 different algorithms. The agent does then some checks, asks for the
936 passphrase and as a result the server returns the signature as an SPKI
937 like S-expression in "D" lines:
941 (<param_name1> <mpi>)
943 (<param_namen> <mpi>)))
945 The operation is affected by the option
947 OPTION use-cache-for-signing=0|1
949 The default of '1' uses the cache. Setting this option to '0' will
950 lead 'gpg-agent' to ignore the passphrase cache. Note, that there is
951 also a global command line option for 'gpg-agent' to globally disable
954 Here is an example session:
960 S: # I did ask the user whether he really wants to sign
961 S: # I did ask the user for the passphrase
963 C: D ABCDEF012345678901234
965 S: # signature follows
966 S: D (sig-val rsa (s 45435453654612121212))
970 File: gnupg.info, Node: Agent GENKEY, Next: Agent IMPORT, Prev: Agent PKSIGN, Up: Agent Protocol
972 2.6.3 Generating a Key
973 ----------------------
975 This is used to create a new keypair and store the secret key inside the
976 active PSE -- which is in most cases a Soft-PSE. A not-yet-defined
977 option allows choosing the storage location. To get the secret key out
978 of the PSE, a special export tool has to be used.
980 GENKEY [--no-protection] [--preset] [<cache_nonce>]
982 Invokes the key generation process and the server will then inquire
983 on the generation parameters, like:
986 C: D (genkey (rsa (nbits 1024)))
989 The format of the key parameters which depends on the algorithm is of
994 (parameter_name_1 ....)
996 (parameter_name_n ....)))
998 If everything succeeds, the server returns the *public key* in a SPKI
999 like S-Expression like this:
1006 Here is an example session:
1009 C: D (genkey (rsa (nbits 1024)))
1012 S: D (rsa (n 326487324683264) (e 10001)))
1015 The '--no-protection' option may be used to prevent prompting for a
1016 passphrase to protect the secret key while leaving the secret key
1017 unprotected. The '--preset' option may be used to add the passphrase to
1018 the cache using the default cache parameters.
1020 The '--inq-passwd' option may be used to create the key with a
1021 supplied passphrase. When used the agent does an inquiry with the
1022 keyword 'NEWPASSWD' to retrieve that passphrase. This option takes
1023 precedence over '--no-protection'; however if the client sends a empty
1024 (zero-length) passphrase, this is identical to '--no-protection'.
1027 File: gnupg.info, Node: Agent IMPORT, Next: Agent EXPORT, Prev: Agent GENKEY, Up: Agent Protocol
1029 2.6.4 Importing a Secret Key
1030 ----------------------------
1032 This operation is not yet supported by GpgAgent. Specialized tools are
1033 to be used for this.
1035 There is no actual need because we can expect that secret keys
1036 created by a 3rd party are stored on a smartcard. If we have generated
1037 the key ourselves, we do not need to import it.
1040 File: gnupg.info, Node: Agent EXPORT, Next: Agent ISTRUSTED, Prev: Agent IMPORT, Up: Agent Protocol
1042 2.6.5 Export a Secret Key
1043 -------------------------
1047 Should be done by an extra tool.
1050 File: gnupg.info, Node: Agent ISTRUSTED, Next: Agent GET_PASSPHRASE, Prev: Agent EXPORT, Up: Agent Protocol
1052 2.6.6 Importing a Root Certificate
1053 ----------------------------------
1055 Actually we do not import a Root Cert but provide a way to validate any
1056 piece of data by storing its Hash along with a description and an
1057 identifier in the PSE. Here is the interface description:
1059 ISTRUSTED <fingerprint>
1061 Check whether the OpenPGP primary key or the X.509 certificate with
1062 the given fingerprint is an ultimately trusted key or a trusted Root CA
1063 certificate. The fingerprint should be given as a hexstring (without
1064 any blanks or colons or whatever in between) and may be left padded with
1065 00 in case of an MD5 fingerprint. GPGAgent will answer with:
1069 The key is in the table of trusted keys.
1071 ERR 304 (Not Trusted)
1073 The key is not in this table.
1075 Gpg needs the entire list of trusted keys to maintain the web of
1076 trust; the following command is therefore quite helpful:
1080 GpgAgent returns a list of trusted keys line by line:
1082 S: D 000000001234454556565656677878AF2F1ECCFF P
1083 S: D 340387563485634856435645634856438576457A P
1084 S: D FEDC6532453745367FD83474357495743757435D S
1087 The first item on a line is the hexified fingerprint where MD5
1088 fingerprints are '00' padded to the left and the second item is a flag
1089 to indicate the type of key (so that gpg is able to only take care of
1090 PGP keys). P = OpenPGP, S = S/MIME. A client should ignore the rest of
1091 the line, so that we can extend the format in the future.
1093 Finally a client should be able to mark a key as trusted:
1095 MARKTRUSTED FINGERPRINT "P"|"S"
1097 The server will then pop up a window to ask the user whether she
1098 really trusts this key. For this it will probably ask for a text to be
1099 displayed like this:
1101 S: INQUIRE TRUSTDESC
1102 C: D Do you trust the key with the fingerprint @FPR@
1103 C: D bla fasel blurb.
1107 Known sequences with the pattern @foo@ are replaced according to this
1111 Format the fingerprint according to gpg rules for a v3 keys.
1113 Format the fingerprint according to gpg rules for a v4 keys.
1115 Choose an appropriate format to format the fingerprint.
1117 Replaced by a single '@'.
1120 File: gnupg.info, Node: Agent GET_PASSPHRASE, Next: Agent CLEAR_PASSPHRASE, Prev: Agent ISTRUSTED, Up: Agent Protocol
1122 2.6.7 Ask for a passphrase
1123 --------------------------
1125 This function is usually used to ask for a passphrase to be used for
1126 symmetric encryption, but may also be used by programs which need
1127 special handling of passphrases. This command uses a syntax which helps
1128 clients to use the agent with minimum effort.
1130 GET_PASSPHRASE [--data] [--check] [--no-ask] [--repeat[=N]] \
1131 [--qualitybar] CACHE_ID \
1132 [ERROR_MESSAGE PROMPT DESCRIPTION]
1134 CACHE_ID is expected to be a string used to identify a cached
1135 passphrase. Use a 'X' to bypass the cache. With no other arguments the
1136 agent returns a cached passphrase or an error. By convention either the
1137 hexified fingerprint of the key shall be used for CACHE_ID or an
1138 arbitrary string prefixed with the name of the calling application and a
1139 colon: Like 'gpg:somestring'.
1141 ERROR_MESSAGE is either a single 'X' for no error message or a string
1142 to be shown as an error message like (e.g. "invalid passphrase").
1143 Blanks must be percent escaped or replaced by '+''.
1145 PROMPT is either a single 'X' for a default prompt or the text to be
1146 shown as the prompt. Blanks must be percent escaped or replaced by '+'.
1148 DESCRIPTION is a text shown above the entry field. Blanks must be
1149 percent escaped or replaced by '+'.
1151 The agent either returns with an error or with a OK followed by the
1152 hex encoded passphrase. Note that the length of the strings is
1153 implicitly limited by the maximum length of a command. If the option
1154 '--data' is used, the passphrase is not returned on the OK line but by
1155 regular data lines; this is the preferred method.
1157 If the option '--check' is used, the standard passphrase constraints
1158 checks are applied. A check is not done if the passphrase has been
1161 If the option '--no-ask' is used and the passphrase is not in the
1162 cache the user will not be asked to enter a passphrase but the error
1163 code 'GPG_ERR_NO_DATA' is returned.
1165 If the option '--qualitybar' is used and a minimum passphrase length
1166 has been configured, a visual indication of the entered passphrase
1169 CLEAR_PASSPHRASE CACHE_ID
1171 may be used to invalidate the cache entry for a passphrase. The
1172 function returns with OK even when there is no cached passphrase.
1175 File: gnupg.info, Node: Agent CLEAR_PASSPHRASE, Next: Agent PRESET_PASSPHRASE, Prev: Agent GET_PASSPHRASE, Up: Agent Protocol
1177 2.6.8 Remove a cached passphrase
1178 --------------------------------
1180 Use this command to remove a cached passphrase.
1182 CLEAR_PASSPHRASE [--mode=normal] <cache_id>
1184 The '--mode=normal' option can be used to clear a CACHE_ID that was
1188 File: gnupg.info, Node: Agent PRESET_PASSPHRASE, Next: Agent GET_CONFIRMATION, Prev: Agent CLEAR_PASSPHRASE, Up: Agent Protocol
1190 2.6.9 Set a passphrase for a keygrip
1191 ------------------------------------
1193 This command adds a passphrase to the cache for the specified KEYGRIP.
1195 PRESET_PASSPHRASE [--inquire] <string_or_keygrip> <timeout> [<hexstring>]
1197 The passphrase is a hexidecimal string when specified. When not
1198 specified, the passphrase will be retrieved from the pinentry module
1199 unless the '--inquire' option was specified in which case the passphrase
1200 will be retrieved from the client.
1202 The TIMEOUT parameter keeps the passphrase cached for the specified
1203 number of seconds. A value of '-1' means infinite while '0' means the
1204 default (currently only a timeout of -1 is allowed, which means to never
1208 File: gnupg.info, Node: Agent GET_CONFIRMATION, Next: Agent HAVEKEY, Prev: Agent PRESET_PASSPHRASE, Up: Agent Protocol
1210 2.6.10 Ask for confirmation
1211 ---------------------------
1213 This command may be used to ask for a simple confirmation by presenting
1214 a text and 2 buttons: Okay and Cancel.
1216 GET_CONFIRMATION DESCRIPTION
1218 DESCRIPTIONis displayed along with a Okay and Cancel button. Blanks
1219 must be percent escaped or replaced by '+'. A 'X' may be used to
1220 display confirmation dialog with a default text.
1222 The agent either returns with an error or with a OK. Note, that the
1223 length of DESCRIPTION is implicitly limited by the maximum length of a
1227 File: gnupg.info, Node: Agent HAVEKEY, Next: Agent LEARN, Prev: Agent GET_CONFIRMATION, Up: Agent Protocol
1229 2.6.11 Check whether a key is available
1230 ---------------------------------------
1232 This can be used to see whether a secret key is available. It does not
1233 return any information on whether the key is somehow protected.
1237 The agent answers either with OK or 'No_Secret_Key' (208). The
1238 caller may want to check for other error codes as well. More than one
1239 keygrip may be given. In this case the command returns success if at
1240 least one of the keygrips corresponds to an available secret key.
1243 File: gnupg.info, Node: Agent LEARN, Next: Agent PASSWD, Prev: Agent HAVEKEY, Up: Agent Protocol
1245 2.6.12 Register a smartcard
1246 ---------------------------
1250 This command is used to register a smartcard. With the '--send'
1251 option given the certificates are sent back.
1254 File: gnupg.info, Node: Agent PASSWD, Next: Agent UPDATESTARTUPTTY, Prev: Agent LEARN, Up: Agent Protocol
1256 2.6.13 Change a Passphrase
1257 --------------------------
1259 PASSWD [--cache-nonce=<c>] [--passwd-nonce=<s>] [--preset] KEYGRIP
1261 This command is used to interactively change the passphrase of the
1262 key identified by the hex string KEYGRIP. The '--preset' option may be
1263 used to add the new passphrase to the cache using the default cache
1267 File: gnupg.info, Node: Agent UPDATESTARTUPTTY, Next: Agent GETEVENTCOUNTER, Prev: Agent PASSWD, Up: Agent Protocol
1269 2.6.14 Change the standard display
1270 ----------------------------------
1274 Set the startup TTY and X-DISPLAY variables to the values of this
1275 session. This command is useful to direct future pinentry invocations
1276 to another screen. It is only required because there is no way in the
1277 ssh-agent protocol to convey this information.
1280 File: gnupg.info, Node: Agent GETEVENTCOUNTER, Next: Agent GETINFO, Prev: Agent UPDATESTARTUPTTY, Up: Agent Protocol
1282 2.6.15 Get the Event Counters
1283 -----------------------------
1287 This function return one status line with the current values of the
1288 event counters. The event counters are useful to avoid polling by
1289 delaying a poll until something has changed. The values are decimal
1290 numbers in the range '0' to 'UINT_MAX' and wrapping around to 0. The
1291 actual values should not be relied upon; they shall only be used to
1294 The currently defined counters are are:
1296 Incremented with any change of any of the other counters.
1298 Incremented for added or removed private keys.
1300 Incremented for changes of the card readers stati.
1303 File: gnupg.info, Node: Agent GETINFO, Next: Agent OPTION, Prev: Agent GETEVENTCOUNTER, Up: Agent Protocol
1305 2.6.16 Return information about the process
1306 -------------------------------------------
1308 This is a multipurpose function to return a variety of information.
1312 The value of WHAT specifies the kind of information returned:
1314 Return the version of the program.
1316 Return the process id of the process.
1318 Return the name of the socket used to connect the agent.
1320 Return the name of the socket used for SSH connections. If SSH
1321 support has not been enabled the error 'GPG_ERR_NO_DATA' will be
1325 File: gnupg.info, Node: Agent OPTION, Prev: Agent GETINFO, Up: Agent Protocol
1327 2.6.17 Set options for the session
1328 ----------------------------------
1330 Here is a list of session options which are not yet described with other
1331 commands. The general syntax for an Assuan option is:
1338 This may be used to tell gpg-agent of which gpg-agent version the
1339 client is aware of. gpg-agent uses this information to enable
1340 features which might break older clients.
1343 Change the session's environment to be used for the Pinentry.
1349 Set envvar NAME to the empty string
1351 Set envvar NAME to the string VALUE.
1353 'use-cache-for-signing'
1354 See Assuan command 'PKSIGN'.
1356 'allow-pinentry-notify'
1357 This does not need any value. It is used to enable the
1358 PINENTRY_LAUNCHED inquiry.
1361 This option is used to change the operation mode of the pinentry.
1362 The following values are defined:
1365 This is the default mode which pops up a pinentry as needed.
1368 Instead of popping up a pinentry, return the error code
1372 Instead of popping up a pinentry, return the error code
1373 'GPG_ERR_NO_PIN_ENTRY'.
1376 Use a loopback pinentry. This fakes a pinentry by using
1377 inquiries back to the caller to ask for a passphrase. This
1378 option may only be set if the agent has been configured for
1379 that. To disable this feature use *note option
1380 --no-allow-loopback-pinentry::.
1382 'cache-ttl-opt-preset'
1383 This option sets the cache TTL for new entries created by GENKEY
1384 and PASSWD commands when using the '--preset' option. It it is not
1385 used a default value is used.
1388 Instead of using the standard S2K count (which is computed on the
1389 fly), the given S2K count is used for new keys or when changing the
1390 passphrase of a key. Values below 65536 are considered to be 0.
1391 This option is valid for the entire session or until reset to 0.
1392 This option is useful if the key is later used on boxes which are
1393 either much slower or faster than the actual box.
1396 File: gnupg.info, Node: Invoking DIRMNGR, Next: Invoking GPG, Prev: Invoking GPG-AGENT, Up: Top
1401 Since version 2.1 of GnuPG, 'dirmngr' takes care of accessing the
1402 OpenPGP keyservers. As with previous versions it is also used as a
1403 server for managing and downloading certificate revocation lists (CRLs)
1404 for X.509 certificates, downloading X.509 certificates, and providing
1405 access to OCSP providers. Dirmngr is invoked internally by 'gpg',
1406 'gpgsm', or via the 'gpg-connect-agent' tool.
1408 *Note Option Index::,for an index to 'DIRMNGR''s commands and options.
1412 * Dirmngr Commands:: List of all commands.
1413 * Dirmngr Options:: List of all options.
1414 * Dirmngr Configuration:: Configuration files.
1415 * Dirmngr Signals:: Use of signals.
1416 * Dirmngr Examples:: Some usage examples.
1417 * Dirmngr Protocol:: The protocol dirmngr uses.
1420 File: gnupg.info, Node: Dirmngr Commands, Next: Dirmngr Options, Up: Invoking DIRMNGR
1425 Commands are not distinguished from options except for the fact that
1426 only one command is allowed.
1429 Print the program version and licensing information. Note that you
1430 cannot abbreviate this command.
1433 Print a usage message summarizing the most useful command-line
1434 options. Note that you cannot abbreviate this command.
1437 Print a list of all available options and commands. Note that you
1438 cannot abbreviate this command.
1441 Run in server mode and wait for commands on the 'stdin'. The
1442 default mode is to create a socket and listen for commands there.
1443 This is only used for testing.
1446 Run in background daemon mode and listen for commands on a socket.
1447 This is the way 'dirmngr' is started on demand by the other GnuPG
1448 components. To force starting 'dirmngr' it is in general best to
1449 use 'gpgconf --launch dirmngr'.
1452 Run in the foreground, sending logs to stderr, and listening on
1453 file descriptor 3, which must already be bound to a listening
1454 socket. This is useful when running under systemd or other similar
1455 process supervision schemes. This option is not supported on
1459 List the contents of the CRL cache on 'stdout'. This is probably
1460 only useful for debugging purposes.
1463 This command requires a filename as additional argument, and it
1464 will make Dirmngr try to import the CRL in FILE into it's cache.
1465 Note, that this is only possible if Dirmngr is able to retrieve the
1466 CA's certificate directly by its own means. In general it is
1467 better to use 'gpgsm''s '--call-dirmngr loadcrl filename' command
1468 so that 'gpgsm' can help dirmngr.
1471 This command requires an URL as additional argument, and it will
1472 make dirmngr try to retrieve and import the CRL from that URL into
1473 it's cache. This is mainly useful for debugging purposes. The
1474 'dirmngr-client' provides the same feature for a running dirmngr.
1477 This commands shuts down an running instance of Dirmngr. This
1478 command has currently no effect.
1481 This command removes all CRLs from Dirmngr's cache. Client
1482 requests will thus trigger reading of fresh CRLs.
1485 File: gnupg.info, Node: Dirmngr Options, Next: Dirmngr Configuration, Prev: Dirmngr Commands, Up: Invoking DIRMNGR
1491 Reads configuration from FILE instead of from the default per-user
1492 configuration file. The default configuration file is named
1493 'dirmngr.conf' and expected in the home directory.
1496 Set the name of the home directory to DIR. This option is only
1497 effective when used on the command line. The default is the
1498 directory named '.gnupg' directly below the home directory of the
1499 user unless the environment variable 'GNUPGHOME' has been set in
1500 which case its value will be used. Many kinds of data are stored
1501 within this directory.
1505 Outputs additional information while running. You can increase the
1506 verbosity by giving several verbose commands to DIRMNGR, such as
1510 Append all logging output to FILE. This is very helpful in seeing
1511 what the agent actually does. Use 'socket://' to log to socket.
1513 '--debug-level LEVEL'
1514 Select the debug level for investigating problems. LEVEL may be a
1515 numeric value or by a keyword:
1518 No debugging at all. A value of less than 1 may be used
1519 instead of the keyword.
1521 Some basic debug messages. A value between 1 and 2 may be
1522 used instead of the keyword.
1524 More verbose debug messages. A value between 3 and 5 may be
1525 used instead of the keyword.
1527 Even more detailed messages. A value between 6 and 8 may be
1528 used instead of the keyword.
1530 All of the debug messages you can get. A value greater than 8
1531 may be used instead of the keyword. The creation of hash
1532 tracing files is only enabled if the keyword is used.
1534 How these messages are mapped to the actual debugging flags is not
1535 specified and may change with newer releases of this program. They
1536 are however carefully selected to best aid in debugging.
1539 This option is only useful for debugging and the behavior may
1540 change at any time without notice. FLAGS are bit encoded and may
1541 be given in usual C-Syntax.
1544 Same as '--debug=0xffffffff'
1546 '--gnutls-debug LEVEL'
1547 Enable debugging of GNUTLS at LEVEL.
1550 When running in server mode, wait N seconds before entering the
1551 actual processing loop and print the pid. This gives time to
1554 '--disable-check-own-socket'
1555 On some platforms 'dirmngr' is able to detect the removal of its
1556 socket file and shutdown itself. This option disable this
1557 self-test for debugging purposes.
1563 Format the info output in daemon mode for use with the standard
1564 Bourne shell respective the C-shell. The default is to guess it
1565 based on the environment variable 'SHELL' which is in almost all
1569 Enabling this option forces loading of expired CRLs; this is only
1570 useful for debugging.
1573 This option switches Dirmngr and thus GnuPG into "Tor mode" to
1574 route all network access via Tor (an anonymity network). WARNING:
1575 As of now this still leaks the DNS queries; e.g. to lookup the
1576 hosts in a keyserver pool. Certain other features are disabled if
1577 this mode is active.
1579 '--standard-resolver'
1580 This option forces the use of the system's standard DNS resolver
1581 code. This is mainly used for debugging. Note that on Windows a
1582 standard resolver is not used and all DNS access will return the
1583 error "Not Implemented" if this function is used.
1585 '--recursive-resolver'
1586 When possible use a recursive resolver instead of a stub resolver.
1588 '--resolver-timeout N'
1589 Set the timeout for the DNS resolver to N seconds. The default are
1592 '--allow-version-check'
1593 Allow Dirmngr to connect to 'https://versions.gnupg.org' to get the
1594 list of current software versions. If this option is enabled, or
1595 if 'use-tor' is active, the list is retrieved when the local copy
1596 does not exist or is older than 5 to 7 days. See the option
1597 '--query-swdb' of the command 'gpgconf' for more details.
1600 Use NAME as your keyserver. This is the server that 'gpg'
1601 communicates with to receive keys, send keys, and search for keys.
1602 The format of the NAME is a URI: 'scheme:[//]keyservername[:port]'
1603 The scheme is the type of keyserver: "hkp" for the HTTP (or
1604 compatible) keyservers, "ldap" for the LDAP keyservers, or "mailto"
1605 for the Graff email keyserver. Note that your particular
1606 installation of GnuPG may have other keyserver types available as
1607 well. Keyserver schemes are case-insensitive. After the keyserver
1608 name, optional keyserver configuration options may be provided.
1609 These are the same as the '--keyserver-options' of 'gpg', but apply
1610 only to this particular keyserver.
1612 Most keyservers synchronize with each other, so there is generally
1613 no need to send keys to more than one server. The keyserver
1614 'hkp://keys.gnupg.net' uses round robin DNS to give a different
1615 keyserver each time you use it.
1617 If exactly two keyservers are configured and only one is a Tor
1618 hidden service (.onion), Dirmngr selects the keyserver to use
1619 depending on whether Tor is locally running or not. The check for
1620 a running Tor is done for each new connection.
1622 If no keyserver is explicitly configured, dirmngr will use the
1623 built-in default of hkps://hkps.pool.sks-keyservers.net.
1625 '--nameserver IPADDR'
1626 In "Tor mode" Dirmngr uses a public resolver via Tor to resolve DNS
1627 names. If the default public resolver, which is '8.8.8.8', shall
1628 not be used a different one can be given using this option. Note
1629 that a numerical IP address must be given (IPv6 or IPv4) and that
1630 no error checking is done for IPADDR.
1633 Entirely disables the use of LDAP.
1636 Entirely disables the use of HTTP.
1639 When looking for the location of a CRL, the to be tested
1640 certificate usually contains so called "CRL Distribution Point"
1641 (DP) entries which are URLs describing the way to access the CRL.
1642 The first found DP entry is used. With this option all entries
1643 using the HTTP scheme are ignored when looking for a suitable DP.
1646 This is similar to '--ignore-http-dp' but ignores entries using the
1647 LDAP scheme. Both options may be combined resulting in ignoring
1650 '--ignore-ocsp-service-url'
1651 Ignore all OCSP URLs contained in the certificate. The effect is
1652 to force the use of the default responder.
1654 '--honor-http-proxy'
1655 If the environment variable 'http_proxy' has been set, use its
1656 value to access HTTP servers.
1658 '--http-proxy HOST[:PORT]'
1659 Use HOST and PORT to access HTTP servers. The use of this option
1660 overrides the environment variable 'http_proxy' regardless whether
1661 '--honor-http-proxy' has been set.
1663 '--ldap-proxy HOST[:PORT]'
1664 Use HOST and PORT to connect to LDAP servers. If PORT is omitted,
1665 port 389 (standard LDAP port) is used. This overrides any
1666 specified host and port part in a LDAP URL and will also be used if
1667 host and port have been omitted from the URL.
1670 Never use anything else but the LDAP "proxy" as configured with
1671 '--ldap-proxy'. Usually 'dirmngr' tries to use other configured
1672 LDAP server if the connection using the "proxy" failed.
1674 '--ldapserverlist-file FILE'
1675 Read the list of LDAP servers to consult for CRLs and certificates
1676 from file instead of the default per-user ldap server list file.
1677 The default value for FILE is 'dirmngr_ldapservers.conf'.
1679 This server list file contains one LDAP server per line in the
1682 HOSTNAME:PORT:USERNAME:PASSWORD:BASE_DN
1684 Lines starting with a '#' are comments.
1686 Note that as usual all strings entered are expected to be UTF-8
1687 encoded. Obviously this will lead to problems if the password has
1688 originally been encoded as Latin-1. There is no other solution
1689 here than to put such a password in the binary encoding into the
1690 file (i.e. non-ascii characters won't show up readable).(1)
1692 '--ldaptimeout SECS'
1693 Specify the number of seconds to wait for an LDAP query before
1694 timing out. The default is currently 100 seconds. 0 will never
1698 This option makes dirmngr add any servers it discovers when
1699 validating certificates against CRLs to the internal list of
1700 servers to consult for certificates and CRLs.
1702 This option is useful when trying to validate a certificate that
1703 has a CRL distribution point that points to a server that is not
1704 already listed in the ldapserverlist. Dirmngr will always go to
1705 this server and try to download the CRL, but chances are high that
1706 the certificate used to sign the CRL is located on the same server.
1707 So if dirmngr doesn't add that new server to list, it will often
1708 not be able to verify the signature of the CRL unless the
1709 '--add-servers' option is used.
1711 Note: The current version of dirmngr has this option disabled by
1715 This option enables OCSP support if requested by the client.
1717 OCSP requests are rejected by default because they may violate the
1718 privacy of the user; for example it is possible to track the time
1719 when a user is reading a mail.
1721 '--ocsp-responder URL'
1722 Use URL as the default OCSP Responder if the certificate does not
1723 contain information about an assigned responder. Note, that
1724 '--ocsp-signer' must also be set to a valid certificate.
1726 '--ocsp-signer FPR|FILE'
1727 Use the certificate with the fingerprint FPR to check the responses
1728 of the default OCSP Responder. Alternatively a filename can be
1729 given in which case the response is expected to be signed by one of
1730 the certificates described in that file. Any argument which
1731 contains a slash, dot or tilde is considered a filename. Usual
1732 filename expansion takes place: A tilde at the start followed by a
1733 slash is replaced by the content of 'HOME', no slash at start
1734 describes a relative filename which will be searched at the home
1735 directory. To make sure that the FILE is searched in the home
1736 directory, either prepend the name with "./" or use a name which
1739 If a response has been signed by a certificate described by these
1740 fingerprints no further check upon the validity of this certificate
1743 The format of the FILE is a list of SHA-1 fingerprint, one per line
1744 with optional colons between the bytes. Empty lines and lines
1745 prefix with a hash mark are ignored.
1747 '--ocsp-max-clock-skew N'
1748 The number of seconds a skew between the OCSP responder and them
1749 local clock is accepted. Default is 600 (10 minutes).
1751 '--ocsp-max-period N'
1752 Seconds a response is at maximum considered valid after the time
1753 given in the thisUpdate field. Default is 7776000 (90 days).
1755 '--ocsp-current-period N'
1756 The number of seconds an OCSP response is considered valid after
1757 the time given in the NEXT_UPDATE datum. Default is 10800 (3
1761 Do not return more that N items in one query. The default is 10.
1763 '--ignore-cert-extension OID'
1764 Add OID to the list of ignored certificate extensions. The OID is
1765 expected to be in dotted decimal form, like '2.5.29.3'. This
1766 option may be used more than once. Critical flagged certificate
1767 extensions matching one of the OIDs in the list are treated as if
1768 they are actually handled and thus the certificate won't be
1769 rejected due to an unknown critical extension. Use this option
1770 with care because extensions are usually flagged as critical for a
1774 Use the root certificates in FILE for verification of the TLS
1775 certificates used with 'hkps' (keyserver access over TLS). If the
1776 file is in PEM format a suffix of '.pem' is expected for FILE.
1777 This option may be given multiple times to add more root
1778 certificates. Tilde expansion is supported.
1780 If no 'hkp-cacert' directive is present, dirmngr will make a
1781 reasonable choice: if the keyserver in question is the special pool
1782 'hkps.pool.sks-keyservers.net', it will use the bundled root
1783 certificate for that pool. Otherwise, it will use the system CAs.
1785 ---------- Footnotes ----------
1787 (1) The 'gpgconf' tool might be helpful for frontends as it enables
1788 editing this configuration file using percent-escaped strings.
1791 File: gnupg.info, Node: Dirmngr Configuration, Next: Dirmngr Signals, Prev: Dirmngr Options, Up: Invoking DIRMNGR
1796 Dirmngr makes use of several directories when running in daemon mode:
1799 This is the standard home directory for all configuration files.
1801 '/etc/gnupg/trusted-certs'
1802 This directory should be filled with certificates of Root CAs you
1803 are trusting in checking the CRLs and signing OCSP Responses.
1805 Usually these are the same certificates you use with the
1806 applications making use of dirmngr. It is expected that each of
1807 these certificate files contain exactly one DER encoded certificate
1808 in a file with the suffix '.crt' or '.der'. 'dirmngr' reads those
1809 certificates on startup and when given a SIGHUP. Certificates which
1810 are not readable or do not make up a proper X.509 certificate are
1811 ignored; see the log file for details.
1813 Applications using dirmngr (e.g. gpgsm) can request these
1814 certificates to complete a trust chain in the same way as with the
1815 extra-certs directory (see below).
1817 Note that for OCSP responses the certificate specified using the
1818 option '--ocsp-signer' is always considered valid to sign OCSP
1821 '/etc/gnupg/extra-certs'
1822 This directory may contain extra certificates which are preloaded
1823 into the internal cache on startup. Applications using dirmngr
1824 (e.g. gpgsm) can request cached certificates to complete a trust
1825 chain. This is convenient in cases you have a couple intermediate
1826 CA certificates or certificates usually used to sign OCSP
1827 responses. These certificates are first tried before going out to
1828 the net to look for them. These certificates must also be DER
1829 encoded and suffixed with '.crt' or '.der'.
1832 This directory is used to store cached CRLs. The 'crls.d' part
1833 will be created by dirmngr if it does not exists but you need to
1834 make sure that the upper directory exists.
1836 To be able to see what's going on you should create the configure
1837 file '~/gnupg/dirmngr.conf' with at least one line:
1839 log-file ~/dirmngr.log
1841 To be able to perform OCSP requests you probably want to add the
1846 To make sure that new options are read and that after the
1847 installation of a new GnuPG versions the installed dirmngr is running,
1848 you may want to kill an existing dirmngr first:
1850 gpgconf --kill dirmngr
1852 You may check the log file to see whether all desired root
1853 certificates have been loaded correctly.
1856 File: gnupg.info, Node: Dirmngr Signals, Next: Dirmngr Examples, Prev: Dirmngr Configuration, Up: Invoking DIRMNGR
1861 A running 'dirmngr' may be controlled by signals, i.e. using the 'kill'
1862 command to send a signal to the process.
1864 Here is a list of supported signals:
1867 This signal flushes all internally cached CRLs as well as any
1868 cached certificates. Then the certificate cache is reinitialized
1869 as on startup. Options are re-read from the configuration file.
1870 Instead of sending this signal it is better to use
1871 gpgconf --reload dirmngr
1874 Shuts down the process but waits until all current requests are
1875 fulfilled. If the process has received 3 of these signals and
1876 requests are still pending, a shutdown is forced. You may also use
1877 gpgconf --kill dirmngr
1878 instead of this signal
1881 Shuts down the process immediately.
1884 This prints some caching statistics to the log file.
1887 File: gnupg.info, Node: Dirmngr Examples, Next: Dirmngr Protocol, Prev: Dirmngr Signals, Up: Invoking DIRMNGR
1892 Here is an example on how to show dirmngr's internal table of OpenPGP
1893 keyserver addresses. The output is intended for debugging purposes and
1894 not part of a defined API.
1896 gpg-connect-agent --dirmngr 'keyserver --hosttable' /bye
1898 To inhibit the use of a particular host you have noticed in one of
1899 the keyserver pools, you may use
1901 gpg-connect-agent --dirmngr 'keyserver --dead pgpkeys.bnd.de' /bye
1903 The description of the 'keyserver' command can be printed using
1905 gpg-connect-agent --dirmngr 'help keyserver' /bye
1908 File: gnupg.info, Node: Dirmngr Protocol, Prev: Dirmngr Examples, Up: Invoking DIRMNGR
1910 3.6 Dirmngr's Assuan Protocol
1911 =============================
1913 Assuan is the IPC protocol used to access dirmngr. This is a
1914 description of the commands implemented by dirmngr.
1918 * Dirmngr LOOKUP:: Look up a certificate via LDAP
1919 * Dirmngr ISVALID:: Validate a certificate using a CRL or OCSP.
1920 * Dirmngr CHECKCRL:: Validate a certificate using a CRL.
1921 * Dirmngr CHECKOCSP:: Validate a certificate using OCSP.
1922 * Dirmngr CACHECERT:: Put a certificate into the internal cache.
1923 * Dirmngr VALIDATE:: Validate a certificate for debugging.
1926 File: gnupg.info, Node: Dirmngr LOOKUP, Next: Dirmngr ISVALID, Up: Dirmngr Protocol
1928 3.6.1 Return the certificate(s) found
1929 -------------------------------------
1931 Lookup certificate. To allow multiple patterns (which are ORed) quoting
1932 is required: Spaces are to be translated into "+" or into "%20";
1933 obviously this requires that the usual escape quoting rules are applied.
1934 The server responds with:
1936 S: D <DER encoded certificate>
1938 S: D <second DER encoded certificate>
1942 In this example 2 certificates are returned. The server may return
1943 any number of certificates; OK will also be returned when no
1944 certificates were found. The dirmngr might return a status line
1948 To indicate that the output was truncated to N items due to a
1949 limitation of the server or by an arbitrary set limit.
1951 The option '--url' may be used if instead of a search pattern a
1952 complete URL to the certificate is known:
1954 C: LOOKUP --url CN%3DWerner%20Koch,o%3DIntevation%20GmbH,c%3DDE?userCertificate
1956 If the option '--cache-only' is given, no external lookup is done so
1957 that only certificates from the cache are returned.
1959 With the option '--single', the first and only the first match will
1960 be returned. Unless option '--cache-only' is also used, no local lookup
1961 will be done in this case.
1964 File: gnupg.info, Node: Dirmngr ISVALID, Next: Dirmngr CHECKCRL, Prev: Dirmngr LOOKUP, Up: Dirmngr Protocol
1966 3.6.2 Validate a certificate using a CRL or OCSP
1967 ------------------------------------------------
1969 ISVALID [--only-ocsp] [--force-default-responder] CERTID|CERTFPR
1971 Check whether the certificate described by the CERTID has been
1972 revoked. Due to caching, the Dirmngr is able to answer immediately in
1975 The CERTID is a hex encoded string consisting of two parts, delimited
1976 by a single dot. The first part is the SHA-1 hash of the issuer name
1977 and the second part the serial number.
1979 Alternatively the certificate's SHA-1 fingerprint CERTFPR may be
1980 given in which case an OCSP request is done before consulting the CRL.
1981 If the option '--only-ocsp' is given, no fallback to a CRL check will be
1982 used. If the option '--force-default-responder' is given, only the
1983 default OCSP responder will be used and any other methods of obtaining
1984 an OCSP responder URL won't be used.
1986 Common return values are:
1988 'GPG_ERR_NO_ERROR (0)'
1989 This is the positive answer: The certificate is not revoked and we
1990 have an up-to-date revocation list for that certificate. If OCSP
1991 was used the responder confirmed that the certificate has not been
1994 'GPG_ERR_CERT_REVOKED'
1995 This is the negative answer: The certificate has been revoked.
1996 Either it is in a CRL and that list is up to date or an OCSP
1997 responder informed us that it has been revoked.
1999 'GPG_ERR_NO_CRL_KNOWN'
2000 No CRL is known for this certificate or the CRL is not valid or out
2004 The OCSP responder returned an "unknown" status. This means that
2005 it is not aware of the certificate's status.
2007 'GPG_ERR_NOT_SUPPORTED'
2008 This is commonly seen if OCSP support has not been enabled in the
2011 If DirMngr has not enough information about the given certificate
2012 (which is the case for not yet cached certificates), it will will
2013 inquire the missing data:
2015 S: INQUIRE SENDCERT <CertID>
2016 C: D <DER encoded certificate>
2019 A client should be aware that DirMngr may ask for more than one
2022 If Dirmngr has a certificate but the signature of the certificate
2023 could not been validated because the root certificate is not known to
2024 dirmngr as trusted, it may ask back to see whether the client trusts
2025 this the root certificate:
2027 S: INQUIRE ISTRUSTED <CertHexfpr>
2031 Only this answer will let Dirmngr consider the certificate as valid.
2034 File: gnupg.info, Node: Dirmngr CHECKCRL, Next: Dirmngr CHECKOCSP, Prev: Dirmngr ISVALID, Up: Dirmngr Protocol
2036 3.6.3 Validate a certificate using a CRL
2037 ----------------------------------------
2039 Check whether the certificate with FINGERPRINT (SHA-1 hash of the entire
2040 X.509 certificate blob) is valid or not by consulting the CRL
2041 responsible for this certificate. If the fingerprint has not been given
2042 or the certificate is not known, the function inquires the certificate
2045 S: INQUIRE TARGETCERT
2046 C: D <DER encoded certificate>
2049 Thus the caller is expected to return the certificate for the request
2050 (which should match FINGERPRINT) as a binary blob. Processing then
2051 takes place without further interaction; in particular dirmngr tries to
2052 locate other required certificate by its own mechanism which includes a
2053 local certificate store as well as a list of trusted root certificates.
2055 The return code is 0 for success; i.e. the certificate has not been
2056 revoked or one of the usual error codes from libgpg-error.
2059 File: gnupg.info, Node: Dirmngr CHECKOCSP, Next: Dirmngr CACHECERT, Prev: Dirmngr CHECKCRL, Up: Dirmngr Protocol
2061 3.6.4 Validate a certificate using OCSP
2062 ---------------------------------------
2064 CHECKOCSP [--force-default-responder] [FINGERPRINT]
2066 Check whether the certificate with FINGERPRINT (the SHA-1 hash of the
2067 entire X.509 certificate blob) is valid by consulting the appropriate
2068 OCSP responder. If the fingerprint has not been given or the
2069 certificate is not known by Dirmngr, the function inquires the
2072 S: INQUIRE TARGETCERT
2073 C: D <DER encoded certificate>
2076 Thus the caller is expected to return the certificate for the request
2077 (which should match FINGERPRINT) as a binary blob. Processing then
2078 takes place without further interaction; in particular dirmngr tries to
2079 locate other required certificates by its own mechanism which includes a
2080 local certificate store as well as a list of trusted root certificates.
2082 If the option '--force-default-responder' is given, only the default
2083 OCSP responder is used. This option is the per-command variant of the
2084 global option '--ignore-ocsp-service-url'.
2086 The return code is 0 for success; i.e. the certificate has not been
2087 revoked or one of the usual error codes from libgpg-error.
2090 File: gnupg.info, Node: Dirmngr CACHECERT, Next: Dirmngr VALIDATE, Prev: Dirmngr CHECKOCSP, Up: Dirmngr Protocol
2092 3.6.5 Put a certificate into the internal cache
2093 -----------------------------------------------
2095 Put a certificate into the internal cache. This command might be useful
2096 if a client knows in advance certificates required for a test and wants
2097 to make sure they get added to the internal cache. It is also helpful
2098 for debugging. To get the actual certificate, this command immediately
2101 S: INQUIRE TARGETCERT
2102 C: D <DER encoded certificate>
2105 Thus the caller is expected to return the certificate for the request
2108 The return code is 0 for success; i.e. the certificate has not been
2109 successfully cached or one of the usual error codes from libgpg-error.
2112 File: gnupg.info, Node: Dirmngr VALIDATE, Prev: Dirmngr CACHECERT, Up: Dirmngr Protocol
2114 3.6.6 Validate a certificate for debugging
2115 ------------------------------------------
2117 Validate a certificate using the certificate validation function used
2118 internally by dirmngr. This command is only useful for debugging. To
2119 get the actual certificate, this command immediately inquires it using
2121 S: INQUIRE TARGETCERT
2122 C: D <DER encoded certificate>
2125 Thus the caller is expected to return the certificate for the request
2129 File: gnupg.info, Node: Invoking GPG, Next: Invoking GPGSM, Prev: Invoking DIRMNGR, Up: Top
2134 'gpg' is the OpenPGP part of the GNU Privacy Guard (GnuPG). It is a tool
2135 to provide digital encryption and signing services using the OpenPGP
2136 standard. 'gpg' features complete key management and all the bells and
2137 whistles you would expect from a full OpenPGP implementation.
2139 There are two main versions of GnuPG: GnuPG 1.x and GnuPG 2.x. GnuPG
2140 2.x supports modern encryption algorithms and thus should be preferred
2141 over GnuPG 1.x. You only need to use GnuPG 1.x if your platform doesn't
2142 support GnuPG 2.x, or you need support for some features that GnuPG 2.x
2143 has deprecated, e.g., decrypting data created with PGP-2 keys.
2145 If you are looking for version 1 of GnuPG, you may find that version
2146 installed under the name 'gpg1'.
2148 *Note Option Index::, for an index to 'gpg''s commands and options.
2152 * GPG Commands:: List of all commands.
2153 * GPG Options:: List of all options.
2154 * GPG Configuration:: Configuration files.
2155 * GPG Examples:: Some usage examples.
2157 Developer information:
2158 * Unattended Usage of GPG:: Using 'gpg' from other programs.
2161 File: gnupg.info, Node: GPG Commands, Next: GPG Options, Up: Invoking GPG
2166 Commands are not distinguished from options except for the fact that
2167 only one command is allowed. Generally speaking, irrelevant options are
2168 silently ignored, and may not be checked for correctness.
2170 'gpg' may be run with no commands. In this case it will perform a
2171 reasonable action depending on the type of file it is given as input (an
2172 encrypted message is decrypted, a signature is verified, a file
2173 containing keys is listed, etc.).
2177 * General GPG Commands:: Commands not specific to the functionality.
2178 * Operational GPG Commands:: Commands to select the type of operation.
2179 * OpenPGP Key Management:: How to manage your keys.
2182 File: gnupg.info, Node: General GPG Commands, Next: Operational GPG Commands, Up: GPG Commands
2184 4.1.1 Commands not specific to the function
2185 -------------------------------------------
2188 Print the program version and licensing information. Note that you
2189 cannot abbreviate this command.
2193 Print a usage message summarizing the most useful command-line
2194 options. Note that you cannot abbreviate this command.
2197 Print warranty information.
2200 Print a list of all available options and commands. Note that you
2201 cannot abbreviate this command.
2204 File: gnupg.info, Node: Operational GPG Commands, Next: OpenPGP Key Management, Prev: General GPG Commands, Up: GPG Commands
2206 4.1.2 Commands to select the type of operation
2207 ----------------------------------------------
2211 Sign a message. This command may be combined with '--encrypt' (to
2212 sign and encrypt a message), '--symmetric' (to sign and
2213 symmetrically encrypt a message), or both '--encrypt' and
2214 '--symmetric' (to sign and encrypt a message that can be decrypted
2215 using a secret key or a passphrase). The signing key is chosen by
2216 default or can be set explicitly using the '--local-user' and
2217 '--default-key' options.
2221 Make a cleartext signature. The content in a cleartext signature
2222 is readable without any special software. OpenPGP software is only
2223 needed to verify the signature. cleartext signatures may modify
2224 end-of-line whitespace for platform independence and are not
2225 intended to be reversible. The signing key is chosen by default or
2226 can be set explicitly using the '--local-user' and '--default-key'
2231 Make a detached signature.
2235 Encrypt data. This command may be combined with '--sign' (to sign
2236 and encrypt a message), '--symmetric' (to encrypt a message that
2237 can decrypted using a secret key or a passphrase), or '--sign' and
2238 '--symmetric' together (for a signed message that can be decrypted
2239 using a secret key or a passphrase).
2243 Encrypt with a symmetric cipher using a passphrase. The default
2244 symmetric cipher used is AES-128, but may be chosen with the
2245 '--cipher-algo' option. This command may be combined with '--sign'
2246 (for a signed and symmetrically encrypted message), '--encrypt'
2247 (for a message that may be decrypted via a secret key or a
2248 passphrase), or '--sign' and '--encrypt' together (for a signed
2249 message that may be decrypted via a secret key or a passphrase).
2252 Store only (make a simple literal data packet).
2256 Decrypt the file given on the command line (or STDIN if no file is
2257 specified) and write it to STDOUT (or the file specified with
2258 '--output'). If the decrypted file is signed, the signature is
2259 also verified. This command differs from the default operation, as
2260 it never writes to the filename which is included in the file and
2261 it rejects files that don't begin with an encrypted message.
2264 Assume that the first argument is a signed file and verify it
2265 without generating any output. With no arguments, the signature
2266 packet is read from STDIN. If only one argument is given, the
2267 specified file is expected to include a complete signature.
2269 With more than one argument, the first argument should specify a
2270 file with a detached signature and the remaining files should
2271 contain the signed data. To read the signed data from STDIN, use
2272 '-' as the second filename. For security reasons, a detached
2273 signature will not read the signed material from STDIN if not
2274 explicitly specified.
2276 Note: If the option '--batch' is not used, 'gpg' may assume that a
2277 single argument is a file with a detached signature, and it will
2278 try to find a matching data file by stripping certain suffixes.
2279 Using this historical feature to verify a detached signature is
2280 strongly discouraged; you should always specify the data file
2283 Note: When verifying a cleartext signature, 'gpg' verifies only
2284 what makes up the cleartext signed data and not any extra data
2285 outside of the cleartext signature or the header lines directly
2286 following the dash marker line. The option '--output' may be used
2287 to write out the actual signed data, but there are other pitfalls
2288 with this format as well. It is suggested to avoid cleartext
2289 signatures in favor of detached signatures.
2292 This modifies certain other commands to accept multiple files for
2293 processing on the command line or read from STDIN with each
2294 filename on a separate line. This allows for many files to be
2295 processed at once. '--multifile' may currently be used along with
2296 '--verify', '--encrypt', and '--decrypt'. Note that '--multifile
2297 --verify' may not be used with detached signatures.
2300 Identical to '--multifile --verify'.
2303 Identical to '--multifile --encrypt'.
2306 Identical to '--multifile --decrypt'.
2310 '--list-public-keys'
2311 List the specified keys. If no keys are specified, then all keys
2312 from the configured public keyrings are listed.
2314 Never use the output of this command in scripts or other programs.
2315 The output is intended only for humans and its format is likely to
2316 change. The '--with-colons' option emits the output in a stable,
2317 machine-parseable format, which is intended for use by scripts and
2320 '--list-secret-keys'
2322 List the specified secret keys. If no keys are specified, then all
2323 known secret keys are listed. A '#' after the letters 'sec' means
2324 that the secret key is not usable (for example, if it was exported
2325 using '--export-secret-subkeys'). See also '--list-keys'.
2329 Same as '--list-keys', but the signatures are listed too. This
2330 command has the same effect as using '--list-keys' with
2333 For each signature listed, there are several flags in between the
2334 "sig" tag and keyid. These flags give additional information about
2335 each signature. From left to right, they are the numbers 1-3 for
2336 certificate check level (see '--ask-cert-level'), "L" for a local
2337 or non-exportable signature (see '--lsign-key'), "R" for a
2338 nonRevocable signature (see the '--edit-key' command "nrsign"), "P"
2339 for a signature that contains a policy URL (see
2340 '--cert-policy-url'), "N" for a signature that contains a notation
2341 (see '--cert-notation'), "X" for an eXpired signature (see
2342 '--ask-cert-expire'), and the numbers 1-9 or "T" for 10 and above
2343 to indicate trust signature levels (see the '--edit-key' command
2346 '--check-signatures'
2348 Same as '--list-signatures', but the signatures are verified. Note
2349 that for performance reasons the revocation status of a signing key
2350 is not shown. This command has the same effect as using
2351 '--list-keys' with '--with-sig-check'.
2353 The status of the verification is indicated by a flag directly
2354 following the "sig" tag (and thus before the flags described above
2355 for '--list-signatures'). A "!" indicates that the signature has
2356 been successfully verified, a "-" denotes a bad signature and a "%"
2357 is used if an error occurred while checking the signature (e.g. a
2358 non supported algorithm).
2361 Locate the keys given as arguments. This command basically uses
2362 the same algorithm as used when locating keys for encryption or
2363 signing and may thus be used to see what keys 'gpg' might use. In
2364 particular external methods as defined by '--auto-key-locate' may
2365 be used to locate a key. Only public keys are listed.
2368 List all keys (or the specified ones) along with their
2369 fingerprints. This is the same output as '--list-keys' but with
2370 the additional output of a line with the fingerprint. May also be
2371 combined with '--list-signatures' or '--check-signatures'. If this
2372 command is given twice, the fingerprints of all secondary keys are
2373 listed too. This command also forces pretty printing of
2374 fingerprints if the keyid format has been set to "none".
2377 List only the sequence of packets. This command is only useful for
2378 debugging. When used with option '--verbose' the actual MPI values
2379 are dumped and not only their lengths. Note that the output of
2380 this command may change with new releases.
2384 Present a menu to work with a smartcard. The subcommand "help"
2385 provides an overview on available commands. For a detailed
2386 description, please see the Card HOWTO at
2387 https://gnupg.org/documentation/howtos.html#GnuPG-cardHOWTO .
2390 Show the content of the smart card.
2393 Present a menu to allow changing the PIN of a smartcard. This
2394 functionality is also available as the subcommand "passwd" with the
2395 '--edit-card' command.
2397 '--delete-keys name'
2398 '--delete-keys name'
2399 Remove key from the public keyring. In batch mode either '--yes'
2400 is required or the key must be specified by fingerprint. This is a
2401 safeguard against accidental deletion of multiple keys.
2403 '--delete-secret-keys name'
2404 Remove key from the secret keyring. In batch mode the key must be
2405 specified by fingerprint. The option '--yes' can be used to advice
2406 gpg-agent not to request a confirmation. This extra pre-caution is
2407 done because 'gpg' can't be sure that the secret key (as controlled
2408 by gpg-agent) is only used for the given OpenPGP public key.
2410 '--delete-secret-and-public-key name'
2411 Same as '--delete-key', but if a secret key exists, it will be
2412 removed first. In batch mode the key must be specified by
2413 fingerprint. The option '--yes' can be used to advice gpg-agent
2414 not to request a confirmation.
2417 Either export all keys from all keyrings (default keyrings and
2418 those registered via option '--keyring'), or if at least one name
2419 is given, those of the given name. The exported keys are written
2420 to STDOUT or to the file given with option '--output'. Use
2421 together with '--armor' to mail those keys.
2423 '--send-keys key IDs'
2424 Similar to '--export' but sends the keys to a keyserver.
2425 Fingerprints may be used instead of key IDs. Option '--keyserver'
2426 must be used to give the name of this keyserver. Don't send your
2427 complete keyring to a keyserver -- select only those keys which are
2428 new or changed by you. If no key IDs are given, 'gpg' does
2431 '--export-secret-keys'
2432 '--export-secret-subkeys'
2433 Same as '--export', but exports the secret keys instead. The
2434 exported keys are written to STDOUT or to the file given with
2435 option '--output'. This command is often used along with the
2436 option '--armor' to allow for easy printing of the key for paper
2437 backup; however the external tool 'paperkey' does a better job of
2438 creating backups on paper. Note that exporting a secret key can be
2439 a security risk if the exported keys are sent over an insecure
2442 The second form of the command has the special property to render
2443 the secret part of the primary key useless; this is a GNU extension
2444 to OpenPGP and other implementations can not be expected to
2445 successfully import such a key. Its intended use is in generating
2446 a full key with an additional signing subkey on a dedicated
2447 machine. This command then exports the key without the primary key
2448 to the main machine.
2450 GnuPG may ask you to enter the passphrase for the key. This is
2451 required, because the internal protection method of the secret key
2452 is different from the one specified by the OpenPGP protocol.
2455 This command is used to export a key in the OpenSSH public key
2456 format. It requires the specification of one key by the usual
2457 means and exports the latest valid subkey which has an
2458 authentication capability to STDOUT or to the file given with
2459 option '--output'. That output can directly be added to ssh's
2460 'authorized_key' file.
2462 By specifying the key to export using a key ID or a fingerprint
2463 suffixed with an exclamation mark (!), a specific subkey or the
2464 primary key can be exported. This does not even require that the
2465 key has the authentication capability flag set.
2469 Import/merge keys. This adds the given keys to the keyring. The
2470 fast version is currently just a synonym.
2472 There are a few other options which control how this command works.
2473 Most notable here is the '--import-options merge-only' option which
2474 does not insert new keys but does only the merging of new
2475 signatures, user-IDs and subkeys.
2477 '--receive-keys key IDs'
2478 '--recv-keys key IDs'
2479 Import the keys with the given key IDs from a keyserver. Option
2480 '--keyserver' must be used to give the name of this keyserver.
2483 Request updates from a keyserver for keys that already exist on the
2484 local keyring. This is useful for updating a key with the latest
2485 signatures, user IDs, etc. Calling this with no arguments will
2486 refresh the entire keyring. Option '--keyserver' must be used to
2487 give the name of the keyserver for all keys that do not have
2488 preferred keyservers set (see '--keyserver-options
2489 honor-keyserver-url').
2491 '--search-keys names'
2492 Search the keyserver for the given names. Multiple names given
2493 here will be joined together to create the search string for the
2494 keyserver. Option '--keyserver' must be used to give the name of
2495 this keyserver. Keyservers that support different search methods
2496 allow using the syntax specified in "How to specify a user ID"
2497 below. Note that different keyserver types support different
2498 search methods. Currently only LDAP supports them all.
2501 Retrieve keys located at the specified URIs. Note that different
2502 installations of GnuPG may support different protocols (HTTP, FTP,
2503 LDAP, etc.). When using HTTPS the system provided root
2504 certificates are used by this command.
2507 Do trust database maintenance. This command iterates over all keys
2508 and builds the Web of Trust. This is an interactive command
2509 because it may have to ask for the "ownertrust" values for keys.
2510 The user has to give an estimation of how far she trusts the owner
2511 of the displayed key to correctly certify (sign) other keys. GnuPG
2512 only asks for the ownertrust value if it has not yet been assigned
2513 to a key. Using the '--edit-key' menu, the assigned value can be
2514 changed at any time.
2517 Do trust database maintenance without user interaction. From time
2518 to time the trust database must be updated so that expired keys or
2519 signatures and the resulting changes in the Web of Trust can be
2520 tracked. Normally, GnuPG will calculate when this is required and
2521 do it automatically unless '--no-auto-check-trustdb' is set. This
2522 command can be used to force a trust database check at any time.
2523 The processing is identical to that of '--update-trustdb' but it
2524 skips keys with a not yet defined "ownertrust".
2526 For use with cron jobs, this command can be used together with
2527 '--batch' in which case the trust database check is done only if a
2528 check is needed. To force a run even in batch mode add the option
2531 '--export-ownertrust'
2532 Send the ownertrust values to STDOUT. This is useful for backup
2533 purposes as these values are the only ones which can't be
2534 re-created from a corrupted trustdb. Example:
2535 gpg --export-ownertrust > otrust.txt
2537 '--import-ownertrust'
2538 Update the trustdb with the ownertrust values stored in 'files' (or
2539 STDIN if not given); existing values will be overwritten. In case
2540 of a severely damaged trustdb and if you have a recent backup of
2541 the ownertrust values (e.g. in the file 'otrust.txt'), you may
2542 re-create the trustdb using these commands:
2545 gpg --import-ownertrust < otrust.txt
2547 '--rebuild-keydb-caches'
2548 When updating from version 1.0.6 to 1.0.7 this command should be
2549 used to create signature caches in the keyring. It might be handy
2550 in other situations too.
2554 Print message digest of algorithm ALGO for all given files or
2555 STDIN. With the second form (or a deprecated "*" as algo) digests
2556 for all available algorithms are printed.
2558 '--gen-random 0|1|2 count'
2559 Emit COUNT random bytes of the given quality level 0, 1 or 2. If
2560 COUNT is not given or zero, an endless sequence of random bytes
2561 will be emitted. If used with '--armor' the output will be base64
2562 encoded. PLEASE, don't use this command unless you know what you
2563 are doing; it may remove precious entropy from the system!
2565 '--gen-prime mode bits'
2566 Use the source, Luke :-). The output format is still subject to
2571 Pack or unpack an arbitrary input into/from an OpenPGP ASCII armor.
2572 This is a GnuPG extension to OpenPGP and in general not very
2575 '--tofu-policy auto|good|unknown|bad|ask key...'
2576 Set the TOFU policy for all the bindings associated with the
2577 specified keys. For more information about the meaning of the
2578 policies, *note trust-model-tofu::. The keys may be specified
2579 either by their fingerprint (preferred) or their keyid.
2582 File: gnupg.info, Node: OpenPGP Key Management, Prev: Operational GPG Commands, Up: GPG Commands
2584 4.1.3 How to manage your keys
2585 -----------------------------
2587 This section explains the main commands for key management.
2589 '--quick-generate-key user-id [algo [usage [expire]]]'
2590 This is a simple command to generate a standard key with one user
2591 id. In contrast to '--generate-key' the key is generated directly
2592 without the need to answer a bunch of prompts. Unless the option
2593 '--yes' is given, the key creation will be canceled if the given
2594 user id already exists in the keyring.
2596 If invoked directly on the console without any special options an
2597 answer to a "Continue?" style confirmation prompt is required. In
2598 case the user id already exists in the keyring a second prompt to
2599 force the creation of the key will show up.
2601 If 'algo' or 'usage' are given, only the primary key is created and
2602 no prompts are shown. To specify an expiration date but still
2603 create a primary and subkey use "default" or "future-default" for
2604 'algo' and "default" for 'usage'. For a description of these
2605 optional arguments see the command '--quick-add-key'. The 'usage'
2606 accepts also the value "cert" which can be used to create a
2607 certification only primary key; the default is to a create
2608 certification and signing key.
2610 The 'expire' argument can be used to specify an expiration date for
2611 the key. Several formats are supported; commonly the ISO
2612 YYYY-MM-DD format is used. The values "never", "none" can be used
2613 for no expiration date. Not specifying a value, or using "-"
2614 results in a key expiring in a reasonable default interval.
2616 If this command is used with '--batch', '--pinentry-mode' has been
2617 set to 'loopback', and one of the passphrase options
2618 ('--passphrase', '--passphrase-fd', or 'passphrase-file') is used,
2619 the supplied passphrase is used for the new key and the agent does
2620 not ask for it. To create a key without any protection
2621 '--passphrase ''' may be used.
2623 '--quick-set-expire fpr expire'
2624 Directly set the expiration time of the primary key to 'expire'.
2625 To remove the expiration time '0' can be used.
2627 '--quick-add-key fpr [algo [usage [expire]]]'
2628 Directly add a subkey to the key identified by the fingerprint
2629 'fpr'. Without the optional arguments an encryption subkey is
2630 added. If any of the arguments are given a more specific subkey is
2633 'algo' may be any of the supported algorithms or curve names given
2634 in the format as used by key listings. To use the default
2635 algorithm the string "default" or "-" can be used. Supported
2636 algorithms are "rsa", "dsa", "elg", "ed25519", "cv25519", and other
2637 ECC curves. For example the string "rsa" adds an RSA key with the
2638 default key length; a string "rsa4096" requests that the key length
2639 is 4096 bits. The string "future-default" is an alias for the
2640 algorithm which will likely be used as default algorithm in future
2643 Depending on the given 'algo' the subkey may either be an
2644 encryption subkey or a signing subkey. If an algorithm is capable
2645 of signing and encryption and such a subkey is desired, a 'usage'
2646 string must be given. This string is either "default" or "-" to
2647 keep the default or a comma delimited list of keywords: "sign" for
2648 a signing subkey, "auth" for an authentication subkey, and "encr"
2649 for an encryption subkey ("encrypt" can be used as alias for
2650 "encr"). The valid combinations depend on the algorithm.
2652 The 'expire' argument can be used to specify an expiration date for
2653 the subkey. Several formats are supported; commonly the ISO
2654 YYYY-MM-DD format is used. The values "never", "none", or "-" can
2655 be used for no expiration date.
2659 Generate a new key pair using the current default parameters. This
2660 is the standard command to create a new key. In addition to the
2661 key a revocation certificate is created and stored in the
2662 'openpgp-revocs.d' directory below the GnuPG home directory.
2664 '--full-generate-key'
2666 Generate a new key pair with dialogs for all options. This is an
2667 extended version of '--generate-key'.
2669 There is also a feature which allows you to create keys in batch
2670 mode. See the manual section "Unattended key generation" on how to
2673 '--generate-revocation name'
2675 Generate a revocation certificate for the complete key. To only
2676 revoke a subkey or a key signature, use the '--edit' command.
2678 This command merely creates the revocation certificate so that it
2679 can be used to revoke the key if that is ever needed. To actually
2680 revoke a key the created revocation certificate needs to be merged
2681 with the key to revoke. This is done by importing the revocation
2682 certificate using the '--import' command. Then the revoked key
2683 needs to be published, which is best done by sending the key to a
2684 keyserver (command '--send-key') and by exporting ('--export') it
2685 to a file which is then send to frequent communication partners.
2687 '--generate-designated-revocation name'
2688 '--desig-revoke name'
2689 Generate a designated revocation certificate for a key. This
2690 allows a user (with the permission of the keyholder) to revoke
2694 Present a menu which enables you to do most of the key management
2695 related tasks. It expects the specification of a key on the
2699 Toggle selection of user ID or photographic user ID with index
2700 'n'. Use '*' to select all and '0' to deselect all.
2703 Toggle selection of subkey with index 'n' or key ID 'n'. Use
2704 '*' to select all and '0' to deselect all.
2707 Make a signature on key of user 'name'. If the key is not yet
2708 signed by the default user (or the users given with '-u'), the
2709 program displays the information of the key again, together
2710 with its fingerprint and asks whether it should be signed.
2711 This question is repeated for all users specified with '-u'.
2714 Same as "sign" but the signature is marked as non-exportable
2715 and will therefore never be used by others. This may be used
2716 to make keys valid only in the local environment.
2719 Same as "sign" but the signature is marked as non-revocable
2720 and can therefore never be revoked.
2723 Make a trust signature. This is a signature that combines the
2724 notions of certification (like a regular signature), and trust
2725 (like the "trust" command). It is generally only useful in
2726 distinct communities or groups. For more information please
2727 read the sections "Trust Signature" and "Regular Expression"
2730 Note that "l" (for local / non-exportable), "nr" (for
2731 non-revocable, and "t" (for trust) may be freely mixed and prefixed
2732 to "sign" to create a signature of any type desired.
2734 If the option '--only-sign-text-ids' is specified, then any
2735 non-text based user ids (e.g., photo IDs) will not be selected for
2739 Delete a signature. Note that it is not possible to retract a
2740 signature, once it has been send to the public (i.e. to a
2741 keyserver). In that case you better use 'revsig'.
2744 Revoke a signature. For every signature which has been
2745 generated by one of the secret keys, GnuPG asks whether a
2746 revocation certificate should be generated.
2749 Check the signatures on all selected user IDs. With the extra
2750 option 'selfsig' only self-signatures are shown.
2753 Create an additional user ID.
2756 Create a photographic user ID. This will prompt for a JPEG
2757 file that will be embedded into the user ID. Note that a very
2758 large JPEG will make for a very large key. Also note that
2759 some programs will display your JPEG unchanged (GnuPG), and
2760 some programs will scale it to fit in a dialog box (PGP).
2763 Display the selected photographic user ID.
2766 Delete a user ID or photographic user ID. Note that it is not
2767 possible to retract a user id, once it has been send to the
2768 public (i.e. to a keyserver). In that case you better use
2772 Revoke a user ID or photographic user ID.
2775 Flag the current user id as the primary one, removes the
2776 primary user id flag from all other user ids and sets the
2777 timestamp of all affected self-signatures one second ahead.
2778 Note that setting a photo user ID as primary makes it primary
2779 over other photo user IDs, and setting a regular user ID as
2780 primary makes it primary over other regular user IDs.
2783 Set a preferred keyserver for the specified user ID(s). This
2784 allows other users to know where you prefer they get your key
2785 from. See '--keyserver-options honor-keyserver-url' for more
2786 on how this works. Setting a value of "none" removes an
2787 existing preferred keyserver.
2790 Set a name=value notation for the specified user ID(s). See
2791 '--cert-notation' for more on how this works. Setting a value
2792 of "none" removes all notations, setting a notation prefixed
2793 with a minus sign (-) removes that notation, and setting a
2794 notation name (without the =value) prefixed with a minus sign
2795 removes all notations with that name.
2798 List preferences from the selected user ID. This shows the
2799 actual preferences, without including any implied preferences.
2802 More verbose preferences listing for the selected user ID.
2803 This shows the preferences in effect by including the implied
2804 preferences of 3DES (cipher), SHA-1 (digest), and Uncompressed
2805 (compression) if they are not already included in the
2806 preference list. In addition, the preferred keyserver and
2807 signature notations (if any) are shown.
2810 Set the list of user ID preferences to 'string' for all (or
2811 just the selected) user IDs. Calling setpref with no
2812 arguments sets the preference list to the default (either
2813 built-in or set via '--default-preference-list'), and calling
2814 setpref with "none" as the argument sets an empty preference
2815 list. Use 'gpg --version' to get a list of available
2816 algorithms. Note that while you can change the preferences on
2817 an attribute user ID (aka "photo ID"), GnuPG does not select
2818 keys via attribute user IDs so these preferences will not be
2821 When setting preferences, you should list the algorithms in
2822 the order which you'd like to see them used by someone else
2823 when encrypting a message to your key. If you don't include
2824 3DES, it will be automatically added at the end. Note that
2825 there are many factors that go into choosing an algorithm (for
2826 example, your key may not be the only recipient), and so the
2827 remote OpenPGP application being used to send to you may or
2828 may not follow your exact chosen order for a given message.
2829 It will, however, only choose an algorithm that is present on
2830 the preference list of every recipient key. See also the
2831 INTEROPERABILITY WITH OTHER OPENPGP PROGRAMS section below.
2834 Add a subkey to this key.
2837 Generate a subkey on a card and add it to this key.
2840 Transfer the selected secret subkey (or the primary key if no
2841 subkey has been selected) to a smartcard. The secret key in
2842 the keyring will be replaced by a stub if the key could be
2843 stored successfully on the card and you use the save command
2844 later. Only certain key types may be transferred to the card.
2845 A sub menu allows you to select on what card to store the key.
2846 Note that it is not possible to get that key back from the
2847 card - if the card gets broken your secret key will be lost
2848 unless you have a backup somewhere.
2851 Restore the given file to a card. This command may be used to
2852 restore a backup key (as generated during card initialization)
2853 to a new card. In almost all cases this will be the
2854 encryption key. You should use this command only with the
2855 corresponding public key and make sure that the file given as
2856 argument is indeed the backup to restore. You should then
2857 select 2 to restore as encryption key. You will first be
2858 asked to enter the passphrase of the backup key and then for
2859 the Admin PIN of the card.
2862 Remove a subkey (secondary key). Note that it is not possible
2863 to retract a subkey, once it has been send to the public (i.e.
2864 to a keyserver). In that case you better use 'revkey'. Also
2865 note that this only deletes the public part of a key.
2871 Change the key or subkey expiration time. If a subkey is
2872 selected, the expiration time of this subkey will be changed.
2873 With no selection, the key expiration of the primary key is
2877 Change the owner trust value for the key. This updates the
2878 trust-db immediately and no save is required.
2882 Disable or enable an entire key. A disabled key can not
2883 normally be used for encryption.
2886 Add a designated revoker to the key. This takes one optional
2887 argument: "sensitive". If a designated revoker is marked as
2888 sensitive, it will not be exported by default (see
2892 Change the passphrase of the secret key.
2895 This is dummy command which exists only for backward
2899 Compact (by removing all signatures except the selfsig) any
2900 user ID that is no longer usable (e.g. revoked, or expired).
2901 Then, remove any signatures that are not usable by the trust
2902 calculations. Specifically, this removes any signature that
2903 does not validate, any signature that is superseded by a later
2904 signature, revoked signatures, and signatures issued by keys
2905 that are not present on the keyring.
2908 Make the key as small as possible. This removes all
2909 signatures from each user ID except for the most recent
2913 Add cross-certification signatures to signing subkeys that may
2914 not currently have them. Cross-certification signatures
2915 protect against a subtle attack against signing subkeys. See
2916 '--require-cross-certification'. All new keys generated have
2917 this signature by default, so this command is only useful to
2918 bring older keys up to date.
2921 Save all changes to the keyrings and quit.
2924 Quit the program without updating the keyrings.
2926 The listing shows you the key with its secondary keys and all user
2927 ids. The primary user id is indicated by a dot, and selected keys
2928 or user ids are indicated by an asterisk. The trust value is
2929 displayed with the primary key: the first is the assigned owner
2930 trust and the second is the calculated trust value. Letters are
2931 used for the values:
2934 No ownertrust assigned / not yet calculated.
2937 Trust calculation has failed; probably due to an expired key.
2940 Not enough information for calculation.
2943 Never trust this key.
2955 Signs a public key with your secret key. This is a shortcut
2956 version of the subcommand "sign" from '--edit'.
2959 Signs a public key with your secret key but marks it as
2960 non-exportable. This is a shortcut version of the subcommand
2961 "lsign" from '--edit-key'.
2963 '--quick-sign-key fpr [names]'
2964 '--quick-lsign-key fpr [names]'
2965 Directly sign a key from the passphrase without any further user
2966 interaction. The 'fpr' must be the verified primary fingerprint of
2967 a key in the local keyring. If no 'names' are given, all useful
2968 user ids are signed; with given ['names'] only useful user ids
2969 matching one of theses names are signed. By default, or if a name
2970 is prefixed with a '*', a case insensitive substring match is used.
2971 If a name is prefixed with a '=' a case sensitive exact match is
2974 The command '--quick-lsign-key' marks the signatures as
2975 non-exportable. If such a non-exportable signature already exists
2976 the '--quick-sign-key' turns it into a exportable signature.
2978 This command uses reasonable defaults and thus does not provide the
2979 full flexibility of the "sign" subcommand from '--edit-key'. Its
2980 intended use is to help unattended key signing by utilizing a list
2981 of verified fingerprints.
2983 '--quick-add-uid USER-ID NEW-USER-ID'
2984 This command adds a new user id to an existing key. In contrast to
2985 the interactive sub-command 'adduid' of '--edit-key' the
2986 NEW-USER-ID is added verbatim with only leading and trailing white
2987 space removed, it is expected to be UTF-8 encoded, and no checks on
2988 its form are applied.
2990 '--quick-revoke-uid USER-ID USER-ID-TO-REVOKE'
2991 This command revokes a User ID on an existing key. It cannot be
2992 used to revoke the last User ID on key (some non-revoked User ID
2993 must remain), with revocation reason "User ID is no longer valid".
2994 If you want to specify a different revocation reason, or to supply
2995 supplementary revocation text, you should use the interactive
2996 sub-command 'revuid' of '--edit-key'.
2998 '--change-passphrase USER_ID'
3000 Change the passphrase of the secret key belonging to the
3001 certificate specified as USER_ID. This is a shortcut for the
3002 sub-command 'passwd' of the edit key menu.
3005 File: gnupg.info, Node: GPG Options, Next: GPG Configuration, Prev: GPG Commands, Up: Invoking GPG
3010 'gpg' features a bunch of options to control the exact behaviour and to
3011 change the default configuration.
3015 * GPG Configuration Options:: How to change the configuration.
3016 * GPG Key related Options:: Key related options.
3017 * GPG Input and Output:: Input and Output.
3018 * OpenPGP Options:: OpenPGP protocol specific options.
3019 * Compliance Options:: Compliance options.
3020 * GPG Esoteric Options:: Doing things one usually doesn't want to do.
3021 * Deprecated Options:: Deprecated options.
3023 Long options can be put in an options file (default
3024 "~/.gnupg/gpg.conf"). Short option names will not work - for example,
3025 "armor" is a valid option for the options file, while "a" is not. Do
3026 not write the 2 dashes, but simply the name of the option and any
3027 required arguments. Lines with a hash ('#') as the first
3028 non-white-space character are ignored. Commands may be put in this file
3029 too, but that is not generally useful as the command will execute
3030 automatically with every execution of gpg.
3032 Please remember that option parsing stops as soon as a non-option is
3033 encountered, you can explicitly stop parsing by using the special option
3037 File: gnupg.info, Node: GPG Configuration Options, Next: GPG Key related Options, Up: GPG Options
3039 4.2.1 How to change the configuration
3040 -------------------------------------
3042 These options are used to change the configuration and are usually found
3045 '--default-key NAME'
3046 Use NAME as the default key to sign with. If this option is not
3047 used, the default key is the first key found in the secret keyring.
3048 Note that '-u' or '--local-user' overrides this option. This
3049 option may be given multiple times. In this case, the last key for
3050 which a secret key is available is used. If there is no secret key
3051 available for any of the specified values, GnuPG will not emit an
3052 error message but continue as if this option wasn't given.
3054 '--default-recipient NAME'
3055 Use NAME as default recipient if option '--recipient' is not used
3056 and don't ask if this is a valid one. NAME must be non-empty.
3058 '--default-recipient-self'
3059 Use the default key as default recipient if option '--recipient' is
3060 not used and don't ask if this is a valid one. The default key is
3061 the first one from the secret keyring or the one set with
3064 '--no-default-recipient'
3065 Reset '--default-recipient' and '--default-recipient-self'.
3068 Give more information during processing. If used twice, the input
3069 data is listed in detail.
3072 Reset verbose level to 0.
3075 Try to be as quiet as possible.
3079 Use batch mode. Never ask, do not allow interactive commands.
3080 '--no-batch' disables this option. Note that even with a filename
3081 given on the command line, gpg might still need to read from STDIN
3082 (in particular if gpg figures that the input is a detached
3083 signature and no data file has been specified). Thus if you do not
3084 want to feed data via STDIN, you should connect STDIN to
3087 It is highly recommended to use this option along with the options
3088 '--status-fd' and '--with-colons' for any unattended of 'gpg'.
3091 Make sure that the TTY (terminal) is never used for any output.
3092 This option is needed in some cases because GnuPG sometimes prints
3093 warnings to the TTY even if '--batch' is used.
3096 Assume "yes" on most questions.
3099 Assume "no" on most questions.
3101 '--list-options parameters'
3102 This is a space or comma delimited string that gives options used
3103 when listing keys and signatures (that is, '--list-keys',
3104 '--list-signatures', '--list-public-keys', '--list-secret-keys',
3105 and the '--edit-key' functions). Options can be prepended with a
3106 'no-' (after the two dashes) to give the opposite meaning. The
3110 Causes '--list-keys', '--list-signatures',
3111 '--list-public-keys', and '--list-secret-keys' to display any
3112 photo IDs attached to the key. Defaults to no. See also
3113 '--photo-viewer'. Does not work with '--with-colons': see
3114 '--attribute-fd' for the appropriate way to get photo data for
3115 scripts and other frontends.
3118 Show usage information for keys and subkeys in the standard
3119 key listing. This is a list of letters indicating the allowed
3120 usage for a key ('E'=encryption, 'S'=signing,
3121 'C'=certification, 'A'=authentication). Defaults to yes.
3124 Show policy URLs in the '--list-signatures' or
3125 '--check-signatures' listings. Defaults to no.
3130 Show all, IETF standard, or user-defined signature notations
3131 in the '--list-signatures' or '--check-signatures' listings.
3135 Show any preferred keyserver URL in the '--list-signatures' or
3136 '--check-signatures' listings. Defaults to no.
3139 Display the calculated validity of user IDs during key
3140 listings. Defaults to yes.
3143 Show revoked and expired user IDs in key listings. Defaults
3146 show-unusable-subkeys
3147 Show revoked and expired subkeys in key listings. Defaults to
3151 Display the keyring name at the head of key listings to show
3152 which keyring a given key resides on. Defaults to no.
3155 Show signature expiration dates (if any) during
3156 '--list-signatures' or '--check-signatures' listings.
3160 Include signature subpackets in the key listing. This option
3161 can take an optional argument list of the subpackets to list.
3162 If no argument is passed, list all subpackets. Defaults to
3163 no. This option is only meaningful when using '--with-colons'
3164 along with '--list-signatures' or '--check-signatures'.
3166 '--verify-options parameters'
3167 This is a space or comma delimited string that gives options used
3168 when verifying signatures. Options can be prepended with a 'no-'
3169 to give the opposite meaning. The options are:
3172 Display any photo IDs present on the key that issued the
3173 signature. Defaults to no. See also '--photo-viewer'.
3176 Show policy URLs in the signature being verified. Defaults to
3182 Show all, IETF standard, or user-defined signature notations
3183 in the signature being verified. Defaults to IETF standard.
3186 Show any preferred keyserver URL in the signature being
3187 verified. Defaults to yes.
3190 Display the calculated validity of the user IDs on the key
3191 that issued the signature. Defaults to yes.
3194 Show revoked and expired user IDs during signature
3195 verification. Defaults to no.
3197 show-primary-uid-only
3198 Show only the primary user ID during signature verification.
3199 That is all the AKA lines as well as photo Ids are not shown
3200 with the signature verification status.
3203 Enable PKA lookups to verify sender addresses. Note that PKA
3204 is based on DNS, and so enabling this option may disclose
3205 information on when and what signatures are verified or to
3206 whom data is encrypted. This is similar to the "web bug"
3207 described for the '--auto-key-retrieve' option.
3210 Raise the trust in a signature to full if the signature passes
3211 PKA validation. This option is only meaningful if pka-lookups
3214 '--enable-large-rsa'
3215 '--disable-large-rsa'
3216 With -generate-key and -batch, enable the creation of RSA secret
3217 keys as large as 8192 bit. Note: 8192 bit is more than is
3218 generally recommended. These large keys don't significantly
3219 improve security, but they are more expensive to use, and their
3220 signatures and certifications are larger. This option is only
3221 available if the binary was build with large-secmem support.
3225 Enable hash truncation for all DSA keys even for old DSA Keys up to
3226 1024 bit. This is also the default with '--openpgp'. Note that
3227 older versions of GnuPG also required this flag to allow the
3228 generation of DSA larger than 1024 bit.
3230 '--photo-viewer string'
3231 This is the command line that should be run to view a photo ID.
3232 "%i" will be expanded to a filename containing the photo. "%I"
3233 does the same, except the file will not be deleted once the viewer
3234 exits. Other flags are "%k" for the key ID, "%K" for the long key
3235 ID, "%f" for the key fingerprint, "%t" for the extension of the
3236 image type (e.g. "jpg"), "%T" for the MIME type of the image (e.g.
3237 "image/jpeg"), "%v" for the single-character calculated validity of
3238 the image being viewed (e.g. "f"), "%V" for the calculated
3239 validity as a string (e.g. "full"), "%U" for a base32 encoded hash
3240 of the user ID, and "%%" for an actual percent sign. If neither %i
3241 or %I are present, then the photo will be supplied to the viewer on
3244 The default viewer is "xloadimage -fork -quiet -title 'KeyID 0x%k'
3245 STDIN". Note that if your image viewer program is not secure, then
3246 executing it from GnuPG does not make it secure.
3248 '--exec-path string'
3249 Sets a list of directories to search for photo viewers and
3250 keyserver helpers. If not provided, keyserver helpers use the
3251 compiled-in default directory, and photo viewers use the 'PATH'
3252 environment variable. Note, that on W32 system this value is
3253 ignored when searching for keyserver helpers.
3256 Add 'file' to the current list of keyrings. If 'file' begins with
3257 a tilde and a slash, these are replaced by the $HOME directory. If
3258 the filename does not contain a slash, it is assumed to be in the
3259 GnuPG home directory ("~/.gnupg" if '--homedir' or $GNUPGHOME is
3262 Note that this adds a keyring to the current list. If the intent
3263 is to use the specified keyring alone, use '--keyring' along with
3264 '--no-default-keyring'.
3266 If the the option '--no-keyring' has been used no keyrings will be
3269 '--secret-keyring file'
3270 This is an obsolete option and ignored. All secret keys are stored
3271 in the 'private-keys-v1.d' directory below the GnuPG home
3274 '--primary-keyring file'
3275 Designate 'file' as the primary public keyring. This means that
3276 newly imported keys (via '--import' or keyserver '--recv-from')
3277 will go to this keyring.
3279 '--trustdb-name file'
3280 Use 'file' instead of the default trustdb. If 'file' begins with a
3281 tilde and a slash, these are replaced by the $HOME directory. If
3282 the filename does not contain a slash, it is assumed to be in the
3283 GnuPG home directory ('~/.gnupg' if '--homedir' or $GNUPGHOME is
3287 Set the name of the home directory to DIR. If this option is not
3288 used, the home directory defaults to '~/.gnupg'. It is only
3289 recognized when given on the command line. It also overrides any
3290 home directory stated through the environment variable 'GNUPGHOME'
3291 or (on Windows systems) by means of the Registry entry
3292 HKCU\SOFTWARE\GNU\GNUPG:HOMEDIR.
3294 On Windows systems it is possible to install GnuPG as a portable
3295 application. In this case only this command line option is
3296 considered, all other ways to set a home directory are ignored.
3298 To install GnuPG as a portable application under Windows, create an
3299 empty file named 'gpgconf.ctl' in the same directory as the tool
3300 'gpgconf.exe'. The root of the installation is then that
3301 directory; or, if 'gpgconf.exe' has been installed directly below a
3302 directory named 'bin', its parent directory. You also need to make
3303 sure that the following directories exist and are writable:
3304 'ROOT/home' for the GnuPG home and 'ROOT/usr/local/var/cache/gnupg'
3305 for internal cache files.
3307 '--display-charset name'
3308 Set the name of the native character set. This is used to convert
3309 some informational strings like user IDs to the proper UTF-8
3310 encoding. Note that this has nothing to do with the character set
3311 of data to be encrypted or signed; GnuPG does not recode
3312 user-supplied data. If this option is not used, the default
3313 character set is determined from the current locale. A verbosity
3314 level of 3 shows the chosen set. Valid values for 'name' are:
3317 This is the Latin 1 set.
3323 This is currently an alias for the Latin 1 set.
3326 The usual Russian set (RFC-1489).
3329 Bypass all translations and assume that the OS uses native
3334 Assume that command line arguments are given as UTF-8 strings. The
3335 default ('--no-utf8-strings') is to assume that arguments are
3336 encoded in the character set as specified by '--display-charset'.
3337 These options affect all following arguments. Both options may be
3338 used multiple times.
3341 Read options from 'file' and do not try to read them from the
3342 default options file in the homedir (see '--homedir'). This option
3343 is ignored if used in an options file.
3346 Shortcut for '--options /dev/null'. This option is detected before
3347 an attempt to open an option file. Using this option will also
3348 prevent the creation of a '~/.gnupg' homedir.
3351 '--compress-level n'
3352 '--bzip2-compress-level n'
3353 Set compression level to 'n' for the ZIP and ZLIB compression
3354 algorithms. The default is to use the default compression level of
3355 zlib (normally 6). '--bzip2-compress-level' sets the compression
3356 level for the BZIP2 compression algorithm (defaulting to 6 as
3357 well). This is a different option from '--compress-level' since
3358 BZIP2 uses a significant amount of memory for each additional
3359 compression level. '-z' sets both. A value of 0 for 'n' disables
3362 '--bzip2-decompress-lowmem'
3363 Use a different decompression method for BZIP2 compressed files.
3364 This alternate method uses a bit more than half the memory, but
3365 also runs at half the speed. This is useful under extreme low
3366 memory circumstances when the file was originally compressed at a
3367 high '--bzip2-compress-level'.
3369 '--mangle-dos-filenames'
3370 '--no-mangle-dos-filenames'
3371 Older version of Windows cannot handle filenames with more than one
3372 dot. '--mangle-dos-filenames' causes GnuPG to replace (rather than
3373 add to) the extension of an output filename to avoid this problem.
3374 This option is off by default and has no effect on non-Windows
3378 '--no-ask-cert-level'
3379 When making a key signature, prompt for a certification level. If
3380 this option is not specified, the certification level used is set
3381 via '--default-cert-level'. See '--default-cert-level' for
3382 information on the specific levels and how they are used.
3383 '--no-ask-cert-level' disables this option. This option defaults
3386 '--default-cert-level n'
3387 The default to use for the check level when signing a key.
3389 0 means you make no particular claim as to how carefully you
3392 1 means you believe the key is owned by the person who claims to
3393 own it but you could not, or did not verify the key at all. This
3394 is useful for a "persona" verification, where you sign the key of a
3397 2 means you did casual verification of the key. For example, this
3398 could mean that you verified the key fingerprint and checked the
3399 user ID on the key against a photo ID.
3401 3 means you did extensive verification of the key. For example,
3402 this could mean that you verified the key fingerprint with the
3403 owner of the key in person, and that you checked, by means of a
3404 hard to forge document with a photo ID (such as a passport) that
3405 the name of the key owner matches the name in the user ID on the
3406 key, and finally that you verified (by exchange of email) that the
3407 email address on the key belongs to the key owner.
3409 Note that the examples given above for levels 2 and 3 are just
3410 that: examples. In the end, it is up to you to decide just what
3411 "casual" and "extensive" mean to you.
3413 This option defaults to 0 (no particular claim).
3416 When building the trust database, treat any signatures with a
3417 certification level below this as invalid. Defaults to 2, which
3418 disregards level 1 signatures. Note that level 0 "no particular
3419 claim" signatures are always accepted.
3421 '--trusted-key long key ID'
3422 Assume that the specified key (which must be given as a full 8 byte
3423 key ID) is as trustworthy as one of your own secret keys. This
3424 option is useful if you don't want to keep your secret keys (or one
3425 of them) online but still want to be able to check the validity of
3426 a given recipient's or signator's key.
3428 '--trust-model pgp|classic|tofu|tofu+pgp|direct|always|auto'
3429 Set what trust model GnuPG should follow. The models are:
3432 This is the Web of Trust combined with trust signatures as
3433 used in PGP 5.x and later. This is the default trust model
3434 when creating a new trust database.
3437 This is the standard Web of Trust as introduced by PGP 2.
3440 TOFU stands for Trust On First Use. In this trust model, the
3441 first time a key is seen, it is memorized. If later another
3442 key is seen with a user id with the same email address, a
3443 warning is displayed indicating that there is a conflict and
3444 that the key might be a forgery and an attempt at a
3445 man-in-the-middle attack.
3447 Because a potential attacker is able to control the email
3448 address and thereby circumvent the conflict detection
3449 algorithm by using an email address that is similar in
3450 appearance to a trusted email address, whenever a message is
3451 verified, statistics about the number of messages signed with
3452 the key are shown. In this way, a user can easily identify
3453 attacks using fake keys for regular correspondents.
3455 When compared with the Web of Trust, TOFU offers significantly
3456 weaker security guarantees. In particular, TOFU only helps
3457 ensure consistency (that is, that the binding between a key
3458 and email address doesn't change). A major advantage of TOFU
3459 is that it requires little maintenance to use correctly. To
3460 use the web of trust properly, you need to actively sign keys
3461 and mark users as trusted introducers. This is a
3462 time-consuming process and anecdotal evidence suggests that
3463 even security-conscious users rarely take the time to do this
3464 thoroughly and instead rely on an ad-hoc TOFU process.
3466 In the TOFU model, policies are associated with bindings
3467 between keys and email addresses (which are extracted from
3468 user ids and normalized). There are five policies, which can
3469 be set manually using the '--tofu-policy' option. The default
3470 policy can be set using the '--tofu-default-policy' option.
3472 The TOFU policies are: 'auto', 'good', 'unknown', 'bad' and
3473 'ask'. The 'auto' policy is used by default (unless
3474 overridden by '--tofu-default-policy') and marks a binding as
3475 marginally trusted. The 'good', 'unknown' and 'bad' policies
3476 mark a binding as fully trusted, as having unknown trust or as
3477 having trust never, respectively. The 'unknown' policy is
3478 useful for just using TOFU to detect conflicts, but to never
3479 assign positive trust to a binding. The final policy, 'ask'
3480 prompts the user to indicate the binding's trust. If batch
3481 mode is enabled (or input is inappropriate in the context),
3482 then the user is not prompted and the 'undefined' trust level
3486 This trust model combines TOFU with the Web of Trust. This is
3487 done by computing the trust level for each model and then
3488 taking the maximum trust level where the trust levels are
3489 ordered as follows: 'unknown < undefined < marginal < fully <
3490 ultimate < expired < never'.
3492 By setting '--tofu-default-policy=unknown', this model can be
3493 used to implement the web of trust with TOFU's conflict
3494 detection algorithm, but without its assignment of positive
3495 trust values, which some security-conscious users don't like.
3498 Key validity is set directly by the user and not calculated
3499 via the Web of Trust.
3502 Skip key validation and assume that used keys are always fully
3503 valid. You generally won't use this unless you are using some
3504 external validation scheme. This option also suppresses the
3505 "[uncertain]" tag printed with signature checks when there is
3506 no evidence that the user ID is bound to the key. Note that
3507 this trust model still does not allow the use of expired,
3508 revoked, or disabled keys.
3511 Select the trust model depending on whatever the internal
3512 trust database says. This is the default model if such a
3513 database already exists.
3515 '--auto-key-locate parameters'
3516 '--no-auto-key-locate'
3517 GnuPG can automatically locate and retrieve keys as needed using
3518 this option. This happens when encrypting to an email address (in
3519 the "user@example.com" form), and there are no user@example.com
3520 keys on the local keyring. This option takes any number of the
3521 following mechanisms, in the order they are to be tried:
3524 Locate a key using DNS CERT, as specified in RFC-4398.
3527 Locate a key using DNS PKA.
3530 Locate a key using DANE, as specified in
3531 draft-ietf-dane-openpgpkey-05.txt.
3534 Locate a key using the Web Key Directory protocol. This is an
3535 experimental method and semantics may change.
3538 Using DNS Service Discovery, check the domain in question for
3539 any LDAP keyservers to use. If this fails, attempt to locate
3540 the key using the PGP Universal method of checking
3541 'ldap://keys.(thedomain)'.
3544 Locate a key using whatever keyserver is defined using the
3545 '--keyserver' option.
3548 In addition, a keyserver URL as used in the '--keyserver'
3549 option may be used here to query that particular keyserver.
3552 Locate the key using the local keyrings. This mechanism
3553 allows the user to select the order a local key lookup is
3554 done. Thus using '--auto-key-locate local' is identical to
3555 '--no-auto-key-locate'.
3558 This flag disables the standard local key lookup, done before
3559 any of the mechanisms defined by the '--auto-key-locate' are
3560 tried. The position of this mechanism in the list does not
3561 matter. It is not required if 'local' is also used.
3564 Clear all defined mechanisms. This is useful to override
3565 mechanisms given in a config file.
3567 '--auto-key-retrieve'
3568 '--no-auto-key-retrieve'
3569 This option enables the automatic retrieving of keys from a
3570 keyserver when verifying signatures made by keys that are not on
3573 If the method "wkd" is included in the list of methods given to
3574 'auto-key-locate', the Signer's User ID is part of the signature,
3575 and the option '--disable-signer-uid' is not used, the "wkd" method
3576 may also be used to retrieve a key.
3578 Note that this option makes a "web bug" like behavior possible.
3579 Keyserver or Web Key Directory operators can see which keys you
3580 request, so by sending you a message signed by a brand new key
3581 (which you naturally will not have on your local keyring), the
3582 operator can tell both your IP address and the time when you
3583 verified the signature.
3585 '--keyid-format none|short|0xshort|long|0xlong'
3586 Select how to display key IDs. "none" does not show the key ID at
3587 all but shows the fingerprint in a separate line. "short" is the
3588 traditional 8-character key ID. "long" is the more accurate (but
3589 less convenient) 16-character key ID. Add an "0x" to either to
3590 include an "0x" at the beginning of the key ID, as in 0x99242560.
3591 Note that this option is ignored if the option '--with-colons' is
3595 This option is deprecated - please use the '--keyserver' in
3596 'dirmngr.conf' instead.
3598 Use 'name' as your keyserver. This is the server that
3599 '--receive-keys', '--send-keys', and '--search-keys' will
3600 communicate with to receive keys from, send keys to, and search for
3601 keys on. The format of the 'name' is a URI:
3602 'scheme:[//]keyservername[:port]' The scheme is the type of
3603 keyserver: "hkp" for the HTTP (or compatible) keyservers, "ldap"
3604 for the LDAP keyservers, or "mailto" for the Graff email keyserver.
3605 Note that your particular installation of GnuPG may have other
3606 keyserver types available as well. Keyserver schemes are
3607 case-insensitive. After the keyserver name, optional keyserver
3608 configuration options may be provided. These are the same as the
3609 global '--keyserver-options' from below, but apply only to this
3610 particular keyserver.
3612 Most keyservers synchronize with each other, so there is generally
3613 no need to send keys to more than one server. The keyserver
3614 'hkp://keys.gnupg.net' uses round robin DNS to give a different
3615 keyserver each time you use it.
3617 '--keyserver-options name=value'
3618 This is a space or comma delimited string that gives options for
3619 the keyserver. Options can be prefixed with a 'no-' to give the
3620 opposite meaning. Valid import-options or export-options may be
3621 used here as well to apply to importing ('--recv-key') or exporting
3622 ('--send-key') a key from a keyserver. While not all options are
3623 available for all keyserver types, some common options are:
3626 When searching for a key with '--search-keys', include keys
3627 that are marked on the keyserver as revoked. Note that not
3628 all keyservers differentiate between revoked and unrevoked
3629 keys, and for such keyservers this option is meaningless.
3630 Note also that most keyservers do not have cryptographic
3631 verification of key revocations, and so turning this option
3632 off may result in skipping keys that are incorrectly marked as
3636 When searching for a key with '--search-keys', include keys
3637 that are marked on the keyserver as disabled. Note that this
3638 option is not used with HKP keyservers.
3641 This is the same as the option 'auto-key-retrieve'.
3644 When using '--refresh-keys', if the key in question has a
3645 preferred keyserver URL, then use that preferred keyserver to
3646 refresh the key from. In addition, if auto-key-retrieve is
3647 set, and the signature being verified has a preferred
3648 keyserver URL, then use that preferred keyserver to fetch the
3649 key from. Note that this option introduces a "web bug": The
3650 creator of the key can see when the keys is refreshed. Thus
3651 this option is not enabled by default.
3654 If '--auto-key-retrieve' is used, and the signature being
3655 verified has a PKA record, then use the PKA information to
3656 fetch the key. Defaults to "yes".
3659 When receiving a key, include subkeys as potential targets.
3660 Note that this option is not used with HKP keyservers, as they
3661 do not support retrieving keys by subkey id.
3664 Tell the keyserver helper program how long (in seconds) to try
3665 and perform a keyserver action before giving up. Note that
3666 performing multiple actions at the same time uses this timeout
3667 value per action. For example, when retrieving multiple keys
3668 via '--receive-keys', the timeout applies separately to each
3669 key retrieval, and not to the '--receive-keys' command as a
3670 whole. Defaults to 30 seconds.
3673 This option is deprecated. Set the proxy to use for HTTP and
3674 HKP keyservers. This overrides any proxy defined in
3678 This option has no more function since GnuPG 2.1. Use the
3679 'dirmngr' configuration options instead.
3682 This option has no more function since GnuPG 2.1. Use the
3683 'dirmngr' configuration options instead.
3686 This option has no more function since GnuPG 2.1. Use the
3687 'dirmngr' configuration options instead.
3690 This option has no more function since GnuPG 2.1. Use the
3691 'dirmngr' configuration options instead.
3693 '--completes-needed n'
3694 Number of completely trusted users to introduce a new key signer
3697 '--marginals-needed n'
3698 Number of marginally trusted users to introduce a new key signer
3701 '--tofu-default-policy auto|good|unknown|bad|ask'
3702 The default TOFU policy (defaults to 'auto'). For more information
3703 about the meaning of this option, *note trust-model-tofu::.
3705 '--max-cert-depth n'
3706 Maximum depth of a certification chain (default is 5).
3709 Do not cache the verification status of key signatures. Caching
3710 gives a much better performance in key listings. However, if you
3711 suspect that your public keyring is not safe against write
3712 modifications, you can use this option to disable the caching. It
3713 probably does not make sense to disable it because all kind of
3714 damage can be done if someone else has write access to your public
3717 '--auto-check-trustdb'
3718 '--no-auto-check-trustdb'
3719 If GnuPG feels that its information about the Web of Trust has to
3720 be updated, it automatically runs the '--check-trustdb' command
3721 internally. This may be a time consuming process.
3722 '--no-auto-check-trustdb' disables this option.
3726 This is dummy option. 'gpg' always requires the agent.
3729 This is dummy option. It has no effect when used with 'gpg'.
3731 '--agent-program FILE'
3732 Specify an agent program to be used for secret key operations. The
3733 default value is determined by running 'gpgconf' with the option
3734 '--list-dirs'. Note that the pipe symbol ('|') is used for a
3735 regression test suite hack and may thus not be used in the file
3738 '--dirmngr-program FILE'
3739 Specify a dirmngr program to be used for keyserver access. The
3740 default value is '/usr/local/bin/dirmngr'.
3743 Do not start the gpg-agent or the dirmngr if it has not yet been
3744 started and its service is required. This option is mostly useful
3745 on machines where the connection to gpg-agent has been redirected
3746 to another machines. If dirmngr is required on the remote machine,
3747 it may be started manually using 'gpgconf --launch dirmngr'.
3750 Lock the databases the first time a lock is requested and do not
3751 release the lock until the process terminates.
3754 Release the locks every time a lock is no longer needed. Use this
3755 to override a previous '--lock-once' from a config file.
3758 Disable locking entirely. This option should be used only in very
3759 special environments, where it can be assured that only one process
3760 is accessing those files. A bootable floppy with a stand-alone
3761 encryption system will probably use this. Improper usage of this
3762 option may lead to data and key corruption.
3764 '--exit-on-status-write-error'
3765 This option will cause write errors on the status FD to immediately
3766 terminate the process. That should in fact be the default but it
3767 never worked this way and thus we need an option to enable this, so
3768 that the change won't break applications which close their end of a
3769 status fd connected pipe too early. Using this option along with
3770 '--enable-progress-filter' may be used to cleanly cancel long
3771 running gpg operations.
3773 '--limit-card-insert-tries n'
3774 With 'n' greater than 0 the number of prompts asking to insert a
3775 smartcard gets limited to N-1. Thus with a value of 1 gpg won't at
3776 all ask to insert a card if none has been inserted at startup.
3777 This option is useful in the configuration file in case an
3778 application does not know about the smartcard support and waits ad
3779 infinitum for an inserted card.
3781 '--no-random-seed-file'
3782 GnuPG uses a file to store its internal random pool over
3783 invocations. This makes random generation faster; however
3784 sometimes write operations are not desired. This option can be
3785 used to achieve that with the cost of slower random generation.
3788 Suppress the initial copyright message.
3790 '--no-secmem-warning'
3791 Suppress the warning about "using insecure memory".
3793 '--no-permission-warning'
3794 Suppress the warning about unsafe file and home directory
3795 ('--homedir') permissions. Note that the permission checks that
3796 GnuPG performs are not intended to be authoritative, but rather
3797 they simply warn about certain common permission problems. Do not
3798 assume that the lack of a warning means that your system is secure.
3800 Note that the warning for unsafe '--homedir' permissions cannot be
3801 suppressed in the gpg.conf file, as this would allow an attacker to
3802 place an unsafe gpg.conf file in place, and use this file to
3803 suppress warnings about itself. The '--homedir' permissions
3804 warning may only be suppressed on the command line.
3807 Suppress the warning about missing MDC integrity protection.
3810 '--no-require-secmem'
3811 Refuse to run if GnuPG cannot get secure memory. Defaults to no
3812 (i.e. run, but give a warning).
3814 '--require-cross-certification'
3815 '--no-require-cross-certification'
3816 When verifying a signature made from a subkey, ensure that the
3817 cross certification "back signature" on the subkey is present and
3818 valid. This protects against a subtle attack against subkeys that
3819 can sign. Defaults to '--require-cross-certification' for 'gpg'.
3823 Allow the user to do certain nonsensical or "silly" things like
3824 signing an expired or revoked key, or certain potentially
3825 incompatible things like generating unusual key types. This also
3826 disables certain warning messages about potentially incompatible
3827 actions. As the name implies, this option is for experts only. If
3828 you don't fully understand the implications of what it allows you
3829 to do, leave this off. '--no-expert' disables this option.
3832 File: gnupg.info, Node: GPG Key related Options, Next: GPG Input and Output, Prev: GPG Configuration Options, Up: GPG Options
3834 4.2.2 Key related options
3835 -------------------------
3839 Encrypt for user id NAME. If this option or '--hidden-recipient'
3840 is not specified, GnuPG asks for the user-id unless
3841 '--default-recipient' is given.
3843 '--hidden-recipient NAME'
3845 Encrypt for user ID NAME, but hide the key ID of this user's key.
3846 This option helps to hide the receiver of the message and is a
3847 limited countermeasure against traffic analysis. If this option or
3848 '--recipient' is not specified, GnuPG asks for the user ID unless
3849 '--default-recipient' is given.
3851 '--recipient-file FILE'
3853 This option is similar to '--recipient' except that it encrypts to
3854 a key stored in the given file. FILE must be the name of a file
3855 containing exactly one key. 'gpg' assumes that the key in this
3856 file is fully valid.
3858 '--hidden-recipient-file FILE'
3860 This option is similar to '--hidden-recipient' except that it
3861 encrypts to a key stored in the given file. FILE must be the name
3862 of a file containing exactly one key. 'gpg' assumes that the key
3863 in this file is fully valid.
3866 Same as '--recipient' but this one is intended for use in the
3867 options file and may be used with your own user-id as an
3868 "encrypt-to-self". These keys are only used when there are other
3869 recipients given either by use of '--recipient' or by the asked
3870 user id. No trust checking is performed for these user ids and
3871 even disabled keys can be used.
3873 '--hidden-encrypt-to name'
3874 Same as '--hidden-recipient' but this one is intended for use in
3875 the options file and may be used with your own user-id as a hidden
3876 "encrypt-to-self". These keys are only used when there are other
3877 recipients given either by use of '--recipient' or by the asked
3878 user id. No trust checking is performed for these user ids and
3879 even disabled keys can be used.
3882 Disable the use of all '--encrypt-to' and '--hidden-encrypt-to'
3885 '--group name=value'
3886 Sets up a named group, which is similar to aliases in email
3887 programs. Any time the group name is a recipient ('-r' or
3888 '--recipient'), it will be expanded to the values specified.
3889 Multiple groups with the same name are automatically merged into a
3892 The values are 'key IDs' or fingerprints, but any key description
3893 is accepted. Note that a value with spaces in it will be treated
3894 as two different values. Note also there is only one level of
3895 expansion -- you cannot make an group that points to another group.
3896 When used from the command line, it may be necessary to quote the
3897 argument to this option to prevent the shell from treating it as
3901 Remove a given entry from the '--group' list.
3904 Remove all entries from the '--group' list.
3908 Use NAME as the key to sign with. Note that this option overrides
3912 This option has two purposes. MBOX must either be a complete user
3913 id with a proper mail address or just a mail address. When
3914 creating a signature this option tells gpg the user id of a key
3915 used to make a signature if the key was not directly specified by a
3916 user id. When verifying a signature the MBOX is used to restrict
3917 the information printed by the TOFU code to matching user ids.
3919 '--try-secret-key NAME'
3920 For hidden recipients GPG needs to know the keys to use for trial
3921 decryption. The key set with '--default-key' is always tried
3922 first, but this is often not sufficient. This option allows
3923 setting more keys to be used for trial decryption. Although any
3924 valid user-id specification may be used for NAME it makes sense to
3925 use at least the long keyid to avoid ambiguities. Note that
3926 gpg-agent might pop up a pinentry for a lot keys to do the trial
3927 decryption. If you want to stop all further trial decryption you
3928 may use close-window button instead of the cancel button.
3931 Don't look at the key ID as stored in the message but try all
3932 secret keys in turn to find the right decryption key. This option
3933 forces the behaviour as used by anonymous recipients (created by
3934 using '--throw-keyids' or '--hidden-recipient') and might come
3935 handy in case where an encrypted message contains a bogus key ID.
3937 '--skip-hidden-recipients'
3938 '--no-skip-hidden-recipients'
3939 During decryption skip all anonymous recipients. This option helps
3940 in the case that people use the hidden recipients feature to hide
3941 there own encrypt-to key from others. If oneself has many secret
3942 keys this may lead to a major annoyance because all keys are tried
3943 in turn to decrypt something which was not really intended for it.
3944 The drawback of this option is that it is currently not possible to
3945 decrypt a message which includes real anonymous recipients.
3948 File: gnupg.info, Node: GPG Input and Output, Next: OpenPGP Options, Prev: GPG Key related Options, Up: GPG Options
3950 4.2.3 Input and Output
3951 ----------------------
3955 Create ASCII armored output. The default is to create the binary
3959 Assume the input data is not in ASCII armored format.
3963 Write output to FILE. To write to stdout use '-' as the filename.
3966 This option sets a limit on the number of bytes that will be
3967 generated when processing a file. Since OpenPGP supports various
3968 levels of compression, it is possible that the plaintext of a given
3969 message may be significantly larger than the original OpenPGP
3970 message. While GnuPG works properly with such messages, there is
3971 often a desire to set a maximum file size that will be generated
3972 before processing is forced to stop by the OS limits. Defaults to
3973 0, which means "no limit".
3975 '--input-size-hint N'
3976 This option can be used to tell GPG the size of the input data in
3977 bytes. N must be a positive base-10 number. This option is only
3978 useful if the input is not taken from a file. GPG may use this
3979 hint to optimize its buffer allocation strategy. It is also used
3980 by the '--status-fd' line "PROGRESS" to provide a value for "total"
3981 if that is not available by other means.
3983 '--import-options parameters'
3984 This is a space or comma delimited string that gives options for
3985 importing keys. Options can be prepended with a 'no-' to give the
3986 opposite meaning. The options are:
3989 Allow importing key signatures marked as "local". This is not
3990 generally useful unless a shared keyring scheme is being used.
3994 Normally possible still existing ownertrust values of a key
3995 are cleared if a key is imported. This is in general
3996 desirable so that a formerly deleted key does not
3997 automatically gain an ownertrust values merely due to import.
3998 On the other hand it is sometimes necessary to re-import a
3999 trusted set of keys again but keeping already assigned
4000 ownertrust values. This can be achieved by using this option.
4002 repair-pks-subkey-bug
4003 During import, attempt to repair the damage caused by the PKS
4004 keyserver bug (pre version 0.9.6) that mangles keys with
4005 multiple subkeys. Note that this cannot completely repair the
4006 damaged key as some crucial data is removed by the keyserver,
4007 but it does at least give you back one subkey. Defaults to no
4008 for regular '--import' and to yes for keyserver
4012 Show a listing of the key as imported right before it is
4013 stored. This can be combined with the option '--dry-run' to
4017 Run the entire import code but instead of storing the key to
4018 the local keyring write it to the output. The export options
4019 'export-pka' and 'export-dane' affect the output. This option
4020 can be used to remove all invalid parts from a key without the
4024 During import, allow key updates to existing keys, but do not
4025 allow any new keys to be imported. Defaults to no.
4028 After import, compact (remove all signatures except the
4029 self-signature) any user IDs from the new key that are not
4030 usable. Then, remove any signatures from the new key that are
4031 not usable. This includes signatures that were issued by keys
4032 that are not present on the keyring. This option is the same
4033 as running the '--edit-key' command "clean" after import.
4037 Import the smallest key possible. This removes all signatures
4038 except the most recent self-signature on each user ID. This
4039 option is the same as running the '--edit-key' command
4040 "minimize" after import. Defaults to no.
4042 '--import-filter NAME=EXPR'
4043 '--export-filter NAME=EXPR'
4044 These options define an import/export filter which are applied to
4045 the imported/exported keyblock right before it will be
4046 stored/written. NAME defines the type of filter to use, EXPR the
4047 expression to evaluate. The option can be used several times which
4048 then appends more expression to the same NAME.
4050 The available filter types are:
4053 This filter will keep a user id packet and its dependent
4054 packets in the keyblock if the expression evaluates to true.
4057 This filter drops the selected subkeys. Currently only
4058 implemented for -export-filter.
4061 This filter drops the selected key signatures on user ids.
4062 Self-signatures are not considered. Currently only
4063 implemented for -import-filter.
4065 For the syntax of the expression see the chapter "FILTER
4066 EXPRESSIONS". The property names for the expressions depend on the
4067 actual filter type and are indicated in the following table.
4069 The available properties are:
4072 A string with the user id. (keep-uid)
4075 The addr-spec part of a user id with mailbox or the empty
4079 A number with the public key algorithm of a key or subkey
4080 packet. (drop-subkey)
4084 The first is the timestamp a public key or subkey packet was
4085 created. The second is the same but given as an ISO string,
4086 e.g. "2016-08-17". (drop-subkey)
4089 Boolean indicating whether the user id is the primary one.
4093 Boolean indicating whether a key or subkey is a secret one.
4098 The first is the timestamp a signature packet was created.
4099 The second is the same but given as an ISO string, e.g.
4100 "2016-08-17". (drop-sig)
4103 A number with the public key algorithm of a signature packet.
4107 A number with the digest algorithm of a signature packet.
4110 '--export-options parameters'
4111 This is a space or comma delimited string that gives options for
4112 exporting keys. Options can be prepended with a 'no-' to give the
4113 opposite meaning. The options are:
4116 Allow exporting key signatures marked as "local". This is not
4117 generally useful unless a shared keyring scheme is being used.
4121 Include attribute user IDs (photo IDs) while exporting. This
4122 is useful to export keys if they are going to be used by an
4123 OpenPGP program that does not accept attribute user IDs.
4126 export-sensitive-revkeys
4127 Include designated revoker information that was marked as
4128 "sensitive". Defaults to no.
4131 Compact (remove all signatures from) user IDs on the key being
4132 exported if the user IDs are not usable. Also, do not export
4133 any signatures that are not usable. This includes signatures
4134 that were issued by keys that are not present on the keyring.
4135 This option is the same as running the '--edit-key' command
4136 "clean" before export except that the local copy of the key is
4137 not modified. Defaults to no.
4140 Export the smallest key possible. This removes all signatures
4141 except the most recent self-signature on each user ID. This
4142 option is the same as running the '--edit-key' command
4143 "minimize" before export except that the local copy of the key
4144 is not modified. Defaults to no.
4147 Instead of outputting the key material output PKA records
4148 suitable to put into DNS zone files. An ORIGIN line is
4149 printed before each record to allow diverting the records to
4150 the corresponding zone file.
4153 Instead of outputting the key material output OpenPGP DANE
4154 records suitable to put into DNS zone files. An ORIGIN line
4155 is printed before each record to allow diverting the records
4156 to the corresponding zone file.
4159 Print key listings delimited by colons. Note that the output will
4160 be encoded in UTF-8 regardless of any '--display-charset' setting.
4161 This format is useful when GnuPG is called from scripts and other
4162 programs as it is easily machine parsed. The details of this
4163 format are documented in the file 'doc/DETAILS', which is included
4164 in the GnuPG source distribution.
4167 Do not merge primary user ID and primary key in '--with-colon'
4168 listing mode and print all timestamps as seconds since 1970-01-01.
4169 Since GnuPG 2.0.10, this mode is always used and thus this option
4170 is obsolete; it does not harm to use it though.
4172 '--legacy-list-mode'
4173 Revert to the pre-2.1 public key list mode. This only affects the
4174 human readable output and not the machine interface (i.e.
4175 '--with-colons'). Note that the legacy format does not convey
4176 suitable information for elliptic curves.
4178 '--with-fingerprint'
4179 Same as the command '--fingerprint' but changes only the format of
4180 the output and may be used together with another command.
4182 '--with-subkey-fingerprint'
4183 If a fingerprint is printed for the primary key, this option forces
4184 printing of the fingerprint for all subkeys. This could also be
4185 achieved by using the '--with-fingerprint' twice but by using this
4186 option along with keyid-format "none" a compact fingerprint is
4189 '--with-icao-spelling'
4190 Print the ICAO spelling of the fingerprint in addition to the hex
4194 Include the keygrip in the key listings. In '--with-colons' mode
4195 this is implicitly enable for secret keys.
4198 Print a Web Key Directory identifier along with each user ID in key
4199 listings. This is an experimental feature and semantics may
4203 Include info about the presence of a secret key in public key
4204 listings done with '--with-colons'.
4207 File: gnupg.info, Node: OpenPGP Options, Next: Compliance Options, Prev: GPG Input and Output, Up: GPG Options
4209 4.2.4 OpenPGP protocol specific options
4210 ---------------------------------------
4214 Treat input files as text and store them in the OpenPGP canonical
4215 text form with standard "CRLF" line endings. This also sets the
4216 necessary flags to inform the recipient that the encrypted or
4217 signed data is text and may need its line endings converted back to
4218 whatever the local system uses. This option is useful when
4219 communicating between two platforms that have different line ending
4220 conventions (UNIX-like to Mac, Mac to Windows, etc).
4221 '--no-textmode' disables this option, and is the default.
4224 '--no-force-v3-sigs'
4226 '--no-force-v4-certs'
4227 These options are obsolete and have no effect since GnuPG 2.1.
4230 Force the use of encryption with a modification detection code.
4231 This is always used with the newer ciphers (those with a blocksize
4232 greater than 64 bits), or if all of the recipient keys indicate MDC
4233 support in their feature flags.
4236 Disable the use of the modification detection code. Note that by
4237 using this option, the encrypted message becomes vulnerable to a
4238 message modification attack.
4240 '--disable-signer-uid'
4241 By default the user ID of the signing key is embedded in the data
4242 signature. As of now this is only done if the signing key has been
4243 specified with 'local-user' using a mail address. This information
4244 can be helpful for verifier to locate the key; see option
4245 '--auto-key-retrieve'.
4247 '--personal-cipher-preferences string'
4248 Set the list of personal cipher preferences to 'string'. Use 'gpg
4249 --version' to get a list of available algorithms, and use 'none' to
4250 set no preference at all. This allows the user to safely override
4251 the algorithm chosen by the recipient key preferences, as GPG will
4252 only select an algorithm that is usable by all recipients. The
4253 most highly ranked cipher in this list is also used for the
4254 '--symmetric' encryption command.
4256 '--personal-digest-preferences string'
4257 Set the list of personal digest preferences to 'string'. Use 'gpg
4258 --version' to get a list of available algorithms, and use 'none' to
4259 set no preference at all. This allows the user to safely override
4260 the algorithm chosen by the recipient key preferences, as GPG will
4261 only select an algorithm that is usable by all recipients. The
4262 most highly ranked digest algorithm in this list is also used when
4263 signing without encryption (e.g. '--clear-sign' or '--sign').
4265 '--personal-compress-preferences string'
4266 Set the list of personal compression preferences to 'string'. Use
4267 'gpg --version' to get a list of available algorithms, and use
4268 'none' to set no preference at all. This allows the user to safely
4269 override the algorithm chosen by the recipient key preferences, as
4270 GPG will only select an algorithm that is usable by all recipients.
4271 The most highly ranked compression algorithm in this list is also
4272 used when there are no recipient keys to consider (e.g.
4275 '--s2k-cipher-algo name'
4276 Use 'name' as the cipher algorithm for symmetric encryption with a
4277 passphrase if '--personal-cipher-preferences' and '--cipher-algo'
4278 are not given. The default is AES-128.
4280 '--s2k-digest-algo name'
4281 Use 'name' as the digest algorithm used to mangle the passphrases
4282 for symmetric encryption. The default is SHA-1.
4285 Selects how passphrases for symmetric encryption are mangled. If
4286 'n' is 0 a plain passphrase (which is in general not recommended)
4287 will be used, a 1 adds a salt (which should not be used) to the
4288 passphrase and a 3 (the default) iterates the whole process a
4289 number of times (see '--s2k-count').
4292 Specify how many times the passphrases mangling for symmetric
4293 encryption is repeated. This value may range between 1024 and
4294 65011712 inclusive. The default is inquired from gpg-agent. Note
4295 that not all values in the 1024-65011712 range are legal and if an
4296 illegal value is selected, GnuPG will round up to the nearest legal
4297 value. This option is only meaningful if '--s2k-mode' is set to
4301 File: gnupg.info, Node: Compliance Options, Next: GPG Esoteric Options, Prev: OpenPGP Options, Up: GPG Options
4303 4.2.5 Compliance options
4304 ------------------------
4306 These options control what GnuPG is compliant to. Only one of these
4307 options may be active at a time. Note that the default setting of this
4308 is nearly always the correct one. See the INTEROPERABILITY WITH OTHER
4309 OPENPGP PROGRAMS section below before using one of these options.
4312 Use standard GnuPG behavior. This is essentially OpenPGP behavior
4313 (see '--openpgp'), but with some additional workarounds for common
4314 compatibility problems in different versions of PGP. This is the
4315 default option, so it is not generally needed, but it may be useful
4316 to override a different compliance option in the gpg.conf file.
4319 Reset all packet, cipher and digest options to strict OpenPGP
4320 behavior. Use this option to reset all previous options like
4321 '--s2k-*', '--cipher-algo', '--digest-algo' and '--compress-algo'
4322 to OpenPGP compliant values. All PGP workarounds are disabled.
4325 Reset all packet, cipher and digest options to strict RFC-4880
4326 behavior. Note that this is currently the same thing as
4330 Enable experimental features from proposed updates to RFC-4880.
4331 This option can be used in addition to the other compliance
4332 options. Warning: The behavior may change with any GnuPG release
4333 and created keys or data may not be usable with future GnuPG
4337 Reset all packet, cipher and digest options to strict RFC-2440
4341 Set up all options to be as PGP 6 compliant as possible. This
4342 restricts you to the ciphers IDEA (if the IDEA plugin is
4343 installed), 3DES, and CAST5, the hashes MD5, SHA1 and RIPEMD160,
4344 and the compression algorithms none and ZIP. This also disables
4345 '--throw-keyids', and making signatures with signing subkeys as PGP
4346 6 does not understand signatures made by signing subkeys.
4348 This option implies '--disable-mdc --escape-from-lines'.
4351 Set up all options to be as PGP 7 compliant as possible. This is
4352 identical to '--pgp6' except that MDCs are not disabled, and the
4353 list of allowable ciphers is expanded to add AES128, AES192,
4354 AES256, and TWOFISH.
4357 Set up all options to be as PGP 8 compliant as possible. PGP 8 is
4358 a lot closer to the OpenPGP standard than previous versions of PGP,
4359 so all this does is disable '--throw-keyids' and set
4360 '--escape-from-lines'. All algorithms are allowed except for the
4361 SHA224, SHA384, and SHA512 digests.
4363 '--compliance STRING'
4364 This option can be used instead of one of the options above. Valid
4365 values for STRING are the above option names (without the double
4366 dash) and possibly others as shown when using "help" for VALUE.
4369 File: gnupg.info, Node: GPG Esoteric Options, Next: Deprecated Options, Prev: Compliance Options, Up: GPG Options
4371 4.2.6 Doing things one usually doesn't want to do
4372 -------------------------------------------------
4376 Don't make any changes (this is not completely implemented).
4379 Changes the behaviour of some commands. This is like '--dry-run'
4380 but different in some cases. The semantic of this option may be
4381 extended in the future. Currently it only skips the actual
4382 decryption pass and therefore enables a fast listing of the
4387 Prompt before overwriting any files.
4389 '--debug-level LEVEL'
4390 Select the debug level for investigating problems. LEVEL may be a
4391 numeric value or by a keyword:
4394 No debugging at all. A value of less than 1 may be used
4395 instead of the keyword.
4397 Some basic debug messages. A value between 1 and 2 may be
4398 used instead of the keyword.
4400 More verbose debug messages. A value between 3 and 5 may be
4401 used instead of the keyword.
4403 Even more detailed messages. A value between 6 and 8 may be
4404 used instead of the keyword.
4406 All of the debug messages you can get. A value greater than 8
4407 may be used instead of the keyword. The creation of hash
4408 tracing files is only enabled if the keyword is used.
4410 How these messages are mapped to the actual debugging flags is not
4411 specified and may change with newer releases of this program. They
4412 are however carefully selected to best aid in debugging.
4415 Set debugging flags. All flags are or-ed and FLAGS may be given in
4416 C syntax (e.g. 0x0042) or as a comma separated list of flag names.
4417 To get a list of all supported flags the single word "help" can be
4421 Set all useful debugging flags.
4424 Set stdout into line buffered mode. This option is only honored
4425 when given on the command line.
4427 '--faked-system-time EPOCH'
4428 This option is only useful for testing; it sets the system time
4429 back or forth to EPOCH which is the number of seconds elapsed since
4430 the year 1970. Alternatively EPOCH may be given as a full ISO time
4431 string (e.g. "20070924T154812").
4433 '--enable-progress-filter'
4434 Enable certain PROGRESS status outputs. This option allows
4435 frontends to display a progress indicator while gpg is processing
4436 larger files. There is a slight performance overhead using it.
4439 Write special status strings to the file descriptor 'n'. See the
4440 file DETAILS in the documentation for a listing of them.
4442 '--status-file file'
4443 Same as '--status-fd', except the status data is written to file
4447 Write log output to file descriptor 'n' and not to STDERR.
4450 '--logger-file file'
4451 Same as '--logger-fd', except the logger data is written to file
4452 'file'. Use 'socket://' to log to socket.
4455 Write attribute subpackets to the file descriptor 'n'. This is
4456 most useful for use with '--status-fd', since the status messages
4457 are needed to separate out the various subpackets from the stream
4458 delivered to the file descriptor.
4460 '--attribute-file file'
4461 Same as '--attribute-fd', except the attribute data is written to
4466 Use 'string' as a comment string in cleartext signatures and ASCII
4467 armored messages or keys (see '--armor'). The default behavior is
4468 not to use a comment string. '--comment' may be repeated multiple
4469 times to get multiple comment strings. '--no-comments' removes all
4470 comments. It is a good idea to keep the length of a single comment
4471 below 60 characters to avoid problems with mail programs wrapping
4472 such lines. Note that comment lines, like all other header lines,
4473 are not protected by the signature.
4477 Force inclusion of the version string in ASCII armored output. If
4478 given once only the name of the program and the major number is
4479 emitted, given twice the minor is also emitted, given thrice the
4480 micro is added, and given four times an operating system
4481 identification is also emitted. '--no-emit-version' (default)
4482 disables the version line.
4484 '--sig-notation name=value'
4485 '--cert-notation name=value'
4486 '-N, --set-notation name=value'
4487 Put the name value pair into the signature as notation data.
4488 'name' must consist only of printable characters or spaces, and
4489 must contain a '@' character in the form keyname@domain.example.com
4490 (substituting the appropriate keyname and domain name, of course).
4491 This is to help prevent pollution of the IETF reserved notation
4492 namespace. The '--expert' flag overrides the '@' check. 'value'
4493 may be any printable string; it will be encoded in UTF-8, so you
4494 should check that your '--display-charset' is set correctly. If
4495 you prefix 'name' with an exclamation mark (!), the notation data
4496 will be flagged as critical (rfc4880:5.2.3.16). '--sig-notation'
4497 sets a notation for data signatures. '--cert-notation' sets a
4498 notation for key signatures (certifications). '--set-notation'
4501 There are special codes that may be used in notation names. "%k"
4502 will be expanded into the key ID of the key being signed, "%K" into
4503 the long key ID of the key being signed, "%f" into the fingerprint
4504 of the key being signed, "%s" into the key ID of the key making the
4505 signature, "%S" into the long key ID of the key making the
4506 signature, "%g" into the fingerprint of the key making the
4507 signature (which might be a subkey), "%p" into the fingerprint of
4508 the primary key of the key making the signature, "%c" into the
4509 signature count from the OpenPGP smartcard, and "%%" results in a
4510 single "%". %k, %K, and %f are only meaningful when making a key
4511 signature (certification), and %c is only meaningful when using the
4514 '--sig-policy-url string'
4515 '--cert-policy-url string'
4516 '--set-policy-url string'
4517 Use 'string' as a Policy URL for signatures (rfc4880:5.2.3.20). If
4518 you prefix it with an exclamation mark (!), the policy URL packet
4519 will be flagged as critical. '--sig-policy-url' sets a policy url
4520 for data signatures. '--cert-policy-url' sets a policy url for key
4521 signatures (certifications). '--set-policy-url' sets both.
4523 The same %-expandos used for notation data are available here as
4526 '--sig-keyserver-url string'
4527 Use 'string' as a preferred keyserver URL for data signatures. If
4528 you prefix it with an exclamation mark (!), the keyserver URL
4529 packet will be flagged as critical.
4531 The same %-expandos used for notation data are available here as
4534 '--set-filename string'
4535 Use 'string' as the filename which is stored inside messages. This
4536 overrides the default, which is to use the actual filename of the
4537 file being encrypted. Using the empty string for 'string'
4538 effectively removes the filename from the output.
4540 '--for-your-eyes-only'
4541 '--no-for-your-eyes-only'
4542 Set the 'for your eyes only' flag in the message. This causes
4543 GnuPG to refuse to save the file unless the '--output' option is
4544 given, and PGP to use a "secure viewer" with a claimed
4545 Tempest-resistant font to display the message. This option
4546 overrides '--set-filename'. '--no-for-your-eyes-only' disables
4549 '--use-embedded-filename'
4550 '--no-use-embedded-filename'
4551 Try to create a file with a name as embedded in the data. This can
4552 be a dangerous option as it enables overwriting files. Defaults to
4555 '--cipher-algo name'
4556 Use 'name' as cipher algorithm. Running the program with the
4557 command '--version' yields a list of supported algorithms. If this
4558 is not used the cipher algorithm is selected from the preferences
4559 stored with the key. In general, you do not want to use this
4560 option as it allows you to violate the OpenPGP standard.
4561 '--personal-cipher-preferences' is the safe way to accomplish the
4564 '--digest-algo name'
4565 Use 'name' as the message digest algorithm. Running the program
4566 with the command '--version' yields a list of supported algorithms.
4567 In general, you do not want to use this option as it allows you to
4568 violate the OpenPGP standard. '--personal-digest-preferences' is
4569 the safe way to accomplish the same thing.
4571 '--compress-algo name'
4572 Use compression algorithm 'name'. "zlib" is RFC-1950 ZLIB
4573 compression. "zip" is RFC-1951 ZIP compression which is used by
4574 PGP. "bzip2" is a more modern compression scheme that can compress
4575 some things better than zip or zlib, but at the cost of more memory
4576 used during compression and decompression. "uncompressed" or
4577 "none" disables compression. If this option is not used, the
4578 default behavior is to examine the recipient key preferences to see
4579 which algorithms the recipient supports. If all else fails, ZIP is
4580 used for maximum compatibility.
4582 ZLIB may give better compression results than ZIP, as the
4583 compression window size is not limited to 8k. BZIP2 may give even
4584 better compression results than that, but will use a significantly
4585 larger amount of memory while compressing and decompressing. This
4586 may be significant in low memory situations. Note, however, that
4587 PGP (all versions) only supports ZIP compression. Using any
4588 algorithm other than ZIP or "none" will make the message unreadable
4589 with PGP. In general, you do not want to use this option as it
4590 allows you to violate the OpenPGP standard.
4591 '--personal-compress-preferences' is the safe way to accomplish the
4594 '--cert-digest-algo name'
4595 Use 'name' as the message digest algorithm used when signing a key.
4596 Running the program with the command '--version' yields a list of
4597 supported algorithms. Be aware that if you choose an algorithm
4598 that GnuPG supports but other OpenPGP implementations do not, then
4599 some users will not be able to use the key signatures you make, or
4600 quite possibly your entire key.
4602 '--disable-cipher-algo name'
4603 Never allow the use of 'name' as cipher algorithm. The given name
4604 will not be checked so that a later loaded algorithm will still get
4607 '--disable-pubkey-algo name'
4608 Never allow the use of 'name' as public key algorithm. The given
4609 name will not be checked so that a later loaded algorithm will
4614 Do not put the recipient key IDs into encrypted messages. This
4615 helps to hide the receivers of the message and is a limited
4616 countermeasure against traffic analysis.(1) On the receiving side,
4617 it may slow down the decryption process because all available
4618 secret keys must be tried. '--no-throw-keyids' disables this
4619 option. This option is essentially the same as using
4620 '--hidden-recipient' for all recipients.
4622 '--not-dash-escaped'
4623 This option changes the behavior of cleartext signatures so that
4624 they can be used for patch files. You should not send such an
4625 armored file via email because all spaces and line endings are
4626 hashed too. You can not use this option for data which has 5
4627 dashes at the beginning of a line, patch files don't have this. A
4628 special armor header line tells GnuPG about this cleartext
4631 '--escape-from-lines'
4632 '--no-escape-from-lines'
4633 Because some mailers change lines starting with "From " to ">From "
4634 it is good to handle such lines in a special way when creating
4635 cleartext signatures to prevent the mail system from breaking the
4636 signature. Note that all other PGP versions do it this way too.
4637 Enabled by default. '--no-escape-from-lines' disables this option.
4639 '--passphrase-repeat n'
4640 Specify how many times 'gpg' will request a new passphrase be
4641 repeated. This is useful for helping memorize a passphrase.
4642 Defaults to 1 repetition.
4645 Read the passphrase from file descriptor 'n'. Only the first line
4646 will be read from file descriptor 'n'. If you use 0 for 'n', the
4647 passphrase will be read from STDIN. This can only be used if only
4648 one passphrase is supplied.
4650 Note that this passphrase is only used if the option '--batch' has
4651 also been given. This is different from GnuPG version 1.x.
4653 '--passphrase-file file'
4654 Read the passphrase from file 'file'. Only the first line will be
4655 read from file 'file'. This can only be used if only one
4656 passphrase is supplied. Obviously, a passphrase stored in a file
4657 is of questionable security if other users can read this file.
4658 Don't use this option if you can avoid it. Note that this
4659 passphrase is only used if the option '--batch' has also been
4660 given. This is different from GnuPG version 1.x.
4662 '--passphrase string'
4663 Use 'string' as the passphrase. This can only be used if only one
4664 passphrase is supplied. Obviously, this is of very questionable
4665 security on a multi-user system. Don't use this option if you can
4666 avoid it. Note that this passphrase is only used if the option
4667 '--batch' has also been given. This is different from GnuPG
4670 '--pinentry-mode mode'
4671 Set the pinentry mode to 'mode'. Allowed values for 'mode' are:
4673 Use the default of the agent, which is 'ask'.
4675 Force the use of the Pinentry.
4677 Emulate use of Pinentry's cancel button.
4679 Return a Pinentry error ("No Pinentry").
4681 Redirect Pinentry queries to the caller. Note that in
4682 contrast to Pinentry the user is not prompted again if he
4683 enters a bad password.
4686 This is a replacement for the deprecated shared-memory IPC mode.
4687 If this option is enabled, user input on questions is not expected
4688 from the TTY but from the given file descriptor. It should be used
4689 together with '--status-fd'. See the file doc/DETAILS in the
4690 source distribution for details on how to use it.
4692 '--command-file file'
4693 Same as '--command-fd', except the commands are read out of file
4696 '--allow-non-selfsigned-uid'
4697 '--no-allow-non-selfsigned-uid'
4698 Allow the import and use of keys with user IDs which are not
4699 self-signed. This is not recommended, as a non self-signed user ID
4700 is trivial to forge. '--no-allow-non-selfsigned-uid' disables.
4702 '--allow-freeform-uid'
4703 Disable all checks on the form of the user ID while generating a
4704 new one. This option should only be used in very special
4705 environments as it does not ensure the de-facto standard format of
4708 '--ignore-time-conflict'
4709 GnuPG normally checks that the timestamps associated with keys and
4710 signatures have plausible values. However, sometimes a signature
4711 seems to be older than the key due to clock problems. This option
4712 makes these checks just a warning. See also '--ignore-valid-from'
4713 for timestamp issues on subkeys.
4715 '--ignore-valid-from'
4716 GnuPG normally does not select and use subkeys created in the
4717 future. This option allows the use of such keys and thus exhibits
4718 the pre-1.0.7 behaviour. You should not use this option unless
4719 there is some clock problem. See also '--ignore-time-conflict' for
4720 timestamp issues with signatures.
4722 '--ignore-crc-error'
4723 The ASCII armor used by OpenPGP is protected by a CRC checksum
4724 against transmission errors. Occasionally the CRC gets mangled
4725 somewhere on the transmission channel but the actual content (which
4726 is protected by the OpenPGP protocol anyway) is still okay. This
4727 option allows GnuPG to ignore CRC errors.
4729 '--ignore-mdc-error'
4730 This option changes a MDC integrity protection failure into a
4731 warning. This can be useful if a message is partially corrupt, but
4732 it is necessary to get as much data as possible out of the corrupt
4733 message. However, be aware that a MDC protection failure may also
4734 mean that the message was tampered with intentionally by an
4737 '--allow-weak-digest-algos'
4738 Signatures made with known-weak digest algorithms are normally
4739 rejected with an "invalid digest algorithm" message. This option
4740 allows the verification of signatures made with such weak
4741 algorithms. MD5 is the only digest algorithm considered weak by
4742 default. See also '--weak-digest' to reject other digest
4745 '--weak-digest name'
4746 Treat the specified digest algorithm as weak. Signatures made over
4747 weak digests algorithms are normally rejected. This option can be
4748 supplied multiple times if multiple algorithms should be considered
4749 weak. See also '--allow-weak-digest-algos' to disable rejection of
4750 weak digests. MD5 is always considered weak, and does not need to
4751 be listed explicitly.
4753 '--no-default-keyring'
4754 Do not add the default keyrings to the list of keyrings. Note that
4755 GnuPG will not operate without any keyrings, so if you use this
4756 option and do not provide alternate keyrings via '--keyring' or
4757 '--secret-keyring', then GnuPG will still use the default public or
4761 Do not add use any keyrings even if specified as options.
4764 Skip the signature verification step. This may be used to make the
4765 decryption faster if the signature verification is not needed.
4768 Print key listings delimited by colons (like '--with-colons') and
4769 print the public key data.
4772 Changes the output of the list commands to work faster; this is
4773 achieved by leaving some parts empty. Some applications don't need
4774 the user ID and the trust information given in the listings. By
4775 using this options they can get a faster listing. The exact
4776 behaviour of this option may change in future versions. If you are
4777 missing some information, don't use this option.
4780 This is not for normal use. Use the source to see for what it
4784 This is not for normal use. Use the source to see for what it
4787 '--show-session-key'
4788 Display the session key used for one message. See
4789 '--override-session-key' for the counterpart of this option.
4791 We think that Key Escrow is a Bad Thing; however the user should
4792 have the freedom to decide whether to go to prison or to reveal the
4793 content of one specific message without compromising all messages
4794 ever encrypted for one secret key.
4796 You can also use this option if you receive an encrypted message
4797 which is abusive or offensive, to prove to the administrators of
4798 the messaging system that the ciphertext transmitted corresponds to
4799 an inappropriate plaintext so they can take action against the
4802 '--override-session-key string'
4803 '--override-session-key-fd fd'
4804 Don't use the public key but the session key 'string' respective
4805 the session key taken from the first line read from file descriptor
4806 'fd'. The format of this string is the same as the one printed by
4807 '--show-session-key'. This option is normally not used but comes
4808 handy in case someone forces you to reveal the content of an
4809 encrypted message; using this option you can do this without
4810 handing out the secret key. Note that using
4811 '--override-session-key' may reveal the session key to all local
4812 users via the global process table.
4815 '--no-ask-sig-expire'
4816 When making a data signature, prompt for an expiration time. If
4817 this option is not specified, the expiration time set via
4818 '--default-sig-expire' is used. '--no-ask-sig-expire' disables
4821 '--default-sig-expire'
4822 The default expiration time to use for signature expiration. Valid
4823 values are "0" for no expiration, a number followed by the letter d
4824 (for days), w (for weeks), m (for months), or y (for years) (for
4825 example "2m" for two months, or "5y" for five years), or an
4826 absolute date in the form YYYY-MM-DD. Defaults to "0".
4829 '--no-ask-cert-expire'
4830 When making a key signature, prompt for an expiration time. If
4831 this option is not specified, the expiration time set via
4832 '--default-cert-expire' is used. '--no-ask-cert-expire' disables
4835 '--default-cert-expire'
4836 The default expiration time to use for key signature expiration.
4837 Valid values are "0" for no expiration, a number followed by the
4838 letter d (for days), w (for weeks), m (for months), or y (for
4839 years) (for example "2m" for two months, or "5y" for five years),
4840 or an absolute date in the form YYYY-MM-DD. Defaults to "0".
4842 '--default-new-key-algo STRING'
4843 This option can be used to change the default algorithms for key
4844 generation. Note that the advanced key generation commands can
4845 always be used to specify a key algorithm directly. Please consult
4846 the source code to learn the syntax of STRING.
4848 '--allow-secret-key-import'
4849 This is an obsolete option and is not used anywhere.
4851 '--allow-multiple-messages'
4852 '--no-allow-multiple-messages'
4853 Allow processing of multiple OpenPGP messages contained in a single
4854 file or stream. Some programs that call GPG are not prepared to
4855 deal with multiple messages being processed together, so this
4856 option defaults to no. Note that versions of GPG prior to 1.4.7
4857 always allowed multiple messages.
4859 Warning: Do not use this option unless you need it as a temporary
4862 '--enable-special-filenames'
4863 This option enables a mode in which filenames of the form '-&n',
4864 where n is a non-negative decimal number, refer to the file
4865 descriptor n and not to a file with that name.
4867 '--no-expensive-trust-checks'
4868 Experimental use only.
4870 '--preserve-permissions'
4871 Don't change the permissions of a secret keyring back to user
4872 read/write only. Use this option only if you really know what you
4875 '--default-preference-list string'
4876 Set the list of default preferences to 'string'. This preference
4877 list is used for new keys and becomes the default for "setpref" in
4880 '--default-keyserver-url name'
4881 Set the default keyserver URL to 'name'. This keyserver will be
4882 used as the keyserver URL when writing a new self-signature on a
4883 key, which includes key generation and changing preferences.
4886 Display various internal configuration parameters of GnuPG. This
4887 option is intended for external programs that call GnuPG to perform
4888 tasks, and is thus not generally useful. See the file
4889 'doc/DETAILS' in the source distribution for the details of which
4890 configuration items may be listed. '--list-config' is only usable
4891 with '--with-colons' set.
4893 '--list-gcrypt-config'
4894 Display various internal configuration parameters of Libgcrypt.
4897 This command is similar to '--list-config' but in general only
4898 internally used by the 'gpgconf' tool.
4901 This is more or less dummy action. However it parses the
4902 configuration file and returns with failure if the configuration
4903 file would prevent 'gpg' from startup. Thus it may be used to run
4904 a syntax check on the configuration file.
4906 ---------- Footnotes ----------
4908 (1) Using a little social engineering anyone who is able to decrypt
4909 the message can check whether one of the other recipients is the one he
4913 File: gnupg.info, Node: Deprecated Options, Prev: GPG Esoteric Options, Up: GPG Options
4915 4.2.7 Deprecated options
4916 ------------------------
4920 Causes '--list-keys', '--list-signatures', '--list-public-keys',
4921 '--list-secret-keys', and verifying a signature to also display the
4922 photo ID attached to the key, if any. See also '--photo-viewer'.
4923 These options are deprecated. Use '--list-options
4924 [no-]show-photos' and/or '--verify-options [no-]show-photos'
4928 Display the keyring name at the head of key listings to show which
4929 keyring a given key resides on. This option is deprecated: use
4930 '--list-options [no-]show-keyring' instead.
4933 Identical to '--trust-model always'. This option is deprecated.
4936 '--no-show-notation'
4937 Show signature notations in the '--list-signatures' or
4938 '--check-signatures' listings as well as when verifying a signature
4939 with a notation in it. These options are deprecated. Use
4940 '--list-options [no-]show-notation' and/or '--verify-options
4941 [no-]show-notation' instead.
4944 '--no-show-policy-url'
4945 Show policy URLs in the '--list-signatures' or '--check-signatures'
4946 listings as well as when verifying a signature with a policy URL in
4947 it. These options are deprecated. Use '--list-options
4948 [no-]show-policy-url' and/or '--verify-options
4949 [no-]show-policy-url' instead.
4952 File: gnupg.info, Node: GPG Configuration, Next: GPG Examples, Prev: GPG Options, Up: Invoking GPG
4954 4.3 Configuration files
4955 =======================
4957 There are a few configuration files to control certain aspects of
4958 'gpg''s operation. Unless noted, they are expected in the current home
4959 directory (*note option --homedir::).
4962 This is the standard configuration file read by 'gpg' on startup.
4963 It may contain any valid long option; the leading two dashes may
4964 not be entered and the option may not be abbreviated. This default
4965 name may be changed on the command line (*note gpg-option
4966 --options::). You should backup this file.
4968 Note that on larger installations, it is useful to put predefined
4969 files into the directory '/etc/skel/.gnupg' so that newly created users
4970 start up with a working configuration. For existing users a small
4971 helper script is provided to create these files (*note addgnupghome::).
4973 For internal purposes 'gpg' creates and maintains a few other files;
4974 They all live in in the current home directory (*note option
4975 --homedir::). Only the 'gpg' program may modify these files.
4978 This is the default home directory which is used if neither the
4979 environment variable 'GNUPGHOME' nor the option '--homedir' is
4982 '~/.gnupg/pubring.gpg'
4983 The public keyring. You should backup this file.
4985 '~/.gnupg/pubring.gpg.lock'
4986 The lock file for the public keyring.
4988 '~/.gnupg/pubring.kbx'
4989 The public keyring using a different format. This file is shared
4990 with 'gpgsm'. You should backup this file.
4992 '~/.gnupg/pubring.kbx.lock'
4993 The lock file for 'pubring.kbx'.
4995 '~/.gnupg/secring.gpg'
4996 A secret keyring as used by GnuPG versions before 2.1. It is not
4997 used by GnuPG 2.1 and later.
4999 '~/.gnupg/secring.gpg.lock'
5000 The lock file for the secret keyring.
5002 '~/.gnupg/.gpg-v21-migrated'
5003 File indicating that a migration to GnuPG 2.1 has been done.
5005 '~/.gnupg/trustdb.gpg'
5006 The trust database. There is no need to backup this file; it is
5007 better to backup the ownertrust values (*note option
5008 --export-ownertrust::).
5010 '~/.gnupg/trustdb.gpg.lock'
5011 The lock file for the trust database.
5013 '~/.gnupg/random_seed'
5014 A file used to preserve the state of the internal random pool.
5016 '~/.gnupg/openpgp-revocs.d/'
5017 This is the directory where gpg stores pre-generated revocation
5018 certificates. The file name corresponds to the OpenPGP fingerprint
5019 of the respective key. It is suggested to backup those
5020 certificates and if the primary private key is not stored on the
5021 disk to move them to an external storage device. Anyone who can
5022 access theses files is able to revoke the corresponding key. You
5023 may want to print them out. You should backup all files in this
5024 directory and take care to keep this backup closed away.
5026 '/usr/local/share/gnupg/options.skel'
5027 The skeleton options file.
5029 Operation is further controlled by a few environment variables:
5032 Used to locate the default home directory.
5035 If set directory used instead of "~/.gnupg".
5038 This variable is obsolete; it was used by GnuPG versions before
5042 This value is passed via gpg-agent to pinentry. It is useful to
5043 convey extra information to a custom pinentry.
5047 Used to size some displays to the full size of the screen.
5050 Apart from its use by GNU, it is used in the W32 version to
5051 override the language selection done through the Registry. If used
5052 and set to a valid and available language name (LANGID), the file
5053 with the translation is loaded from 'GPGDIR/gnupg.nls/LANGID.mo'.
5054 Here GPGDIR is the directory out of which the gpg binary has been
5055 loaded. If it can't be loaded the Registry is tried and as last
5056 resort the native Windows locale system is used.
5059 File: gnupg.info, Node: GPG Examples, Next: Unattended Usage of GPG, Prev: GPG Configuration, Up: Invoking GPG
5064 gpg -se -r 'Bob' 'file'
5065 sign and encrypt for user Bob
5067 gpg -clear-sign 'file'
5068 make a cleartext signature
5071 make a detached signature
5073 gpg -u 0x12345678 -sb 'file'
5074 make a detached signature with the key 0x12345678
5076 gpg -list-keys 'user_ID'
5079 gpg -fingerprint 'user_ID'
5082 gpg -verify 'pgpfile'
5083 gpg -verify 'sigfile' ['datafile']
5084 Verify the signature of the file but do not output the data unless
5085 requested. The second form is used for detached signatures, where
5086 'sigfile' is the detached signature (either ASCII armored or
5087 binary) and 'datafile' are the signed data; if this is not given,
5088 the name of the file holding the signed data is constructed by
5089 cutting off the extension (".asc" or ".sig") of 'sigfile' or by
5090 asking the user for the filename. If the option '--output' is also
5091 used the signed data is written to the file specified by that
5092 option; use '-' to write the signed data to stdout.
5097 The options '--import-filter' and '--export-filter' use expressions with
5098 this syntax (square brackets indicate an optional part and curly braces
5099 a repetition, white space between the elements are allowed):
5101 [lc] {[{flag}] PROPNAME op VALUE [lc]}
5103 The name of a property (PROPNAME) may only consist of letters, digits
5104 and underscores. The description for the filter type describes which
5105 properties are defined. If an undefined property is used it evaluates
5106 to the empty string. Unless otherwise noted, the VALUE must always be
5107 given and may not be the empty string. No quoting is defined for the
5108 value, thus the value may not contain the strings '&&' or '||', which
5109 are used as logical connection operators. The flag '--' can be used to
5110 remove this restriction.
5112 Numerical values are computed as long int; standard C notation
5113 applies. LC is the logical connection operator; either '&&' for a
5114 conjunction or '||' for a disjunction. A conjunction is assumed at the
5115 begin of an expression. Conjunctions have higher precedence than
5116 disjunctions. If VALUE starts with one of the characters used in any OP
5117 a space after the OP is required.
5119 The supported operators (OP) are:
5122 Substring must match.
5125 Substring must not match.
5128 The full string must match.
5131 The full string must not match.
5134 The numerical value must match.
5137 The numerical value must not match.
5140 The numerical value of the field must be LE than the value.
5143 The numerical value of the field must be LT than the value.
5146 The numerical value of the field must be GT than the value.
5149 The numerical value of the field must be GE than the value.
5152 The string value of the field must be less or equal than the value.
5155 The string value of the field must be less than the value.
5158 The string value of the field must be greater than the value.
5161 The string value of the field must be greater or equal than the
5165 True if value is not empty (no value allowed).
5168 True if value is empty (no value allowed).
5171 Alias for "PROPNAME != 0" (no value allowed).
5174 Alias for "PROPNAME == 0" (no value allowed).
5176 Values for FLAG must be space separated. The supported flags are:
5179 VALUE spans to the end of the expression.
5181 The string match in this part is done case-sensitive.
5183 The filter options concatenate several specifications for a filter of
5184 the same type. For example the four options in this example:
5186 --import-option keep-uid="uid =~ Alfa"
5187 --import-option keep-uid="&& uid !~ Test"
5188 --import-option keep-uid="|| uid =~ Alpha"
5189 --import-option keep-uid="uid !~ Test"
5191 which is equivalent to
5194 keep-uid="uid =~ Alfa" && uid !~ Test" || uid =~ Alpha" && "uid !~ Test"
5196 imports only the user ids of a key containing the strings "Alfa" or
5197 "Alpha" but not the string "test".
5202 The program returns 0 if everything was fine, 1 if at least a signature
5203 was bad, and other error codes for fatal errors.
5208 Use a *good* password for your user account and a *good* passphrase to
5209 protect your secret key. This passphrase is the weakest part of the
5210 whole system. Programs to do dictionary attacks on your secret keyring
5211 are very easy to write and so you should protect your "~/.gnupg/"
5212 directory very well.
5214 Keep in mind that, if this program is used over a network (telnet),
5215 it is *very* easy to spy out your passphrase!
5217 If you are going to verify detached signatures, make sure that the
5218 program knows about it; either give both filenames on the command line
5219 or use '-' to specify STDIN.
5221 INTEROPERABILITY WITH OTHER OPENPGP PROGRAMS
5222 ********************************************
5224 GnuPG tries to be a very flexible implementation of the OpenPGP
5225 standard. In particular, GnuPG implements many of the optional parts of
5226 the standard, such as the SHA-512 hash, and the ZLIB and BZIP2
5227 compression algorithms. It is important to be aware that not all
5228 OpenPGP programs implement these optional algorithms and that by forcing
5229 their use via the '--cipher-algo', '--digest-algo',
5230 '--cert-digest-algo', or '--compress-algo' options in GnuPG, it is
5231 possible to create a perfectly valid OpenPGP message, but one that
5232 cannot be read by the intended recipient.
5234 There are dozens of variations of OpenPGP programs available, and
5235 each supports a slightly different subset of these optional algorithms.
5236 For example, until recently, no (unhacked) version of PGP supported the
5237 BLOWFISH cipher algorithm. A message using BLOWFISH simply could not be
5238 read by a PGP user. By default, GnuPG uses the standard OpenPGP
5239 preferences system that will always do the right thing and create
5240 messages that are usable by all recipients, regardless of which OpenPGP
5241 program they use. Only override this safe default if you really know
5244 If you absolutely must override the safe default, or if the
5245 preferences on a given key are invalid for some reason, you are far
5246 better off using the '--pgp6', '--pgp7', or '--pgp8' options. These
5247 options are safe as they do not force any particular algorithms in
5248 violation of OpenPGP, but rather reduce the available algorithms to a
5254 On older systems this program should be installed as setuid(root). This
5255 is necessary to lock memory pages. Locking memory pages prevents the
5256 operating system from writing memory pages (which may contain
5257 passphrases or other sensitive material) to disk. If you get no warning
5258 message about insecure memory your operating system supports locking
5259 without being root. The program drops root privileges as soon as locked
5260 memory is allocated.
5262 Note also that some systems (especially laptops) have the ability to
5263 "suspend to disk" (also known as "safe sleep" or "hibernate"). This
5264 writes all memory to disk before going into a low power or even powered
5265 off mode. Unless measures are taken in the operating system to protect
5266 the saved memory, passphrases or other sensitive material may be
5267 recoverable from it later.
5269 Before you report a bug you should first search the mailing list
5270 archives for similar problems and second check whether such a bug has
5271 already been reported to our bug tracker at http://bugs.gnupg.org .
5274 File: gnupg.info, Node: Unattended Usage of GPG, Prev: GPG Examples, Up: Invoking GPG
5276 4.5 Unattended Usage
5277 ====================
5279 'gpg' is often used as a backend engine by other software. To help with
5280 this a machine interface has been defined to have an unambiguous way to
5281 do this. The options '--status-fd' and '--batch' are almost always
5286 * Programmatic use of GnuPG:: Programmatic use of GnuPG
5287 * Ephemeral home directories:: Ephemeral home directories
5288 * The quick key manipulation interface:: The quick key manipulation interface
5289 * Unattended GPG key generation:: Unattended key generation
5292 File: gnupg.info, Node: Programmatic use of GnuPG, Next: Ephemeral home directories, Up: Unattended Usage of GPG
5294 4.5.1 Programmatic use of GnuPG
5295 -------------------------------
5297 Please consider using GPGME instead of calling 'gpg' directly. GPGME
5298 offers a stable, backend-independent interface for many cryptographic
5299 operations. It supports OpenPGP and S/MIME, and also allows interaction
5300 with various GnuPG components.
5302 GPGME provides a C-API, and comes with bindings for C++, Qt, and
5303 Python. Bindings for other languages are available.
5306 File: gnupg.info, Node: Ephemeral home directories, Next: The quick key manipulation interface, Prev: Programmatic use of GnuPG, Up: Unattended Usage of GPG
5308 4.5.2 Ephemeral home directories
5309 --------------------------------
5311 Sometimes you want to contain effects of some operation, for example you
5312 want to import a key to inspect it, but you do not want this key to be
5313 added to your keyring. In earlier versions of GnuPG, it was possible to
5314 specify alternate keyring files for both public and secret keys. In
5315 modern GnuPG versions, however, we changed how secret keys are stored in
5316 order to better protect secret key material, and it was not possible to
5317 preserve this interface.
5319 The preferred way to do this is to use ephemeral home directories.
5320 This technique works across all versions of GnuPG.
5322 Create a temporary directory, create (or copy) a configuration that
5323 meets your needs, make 'gpg' use this directory either using the
5324 environment variable GNUPGHOME, or the option '--homedir'. GPGME
5325 supports this too on a per-context basis, by modifying the engine info
5326 of contexts. Now execute whatever operation you like, import and export
5327 key material as necessary. Once finished, you can delete the directory.
5328 All GnuPG backend services that were started will detect this and shut
5332 File: gnupg.info, Node: The quick key manipulation interface, Next: Unattended GPG key generation, Prev: Ephemeral home directories, Up: Unattended Usage of GPG
5334 4.5.3 The quick key manipulation interface
5335 ------------------------------------------
5337 Recent versions of GnuPG have an interface to manipulate keys without
5338 using the interactive command '--edit-key'. This interface was added
5339 mainly for the benefit of GPGME (please consider using GPGME, see the
5340 manual subsection "Programmatic use of GnuPG"). This interface is
5341 described in the subsection "How to manage your keys".
5344 File: gnupg.info, Node: Unattended GPG key generation, Prev: The quick key manipulation interface, Up: Unattended Usage of GPG
5346 4.5.4 Unattended key generation
5347 -------------------------------
5349 The command '--generate-key' may be used along with the option '--batch'
5350 for unattended key generation. This is the most flexible way of
5351 generating keys, but it is also the most complex one. Consider using
5352 the quick key manipulation interface described in the previous
5353 subsection "The quick key manipulation interface".
5355 The parameters for the key are either read from stdin or given as a
5356 file on the command line. The format of the parameter file is as
5359 * Text only, line length is limited to about 1000 characters.
5360 * UTF-8 encoding must be used to specify non-ASCII characters.
5361 * Empty lines are ignored.
5362 * Leading and trailing while space is ignored.
5363 * A hash sign as the first non white space character indicates a
5365 * Control statements are indicated by a leading percent sign, the
5366 arguments are separated by white space from the keyword.
5367 * Parameters are specified by a keyword, followed by a colon.
5368 Arguments are separated by white space.
5369 * The first parameter must be 'Key-Type'; control statements may be
5371 * The order of the parameters does not matter except for 'Key-Type'
5372 which must be the first parameter. The parameters are only used
5373 for the generated keyblock (primary and subkeys); parameters from
5374 previous sets are not used. Some syntactically checks may be
5376 * Key generation takes place when either the end of the parameter
5377 file is reached, the next 'Key-Type' parameter is encountered or at
5378 the control statement '%commit' is encountered.
5383 Print TEXT as diagnostic.
5386 Suppress actual key generation (useful for syntax checking).
5389 Perform the key generation. Note that an implicit commit is done
5390 at the next Key-Type parameter.
5393 Do not write the key to the default or commandline given keyring
5394 but to FILENAME. This must be given before the first commit to
5395 take place, duplicate specification of the same filename is
5396 ignored, the last filename before a commit is used. The filename
5397 is used until a new filename is used (at commit points) and all
5398 keys are written to that file. If a new filename is given, this
5399 file is created (and overwrites an existing one).
5401 See the previous subsection "Ephemeral home directories" for a more
5402 robust way to contain side-effects.
5405 This option is a no-op for GnuPG 2.1 and later.
5407 See the previous subsection "Ephemeral home directories".
5411 This option is a no-op for GnuPG 2.1 and later.
5414 Using this option allows the creation of keys without any
5415 passphrase protection. This option is mainly intended for
5419 If given the keys are created using a faster and a somewhat less
5420 secure random number generator. This option may be used for keys
5421 which are only used for a short time and do not require full
5422 cryptographic strength. It takes only effect if used together with
5423 the control statement '%no-protection'.
5428 Starts a new parameter block by giving the type of the primary key.
5429 The algorithm must be capable of signing. This is a required
5430 parameter. ALGO may either be an OpenPGP algorithm number or a
5431 string with the algorithm name. The special value 'default' may be
5432 used for ALGO to create the default key type; in this case a
5433 'Key-Usage' shall not be given and 'default' also be used for
5437 The requested length of the generated key in bits. The default is
5438 returned by running the command 'gpg --gpgconf-list'.
5441 This is optional and used to generate a CSR or certificate for an
5442 already existing key. Key-Length will be ignored when given.
5444 Key-Usage: USAGE-LIST
5445 Space or comma delimited list of key usages. Allowed values are
5446 'encrypt', 'sign', and 'auth'. This is used to generate the key
5447 flags. Please make sure that the algorithm is capable of this
5448 usage. Note that OpenPGP requires that all primary keys are
5449 capable of certification, so no matter what usage is given here,
5450 the 'cert' flag will be on. If no 'Key-Usage' is specified and the
5451 'Key-Type' is not 'default', all allowed usages for that particular
5452 algorithm are used; if it is not given but 'default' is used the
5453 usage will be 'sign'.
5456 This generates a secondary key (subkey). Currently only one subkey
5457 can be handled. See also 'Key-Type' above.
5459 Subkey-Length: NBITS
5460 Length of the secondary key (subkey) in bits. The default is
5461 returned by running the command 'gpg --gpgconf-list'.
5463 Subkey-Usage: USAGE-LIST
5464 Key usage lists for a subkey; similar to 'Key-Usage'.
5467 If you want to specify a passphrase for the secret key, enter it
5468 here. Default is to use the Pinentry dialog to ask for a
5472 Name-Comment: COMMENT
5474 The three parts of a user name. Remember to use UTF-8 encoding
5475 here. If you don't give any of them, no user ID is created.
5477 Expire-Date: ISO-DATE|(NUMBER[d|w|m|y])
5478 Set the expiration date for the key (and the subkey). It may
5479 either be entered in ISO date format (e.g. "20000815T145012") or
5480 as number of days, weeks, month or years after the creation date.
5481 The special notation "seconds=N" is also allowed to specify a
5482 number of seconds since creation. Without a letter days are
5483 assumed. Note that there is no check done on the overflow of the
5484 type used by OpenPGP for timestamps. Thus you better make sure
5485 that the given value make sense. Although OpenPGP works with time
5486 intervals, GnuPG uses an absolute value internally and thus the
5487 last year we can represent is 2105.
5489 Creation-Date: ISO-DATE
5490 Set the creation date of the key as stored in the key information
5491 and which is also part of the fingerprint calculation. Either a
5492 date like "1986-04-26" or a full timestamp like "19860426T042640"
5493 may be used. The time is considered to be UTC. The special
5494 notation "seconds=N" may be used to directly specify a the number
5495 of seconds since Epoch (Unix time). If it is not given the current
5499 Set the cipher, hash, and compression preference values for this
5500 key. This expects the same type of string as the sub-command
5501 'setpref' in the '--edit-key' menu.
5503 Revoker: ALGO:FPR [sensitive]
5504 Add a designated revoker to the generated key. Algo is the public
5505 key algorithm of the designated revoker (i.e. RSA=1, DSA=17, etc.)
5506 FPR is the fingerprint of the designated revoker. The optional
5507 'sensitive' flag marks the designated revoker as sensitive
5508 information. Only v4 keys may be designated revokers.
5511 This is an optional parameter that specifies the preferred
5512 keyserver URL for the key.
5515 This is an optional parameter only used with the status lines
5516 KEY_CREATED and KEY_NOT_CREATED. STRING may be up to 100 characters
5517 and should not contain spaces. It is useful for batch key
5518 generation to associate a key parameter block with a status line.
5520 Here is an example on how to create a key in an ephemeral home
5522 $ export GNUPGHOME="$(mktemp -d)"
5524 %echo Generating a basic OpenPGP key
5529 Name-Real: Joe Tester
5530 Name-Comment: with stupid passphrase
5531 Name-Email: joe@foo.bar
5534 # Do a commit here, so that we can later print "done" :-)
5538 $ gpg --batch --generate-key foo
5540 $ gpg --list-secret-keys
5541 /tmp/tmp.0NQxB74PEf/pubring.kbx
5542 -------------------------------
5543 sec dsa1024 2016-12-16 [SCA]
5544 768E895903FC1C44045C8CB95EEBDB71E9E849D0
5545 uid [ultimate] Joe Tester (with stupid passphrase) <joe@foo.bar>
5546 ssb elg1024 2016-12-16 [E]
5548 If you want to create a key with the default algorithms you would use
5550 %echo Generating a default key
5552 Subkey-Type: default
5553 Name-Real: Joe Tester
5554 Name-Comment: with stupid passphrase
5555 Name-Email: joe@foo.bar
5558 # Do a commit here, so that we can later print "done" :-)
5563 File: gnupg.info, Node: Invoking GPGSM, Next: Invoking SCDAEMON, Prev: Invoking GPG, Up: Top
5568 'gpgsm' is a tool similar to 'gpg' to provide digital encryption and
5569 signing services on X.509 certificates and the CMS protocol. It is
5570 mainly used as a backend for S/MIME mail processing. 'gpgsm' includes a
5571 full featured certificate management and complies with all rules defined
5572 for the German Sphinx project.
5574 *Note Option Index::, for an index to 'GPGSM''s commands and options.
5578 * GPGSM Commands:: List of all commands.
5579 * GPGSM Options:: List of all options.
5580 * GPGSM Configuration:: Configuration files.
5581 * GPGSM Examples:: Some usage examples.
5583 Developer information:
5584 * Unattended Usage:: Using 'gpgsm' from other programs.
5585 * GPGSM Protocol:: The protocol the server mode uses.
5588 File: gnupg.info, Node: GPGSM Commands, Next: GPGSM Options, Up: Invoking GPGSM
5593 Commands are not distinguished from options except for the fact that
5594 only one command is allowed.
5598 * General GPGSM Commands:: Commands not specific to the functionality.
5599 * Operational GPGSM Commands:: Commands to select the type of operation.
5600 * Certificate Management:: How to manage certificates.
5603 File: gnupg.info, Node: General GPGSM Commands, Next: Operational GPGSM Commands, Up: GPGSM Commands
5605 5.1.1 Commands not specific to the function
5606 -------------------------------------------
5609 Print the program version and licensing information. Note that you
5610 cannot abbreviate this command.
5613 Print a usage message summarizing the most useful command-line
5614 options. Note that you cannot abbreviate this command.
5617 Print warranty information. Note that you cannot abbreviate this
5621 Print a list of all available options and commands. Note that you
5622 cannot abbreviate this command.
5625 File: gnupg.info, Node: Operational GPGSM Commands, Next: Certificate Management, Prev: General GPGSM Commands, Up: GPGSM Commands
5627 5.1.2 Commands to select the type of operation
5628 ----------------------------------------------
5631 Perform an encryption. The keys the data is encrypted to must be
5632 set using the option '--recipient'.
5635 Perform a decryption; the type of input is automatically
5636 determined. It may either be in binary form or PEM encoded;
5637 automatic determination of base-64 encoding is not done.
5640 Create a digital signature. The key used is either the fist one
5641 found in the keybox or those set with the '--local-user' option.
5644 Check a signature file for validity. Depending on the arguments a
5645 detached signature may also be checked.
5648 Run in server mode and wait for commands on the 'stdin'.
5650 '--call-dirmngr COMMAND [ARGS]'
5651 Behave as a Dirmngr client issuing the request COMMAND with the
5652 optional list of ARGS. The output of the Dirmngr is printed
5653 stdout. Please note that file names given as arguments should have
5654 an absolute file name (i.e. commencing with '/') because they are
5655 passed verbatim to the Dirmngr and the working directory of the
5656 Dirmngr might not be the same as the one of this client. Currently
5657 it is not possible to pass data via stdin to the Dirmngr. COMMAND
5658 should not contain spaces.
5660 This is command is required for certain maintaining tasks of the
5661 dirmngr where a dirmngr must be able to call back to 'gpgsm'. See
5662 the Dirmngr manual for details.
5664 '--call-protect-tool ARGUMENTS'
5665 Certain maintenance operations are done by an external program call
5666 'gpg-protect-tool'; this is usually not installed in a directory
5667 listed in the PATH variable. This command provides a simple
5668 wrapper to access this tool. ARGUMENTS are passed verbatim to this
5669 command; use '--help' to get a list of supported operations.
5672 File: gnupg.info, Node: Certificate Management, Prev: Operational GPGSM Commands, Up: GPGSM Commands
5674 5.1.3 How to manage the certificates and keys
5675 ---------------------------------------------
5679 This command allows the creation of a certificate signing request
5680 or a self-signed certificate. It is commonly used along with the
5681 '--output' option to save the created CSR or certificate into a
5682 file. If used with the '--batch' a parameter file is used to
5683 create the CSR or certificate and it is further possible to create
5684 non-self-signed certificates.
5688 List all available certificates stored in the local key database.
5689 Note that the displayed data might be reformatted for better human
5690 readability and illegal characters are replaced by safe
5693 '--list-secret-keys'
5695 List all available certificates for which a corresponding a secret
5698 '--list-external-keys PATTERN'
5699 List certificates matching PATTERN using an external server. This
5700 utilizes the 'dirmngr' service.
5703 Same as '--list-keys' but also prints all keys making up the chain.
5707 List all available certificates stored in the local key database
5708 using a format useful mainly for debugging.
5711 Same as '--dump-keys' but also prints all keys making up the chain.
5713 '--dump-secret-keys'
5714 List all available certificates for which a corresponding a secret
5715 key is available using a format useful mainly for debugging.
5717 '--dump-external-keys PATTERN'
5718 List certificates matching PATTERN using an external server. This
5719 utilizes the 'dirmngr' service. It uses a format useful mainly for
5722 '--keydb-clear-some-cert-flags'
5723 This is a debugging aid to reset certain flags in the key database
5724 which are used to cache certain certificate stati. It is
5725 especially useful if a bad CRL or a weird running OCSP responder
5726 did accidentally revoke certificate. There is no security issue
5727 with this command because 'gpgsm' always make sure that the
5728 validity of a certificate is checked right before it is used.
5730 '--delete-keys PATTERN'
5731 Delete the keys matching PATTERN. Note that there is no command to
5732 delete the secret part of the key directly. In case you need to do
5733 this, you should run the command 'gpgsm --dump-secret-keys KEYID'
5734 before you delete the key, copy the string of hex-digits in the
5735 "keygrip" line and delete the file consisting of these hex-digits
5736 and the suffix '.key' from the 'private-keys-v1.d' directory below
5737 our GnuPG home directory (usually '~/.gnupg').
5739 '--export [PATTERN]'
5740 Export all certificates stored in the Keybox or those specified by
5741 the optional PATTERN. Those pattern consist of a list of user ids
5742 (*note how-to-specify-a-user-id::). When used along with the
5743 '--armor' option a few informational lines are prepended before
5744 each block. There is one limitation: As there is no commonly
5745 agreed upon way to pack more than one certificate into an ASN.1
5746 structure, the binary export (i.e. without using 'armor') works
5747 only for the export of one certificate. Thus it is required to
5748 specify a PATTERN which yields exactly one certificate. Ephemeral
5749 certificate are only exported if all PATTERN are given as
5750 fingerprints or keygrips.
5752 '--export-secret-key-p12 KEY-ID'
5753 Export the private key and the certificate identified by KEY-ID in
5754 a PKCS#12 format. When used with the '--armor' option a few
5755 informational lines are prepended to the output. Note, that the
5756 PKCS#12 format is not very secure and this command is only provided
5757 if there is no other way to exchange the private key. (*Note
5758 option --p12-charset::.)
5760 '--export-secret-key-p8 KEY-ID'
5761 '--export-secret-key-raw KEY-ID'
5762 Export the private key of the certificate identified by KEY-ID with
5763 any encryption stripped. The '...-raw' command exports in PKCS#1
5764 format; the '...-p8' command exports in PKCS#8 format. When used
5765 with the '--armor' option a few informational lines are prepended
5766 to the output. These commands are useful to prepare a key for use
5770 Import the certificates from the PEM or binary encoded files as
5771 well as from signed-only messages. This command may also be used
5772 to import a secret key from a PKCS#12 file.
5775 Read information about the private keys from the smartcard and
5776 import the certificates from there. This command utilizes the
5777 'gpg-agent' and in turn the 'scdaemon'.
5779 '--change-passphrase USER_ID'
5781 Change the passphrase of the private key belonging to the
5782 certificate specified as USER_ID. Note, that changing the
5783 passphrase/PIN of a smartcard is not yet supported.
5786 File: gnupg.info, Node: GPGSM Options, Next: GPGSM Configuration, Prev: GPGSM Commands, Up: Invoking GPGSM
5791 'GPGSM' features a bunch of options to control the exact behaviour and
5792 to change the default configuration.
5796 * Configuration Options:: How to change the configuration.
5797 * Certificate Options:: Certificate related options.
5798 * Input and Output:: Input and Output.
5799 * CMS Options:: How to change how the CMS is created.
5800 * Esoteric Options:: Doing things one usually do not want to do.
5803 File: gnupg.info, Node: Configuration Options, Next: Certificate Options, Up: GPGSM Options
5805 5.2.1 How to change the configuration
5806 -------------------------------------
5808 These options are used to change the configuration and are usually found
5812 Reads configuration from FILE instead of from the default per-user
5813 configuration file. The default configuration file is named
5814 'gpgsm.conf' and expected in the '.gnupg' directory directly below
5815 the home directory of the user.
5818 Set the name of the home directory to DIR. If this option is not
5819 used, the home directory defaults to '~/.gnupg'. It is only
5820 recognized when given on the command line. It also overrides any
5821 home directory stated through the environment variable 'GNUPGHOME'
5822 or (on Windows systems) by means of the Registry entry
5823 HKCU\SOFTWARE\GNU\GNUPG:HOMEDIR.
5825 On Windows systems it is possible to install GnuPG as a portable
5826 application. In this case only this command line option is
5827 considered, all other ways to set a home directory are ignored.
5829 To install GnuPG as a portable application under Windows, create an
5830 empty file named 'gpgconf.ctl' in the same directory as the tool
5831 'gpgconf.exe'. The root of the installation is then that
5832 directory; or, if 'gpgconf.exe' has been installed directly below a
5833 directory named 'bin', its parent directory. You also need to make
5834 sure that the following directories exist and are writable:
5835 'ROOT/home' for the GnuPG home and 'ROOT/usr/local/var/cache/gnupg'
5836 for internal cache files.
5840 Outputs additional information while running. You can increase the
5841 verbosity by giving several verbose commands to 'gpgsm', such as
5844 '--policy-file FILENAME'
5845 Change the default name of the policy file to FILENAME.
5847 '--agent-program FILE'
5848 Specify an agent program to be used for secret key operations. The
5849 default value is determined by running the command 'gpgconf'. Note
5850 that the pipe symbol ('|') is used for a regression test suite hack
5851 and may thus not be used in the file name.
5853 '--dirmngr-program FILE'
5854 Specify a dirmngr program to be used for CRL checks. The default
5855 value is '/usr/local/bin/dirmngr'.
5857 '--prefer-system-dirmngr'
5858 If a system wide 'dirmngr' is running in daemon mode, first try to
5859 connect to this one. Fallback to a pipe based server if this does
5860 not work. Under Windows this option is ignored because the system
5861 dirmngr is always used.
5864 Entirely disable the use of the Dirmngr.
5867 Do not start the gpg-agent or the dirmngr if it has not yet been
5868 started and its service is required. This option is mostly useful
5869 on machines where the connection to gpg-agent has been redirected
5870 to another machines. If dirmngr is required on the remote machine,
5871 it may be started manually using 'gpgconf --launch dirmngr'.
5873 '--no-secmem-warning'
5874 Do not print a warning when the so called "secure memory" cannot be
5878 When running in server mode, append all logging output to FILE.
5879 Use 'socket://' to log to socket.
5882 File: gnupg.info, Node: Certificate Options, Next: Input and Output, Prev: Configuration Options, Up: GPGSM Options
5884 5.2.2 Certificate related options
5885 ---------------------------------
5887 '--enable-policy-checks'
5888 '--disable-policy-checks'
5889 By default policy checks are enabled. These options may be used to
5892 '--enable-crl-checks'
5893 '--disable-crl-checks'
5894 By default the CRL checks are enabled and the DirMngr is used to
5895 check for revoked certificates. The disable option is most useful
5896 with an off-line network connection to suppress this check.
5898 '--enable-trusted-cert-crl-check'
5899 '--disable-trusted-cert-crl-check'
5900 By default the CRL for trusted root certificates are checked like
5901 for any other certificates. This allows a CA to revoke its own
5902 certificates voluntary without the need of putting all ever issued
5903 certificates into a CRL. The disable option may be used to switch
5904 this extra check off. Due to the caching done by the Dirmngr,
5905 there will not be any noticeable performance gain. Note, that this
5906 also disables possible OCSP checks for trusted root certificates.
5907 A more specific way of disabling this check is by adding the
5908 "relax" keyword to the root CA line of the 'trustlist.txt'
5910 '--force-crl-refresh'
5911 Tell the dirmngr to reload the CRL for each request. For better
5912 performance, the dirmngr will actually optimize this by suppressing
5913 the loading for short time intervals (e.g. 30 minutes). This
5914 option is useful to make sure that a fresh CRL is available for
5915 certificates hold in the keybox. The suggested way of doing this
5916 is by using it along with the option '--with-validation' for a key
5917 listing command. This option should not be used in a configuration
5922 By default OCSP checks are disabled. The enable option may be used
5923 to enable OCSP checks via Dirmngr. If CRL checks are also enabled,
5924 CRLs will be used as a fallback if for some reason an OCSP request
5925 will not succeed. Note, that you have to allow OCSP requests in
5926 Dirmngr's configuration too (option '--allow-ocsp') and configure
5927 Dirmngr properly. If you do not do so you will get the error code
5930 '--auto-issuer-key-retrieve'
5931 If a required certificate is missing while validating the chain of
5932 certificates, try to load that certificate from an external
5933 location. This usually means that Dirmngr is employed to search
5934 for the certificate. Note that this option makes a "web bug" like
5935 behavior possible. LDAP server operators can see which keys you
5936 request, so by sending you a message signed by a brand new key
5937 (which you naturally will not have on your local keybox), the
5938 operator can tell both your IP address and the time when you
5939 verified the signature.
5941 '--validation-model NAME'
5942 This option changes the default validation model. The only
5943 possible values are "shell" (which is the default), "chain" which
5944 forces the use of the chain model and "steed" for a new simplified
5945 model. The chain model is also used if an option in the
5946 'trustlist.txt' or an attribute of the certificate requests it.
5947 However the standard model (shell) is in that case always tried
5950 '--ignore-cert-extension OID'
5951 Add OID to the list of ignored certificate extensions. The OID is
5952 expected to be in dotted decimal form, like '2.5.29.3'. This
5953 option may be used more than once. Critical flagged certificate
5954 extensions matching one of the OIDs in the list are treated as if
5955 they are actually handled and thus the certificate will not be
5956 rejected due to an unknown critical extension. Use this option
5957 with care because extensions are usually flagged as critical for a
5961 File: gnupg.info, Node: Input and Output, Next: CMS Options, Prev: Certificate Options, Up: GPGSM Options
5963 5.2.3 Input and Output
5964 ----------------------
5968 Create PEM encoded output. Default is binary output.
5971 Create Base-64 encoded output; i.e. PEM without the header lines.
5974 Assume the input data is PEM encoded. Default is to autodetect the
5975 encoding but this is may fail.
5978 Assume the input data is plain base-64 encoded.
5981 Assume the input data is binary encoded.
5983 '--p12-charset NAME'
5984 'gpgsm' uses the UTF-8 encoding when encoding passphrases for
5985 PKCS#12 files. This option may be used to force the passphrase to
5986 be encoded in the specified encoding NAME. This is useful if the
5987 application used to import the key uses a different encoding and
5988 thus will not be able to import a file generated by 'gpgsm'.
5989 Commonly used values for NAME are 'Latin1' and 'CP850'. Note that
5990 'gpgsm' itself automagically imports any file with a passphrase
5991 encoded to the most commonly used encodings.
5993 '--default-key USER_ID'
5994 Use USER_ID as the standard key for signing. This key is used if
5995 no other key has been defined as a signing key. Note, that the
5996 first '--local-users' option also sets this key if it has not yet
5997 been set; however '--default-key' always overrides this.
5999 '--local-user USER_ID'
6001 Set the user(s) to be used for signing. The default is the first
6002 secret key found in the database.
6006 Encrypt to the user id NAME. There are several ways a user id may
6007 be given (*note how-to-specify-a-user-id::).
6011 Write output to FILE. The default is to write it to stdout.
6014 Displays extra information with the '--list-keys' commands.
6015 Especially a line tagged 'grp' is printed which tells you the
6016 keygrip of a key. This string is for example used as the file name
6020 When doing a key listing, do a full validation check for each key
6021 and print the result. This is usually a slow operation because it
6022 requires a CRL lookup and other operations.
6024 When used along with '--import', a validation of the certificate to
6025 import is done and only imported if it succeeds the test. Note
6026 that this does not affect an already available certificate in the
6027 DB. This option is therefore useful to simply verify a certificate.
6029 '--with-md5-fingerprint'
6030 For standard key listings, also print the MD5 fingerprint of the
6034 Include the keygrip in standard key listings. Note that the
6035 keygrip is always listed in '--with-colons' mode.
6038 Include info about the presence of a secret key in public key
6039 listings done with '--with-colons'.
6042 File: gnupg.info, Node: CMS Options, Next: Esoteric Options, Prev: Input and Output, Up: GPGSM Options
6044 5.2.4 How to change how the CMS is created
6045 ------------------------------------------
6048 Using N of -2 includes all certificate except for the root cert, -1
6049 includes all certs, 0 does not include any certs, 1 includes only
6050 the signers cert and all other positive values include up to N
6051 certificates starting with the signer cert. The default is -2.
6054 Use the cipher algorithm with the ASN.1 object identifier OID for
6055 encryption. For convenience the strings '3DES', 'AES' and 'AES256'
6056 may be used instead of their OIDs. The default is 'AES'
6057 (2.16.840.1.101.3.4.1.2).
6059 '--digest-algo name'
6060 Use 'name' as the message digest algorithm. Usually this algorithm
6061 is deduced from the respective signing certificate. This option
6062 forces the use of the given algorithm and may lead to severe
6063 interoperability problems.
6066 File: gnupg.info, Node: Esoteric Options, Prev: CMS Options, Up: GPGSM Options
6068 5.2.5 Doing things one usually do not want to do
6069 ------------------------------------------------
6071 '--extra-digest-algo NAME'
6072 Sometimes signatures are broken in that they announce a different
6073 digest algorithm than actually used. 'gpgsm' uses a one-pass data
6074 processing model and thus needs to rely on the announced digest
6075 algorithms to properly hash the data. As a workaround this option
6076 may be used to tell 'gpgsm' to also hash the data using the
6077 algorithm NAME; this slows processing down a little bit but allows
6078 verification of such broken signatures. If 'gpgsm' prints an error
6079 like "digest algo 8 has not been enabled" you may want to try this
6080 option, with 'SHA256' for NAME.
6082 '--faked-system-time EPOCH'
6083 This option is only useful for testing; it sets the system time
6084 back or forth to EPOCH which is the number of seconds elapsed since
6085 the year 1970. Alternatively EPOCH may be given as a full ISO time
6086 string (e.g. "20070924T154812").
6088 '--with-ephemeral-keys'
6089 Include ephemeral flagged keys in the output of key listings. Note
6090 that they are included anyway if the key specification for a
6091 listing is given as fingerprint or keygrip.
6093 '--debug-level LEVEL'
6094 Select the debug level for investigating problems. LEVEL may be a
6095 numeric value or by a keyword:
6098 No debugging at all. A value of less than 1 may be used
6099 instead of the keyword.
6101 Some basic debug messages. A value between 1 and 2 may be
6102 used instead of the keyword.
6104 More verbose debug messages. A value between 3 and 5 may be
6105 used instead of the keyword.
6107 Even more detailed messages. A value between 6 and 8 may be
6108 used instead of the keyword.
6110 All of the debug messages you can get. A value greater than 8
6111 may be used instead of the keyword. The creation of hash
6112 tracing files is only enabled if the keyword is used.
6114 How these messages are mapped to the actual debugging flags is not
6115 specified and may change with newer releases of this program. They
6116 are however carefully selected to best aid in debugging.
6119 This option is only useful for debugging and the behaviour may
6120 change at any time without notice; using '--debug-levels' is the
6121 preferred method to select the debug verbosity. FLAGS are bit
6122 encoded and may be given in usual C-Syntax. The currently defined
6126 X.509 or OpenPGP protocol related data
6128 values of big number integers
6130 low level crypto operations
6136 show memory statistics
6138 write hashed data to files named 'dbgmd-000*'
6140 trace Assuan protocol
6142 Note, that all flags set using this option may get overridden by
6146 Same as '--debug=0xffffffff'
6148 '--debug-allow-core-dump'
6149 Usually 'gpgsm' tries to avoid dumping core by well written code
6150 and by disabling core dumps for security reasons. However, bugs
6151 are pretty durable beasts and to squash them it is sometimes useful
6152 to have a core dump. This option enables core dumps unless the Bad
6153 Thing happened before the option parsing.
6155 '--debug-no-chain-validation'
6156 This is actually not a debugging option but only useful as such.
6157 It lets 'gpgsm' bypass all certificate chain validation checks.
6159 '--debug-ignore-expiration'
6160 This is actually not a debugging option but only useful as such.
6161 It lets 'gpgsm' ignore all notAfter dates, this is used by the
6165 Read the passphrase from file descriptor 'n'. Only the first line
6166 will be read from file descriptor 'n'. If you use 0 for 'n', the
6167 passphrase will be read from STDIN. This can only be used if only
6168 one passphrase is supplied.
6170 Note that this passphrase is only used if the option '--batch' has
6173 '--pinentry-mode mode'
6174 Set the pinentry mode to 'mode'. Allowed values for 'mode' are:
6176 Use the default of the agent, which is 'ask'.
6178 Force the use of the Pinentry.
6180 Emulate use of Pinentry's cancel button.
6182 Return a Pinentry error ("No Pinentry").
6184 Redirect Pinentry queries to the caller. Note that in
6185 contrast to Pinentry the user is not prompted again if he
6186 enters a bad password.
6188 '--no-common-certs-import'
6189 Suppress the import of common certificates on keybox creation.
6191 All the long options may also be given in the configuration file
6192 after stripping off the two leading dashes.
6195 File: gnupg.info, Node: GPGSM Configuration, Next: GPGSM Examples, Prev: GPGSM Options, Up: Invoking GPGSM
6197 5.3 Configuration files
6198 =======================
6200 There are a few configuration files to control certain aspects of
6201 'gpgsm''s operation. Unless noted, they are expected in the current
6202 home directory (*note option --homedir::).
6205 This is the standard configuration file read by 'gpgsm' on startup.
6206 It may contain any valid long option; the leading two dashes may
6207 not be entered and the option may not be abbreviated. This default
6208 name may be changed on the command line (*note gpgsm-option
6209 --options::). You should backup this file.
6212 This is a list of allowed CA policies. This file should list the
6213 object identifiers of the policies line by line. Empty lines and
6214 lines starting with a hash mark are ignored. Policies missing in
6215 this file and not marked as critical in the certificate will print
6216 only a warning; certificates with policies marked as critical and
6217 not listed in this file will fail the signature verification. You
6218 should backup this file.
6220 For example, to allow only the policy 2.289.9.9, the file should
6227 This is the list of root certificates used for qualified
6228 certificates. They are defined as certificates capable of creating
6229 legally binding signatures in the same way as handwritten
6230 signatures are. Comments start with a hash mark and empty lines
6231 are ignored. Lines do have a length limit but this is not a
6232 serious limitation as the format of the entries is fixed and
6233 checked by 'gpgsm': A non-comment line starts with optional
6234 whitespace, followed by exactly 40 hex characters, white space and
6235 a lowercased 2 letter country code. Additional data delimited with
6236 by a white space is current ignored but might late be used for
6239 Note that even if a certificate is listed in this file, this does
6240 not mean that the certificate is trusted; in general the
6241 certificates listed in this file need to be listed also in
6244 This is a global file an installed in the data directory (e.g.
6245 '/usr/local/share/gnupg/qualified.txt'). GnuPG installs a suitable
6246 file with root certificates as used in Germany. As new Root-CA
6247 certificates may be issued over time, these entries may need to be
6248 updated; new distributions of this software should come with an
6249 updated list but it is still the responsibility of the
6250 Administrator to check that this list is correct.
6252 Every time 'gpgsm' uses a certificate for signing or verification
6253 this file will be consulted to check whether the certificate under
6254 question has ultimately been issued by one of these CAs. If this
6255 is the case the user will be informed that the verified signature
6256 represents a legally binding ("qualified") signature. When
6257 creating a signature using such a certificate an extra prompt will
6258 be issued to let the user confirm that such a legally binding
6259 signature shall really be created.
6261 Because this software has not yet been approved for use with such
6262 certificates, appropriate notices will be shown to indicate this
6266 This is plain text file with a few help entries used with
6267 'pinentry' as well as a large list of help items for 'gpg' and
6268 'gpgsm'. The standard file has English help texts; to install
6269 localized versions use filenames like 'help.LL.txt' with LL
6270 denoting the locale. GnuPG comes with a set of predefined help
6271 files in the data directory (e.g.
6272 '/usr/local/share/gnupg/gnupg/help.de.txt') and allows overriding
6273 of any help item by help files stored in the system configuration
6274 directory (e.g. '/etc/gnupg/help.de.txt'). For a reference of the
6275 help file's syntax, please see the installed 'help.txt' file.
6278 This file is a collection of common certificates used to populated
6279 a newly created 'pubring.kbx'. An administrator may replace this
6280 file with a custom one. The format is a concatenation of PEM
6281 encoded X.509 certificates. This global file is installed in the
6282 data directory (e.g. '/usr/local/share/gnupg/com-certs.pem').
6284 Note that on larger installations, it is useful to put predefined
6285 files into the directory '/etc/skel/.gnupg/' so that newly created users
6286 start up with a working configuration. For existing users a small
6287 helper script is provided to create these files (*note addgnupghome::).
6289 For internal purposes 'gpgsm' creates and maintains a few other
6290 files; they all live in in the current home directory (*note option
6291 --homedir::). Only 'gpgsm' may modify these files.
6294 This a database file storing the certificates as well as meta
6295 information. For debugging purposes the tool 'kbxutil' may be used
6296 to show the internal structure of this file. You should backup
6300 This content of this file is used to maintain the internal state of
6301 the random number generator across invocations. The same file is
6302 used by other programs of this software too.
6305 If this file exists 'gpgsm' will first try to connect to this
6306 socket for accessing 'gpg-agent' before starting a new 'gpg-agent'
6307 instance. Under Windows this socket (which in reality be a plain
6308 file describing a regular TCP listening port) is the standard way
6309 of connecting the 'gpg-agent'.
6312 File: gnupg.info, Node: GPGSM Examples, Next: Unattended Usage, Prev: GPGSM Configuration, Up: Invoking GPGSM
6317 $ gpgsm -er goo@bar.net <plaintext >ciphertext
6320 File: gnupg.info, Node: Unattended Usage, Next: GPGSM Protocol, Prev: GPGSM Examples, Up: Invoking GPGSM
6322 5.5 Unattended Usage
6323 ====================
6325 'gpgsm' is often used as a backend engine by other software. To help
6326 with this a machine interface has been defined to have an unambiguous
6327 way to do this. This is most likely used with the '--server' command
6328 but may also be used in the standard operation mode by using the
6329 '--status-fd' option.
6333 * Automated signature checking:: Automated signature checking.
6334 * CSR and certificate creation:: CSR and certificate creation.
6337 File: gnupg.info, Node: Automated signature checking, Next: CSR and certificate creation, Up: Unattended Usage
6339 5.5.1 Automated signature checking
6340 ----------------------------------
6342 It is very important to understand the semantics used with signature
6343 verification. Checking a signature is not as simple as it may sound and
6344 so the operation is a bit complicated. In most cases it is required to
6345 look at several status lines. Here is a table of all cases a signed
6348 The signature is valid
6349 This does mean that the signature has been successfully verified,
6350 the certificates are all sane. However there are two subcases with
6351 important information: One of the certificates may have expired or
6352 a signature of a message itself as expired. It is a sound practise
6353 to consider such a signature still as valid but additional
6354 information should be displayed. Depending on the subcase 'gpgsm'
6355 will issue these status codes:
6356 signature valid and nothing did expire
6357 'GOODSIG', 'VALIDSIG', 'TRUST_FULLY'
6358 signature valid but at least one certificate has expired
6359 'EXPKEYSIG', 'VALIDSIG', 'TRUST_FULLY'
6360 signature valid but expired
6361 'EXPSIG', 'VALIDSIG', 'TRUST_FULLY' Note, that this case is
6362 currently not implemented.
6364 The signature is invalid
6365 This means that the signature verification failed (this is an
6366 indication of a transfer error, a program error or tampering with
6367 the message). 'gpgsm' issues one of these status codes sequences:
6369 'GOODSIG, VALIDSIG TRUST_NEVER'
6371 Error verifying a signature
6372 For some reason the signature could not be verified, i.e. it
6373 cannot be decided whether the signature is valid or invalid. A
6374 common reason for this is a missing certificate.
6377 File: gnupg.info, Node: CSR and certificate creation, Prev: Automated signature checking, Up: Unattended Usage
6379 5.5.2 CSR and certificate creation
6380 ----------------------------------
6382 The command '--generate-key' may be used along with the option '--batch'
6383 to either create a certificate signing request (CSR) or an X.509
6384 certificate. This is controlled by a parameter file; the format of this
6387 * Text only, line length is limited to about 1000 characters.
6388 * UTF-8 encoding must be used to specify non-ASCII characters.
6389 * Empty lines are ignored.
6390 * Leading and trailing while space is ignored.
6391 * A hash sign as the first non white space character indicates a
6393 * Control statements are indicated by a leading percent sign, the
6394 arguments are separated by white space from the keyword.
6395 * Parameters are specified by a keyword, followed by a colon.
6396 Arguments are separated by white space.
6397 * The first parameter must be 'Key-Type', control statements may be
6399 * The order of the parameters does not matter except for 'Key-Type'
6400 which must be the first parameter. The parameters are only used
6401 for the generated CSR/certificate; parameters from previous sets
6402 are not used. Some syntactically checks may be performed.
6403 * Key generation takes place when either the end of the parameter
6404 file is reached, the next 'Key-Type' parameter is encountered or at
6405 the control statement '%commit' is encountered.
6410 Print TEXT as diagnostic.
6413 Suppress actual key generation (useful for syntax checking).
6416 Perform the key generation. Note that an implicit commit is done
6417 at the next Key-Type parameter.
6422 Starts a new parameter block by giving the type of the primary key.
6423 The algorithm must be capable of signing. This is a required
6424 parameter. The only supported value for ALGO is 'rsa'.
6427 The requested length of a generated key in bits. Defaults to 2048.
6430 This is optional and used to generate a CSR or certificate for an
6431 already existing key. Key-Length will be ignored when given.
6433 Key-Usage: USAGE-LIST
6434 Space or comma delimited list of key usage, allowed values are
6435 'encrypt', 'sign' and 'cert'. This is used to generate the
6436 keyUsage extension. Please make sure that the algorithm is capable
6437 of this usage. Default is to allow encrypt and sign.
6439 Name-DN: SUBJECT-NAME
6440 This is the Distinguished Name (DN) of the subject in RFC-2253
6444 This is an email address for the altSubjectName. This parameter is
6445 optional but may occur several times to add several email addresses
6449 The is an DNS name for the altSubjectName. This parameter is
6450 optional but may occur several times to add several DNS names to a
6454 This is an URI for the altSubjectName. This parameter is optional
6455 but may occur several times to add several URIs to a certificate.
6457 Additional parameters used to create a certificate (in contrast to a
6458 certificate signing request):
6461 If this parameter is given an X.509 certificate will be generated.
6462 SN is expected to be a hex string representing an unsigned integer
6463 of arbitrary length. The special value 'random' can be used to
6464 create a 64 bit random serial number.
6466 Issuer-DN: ISSUER-NAME
6467 This is the DN name of the issuer in RFC-2253 format. If it is not
6468 set it will default to the subject DN and a special GnuPG extension
6469 will be included in the certificate to mark it as a standalone
6472 Creation-Date: ISO-DATE
6473 Not-Before: ISO-DATE
6474 Set the notBefore date of the certificate. Either a date like
6475 '1986-04-26' or '1986-04-26 12:00' or a standard ISO timestamp like
6476 '19860426T042640' may be used. The time is considered to be UTC.
6477 If it is not given the current date is used.
6479 Expire-Date: ISO-DATE
6481 Set the notAfter date of the certificate. Either a date like
6482 '2063-04-05' or '2063-04-05 17:00' or a standard ISO timestamp like
6483 '20630405T170000' may be used. The time is considered to be UTC.
6484 If it is not given a default value in the not too far future is
6487 Signing-Key: KEYGRIP
6488 This gives the keygrip of the key used to sign the certificate. If
6489 it is not given a self-signed certificate will be created. For
6490 compatibility with future versions, it is suggested to prefix the
6493 Hash-Algo: HASH-ALGO
6494 Use HASH-ALGO for this CSR or certificate. The supported hash
6495 algorithms are: 'sha1', 'sha256', 'sha384' and 'sha512'; they may
6496 also be specified with uppercase letters. The default is 'sha256'.
6499 File: gnupg.info, Node: GPGSM Protocol, Prev: Unattended Usage, Up: Invoking GPGSM
6501 5.6 The Protocol the Server Mode Uses
6502 =====================================
6504 Description of the protocol used to access 'GPGSM'. 'GPGSM' does
6505 implement the Assuan protocol and in addition provides a regular command
6506 line interface which exhibits a full client to this protocol (but uses
6507 internal linking). To start 'gpgsm' as a server the command line the
6508 option '--server' must be used. Additional options are provided to
6509 select the communication method (i.e. the name of the socket).
6511 We assume that the connection has already been established; see the
6512 Assuan manual for details.
6516 * GPGSM ENCRYPT:: Encrypting a message.
6517 * GPGSM DECRYPT:: Decrypting a message.
6518 * GPGSM SIGN:: Signing a message.
6519 * GPGSM VERIFY:: Verifying a message.
6520 * GPGSM GENKEY:: Generating a key.
6521 * GPGSM LISTKEYS:: List available keys.
6522 * GPGSM EXPORT:: Export certificates.
6523 * GPGSM IMPORT:: Import certificates.
6524 * GPGSM DELETE:: Delete certificates.
6525 * GPGSM GETAUDITLOG:: Retrieve an audit log.
6526 * GPGSM GETINFO:: Information about the process
6527 * GPGSM OPTION:: Session options.
6530 File: gnupg.info, Node: GPGSM ENCRYPT, Next: GPGSM DECRYPT, Up: GPGSM Protocol
6532 5.6.1 Encrypting a Message
6533 --------------------------
6535 Before encryption can be done the recipient must be set using the
6540 Set the recipient for the encryption. USERID should be the internal
6541 representation of the key; the server may accept any other way of
6542 specification. If this is a valid and trusted recipient the server does
6543 respond with OK, otherwise the return is an ERR with the reason why the
6544 recipient cannot be used, the encryption will then not be done for this
6545 recipient. If the policy is not to encrypt at all if not all recipients
6546 are valid, the client has to take care of this. All 'RECIPIENT'
6547 commands are cumulative until a 'RESET' or an successful 'ENCRYPT'
6550 INPUT FD[=N] [--armor|--base64|--binary]
6552 Set the file descriptor for the message to be encrypted to N.
6553 Obviously the pipe must be open at that point, the server establishes
6554 its own end. If the server returns an error the client should consider
6555 this session failed. If N is not given, this commands uses the last
6556 file descriptor passed to the application. *Note the assuan_sendfd
6557 function: (assuan)fun-assuan_sendfd, on how to do descriptor passing.
6559 The '--armor' option may be used to advice the server that the input
6560 data is in PEM format, '--base64' advices that a raw base-64 encoding is
6561 used, '--binary' advices of raw binary input (BER). If none of these
6562 options is used, the server tries to figure out the used encoding, but
6563 this may not always be correct.
6565 OUTPUT FD[=N] [--armor|--base64]
6567 Set the file descriptor to be used for the output (i.e. the
6568 encrypted message). Obviously the pipe must be open at that point, the
6569 server establishes its own end. If the server returns an error the
6570 client should consider this session failed.
6572 The option '--armor' encodes the output in PEM format, the '--base64'
6573 option applies just a base-64 encoding. No option creates binary output
6576 The actual encryption is done using the command
6580 It takes the plaintext from the 'INPUT' command, writes to the
6581 ciphertext to the file descriptor set with the 'OUTPUT' command, take
6582 the recipients from all the recipients set so far. If this command
6583 fails the clients should try to delete all output currently done or
6584 otherwise mark it as invalid. 'GPGSM' does ensure that there will not
6585 be any security problem with leftover data on the output in this case.
6587 This command should in general not fail, as all necessary checks have
6588 been done while setting the recipients. The input and output pipes are
6592 File: gnupg.info, Node: GPGSM DECRYPT, Next: GPGSM SIGN, Prev: GPGSM ENCRYPT, Up: GPGSM Protocol
6594 5.6.2 Decrypting a message
6595 --------------------------
6597 Input and output FDs are set the same way as in encryption, but 'INPUT'
6598 refers to the ciphertext and 'OUTPUT' to the plaintext. There is no
6599 need to set recipients. 'GPGSM' automatically strips any S/MIME headers
6600 from the input, so it is valid to pass an entire MIME part to the INPUT
6603 The decryption is done by using the command
6607 It performs the decrypt operation after doing some check on the
6608 internal state (e.g. that all needed data has been set). Because it
6609 utilizes the GPG-Agent for the session key decryption, there is no need
6610 to ask the client for a protecting passphrase - GpgAgent takes care of
6611 this by requesting this from the user.
6614 File: gnupg.info, Node: GPGSM SIGN, Next: GPGSM VERIFY, Prev: GPGSM DECRYPT, Up: GPGSM Protocol
6616 5.6.3 Signing a Message
6617 -----------------------
6619 Signing is usually done with these commands:
6621 INPUT FD[=N] [--armor|--base64|--binary]
6623 This tells 'GPGSM' to read the data to sign from file descriptor N.
6625 OUTPUT FD[=M] [--armor|--base64]
6627 Write the output to file descriptor M. If a detached signature is
6628 requested, only the signature is written.
6632 Sign the data set with the 'INPUT' command and write it to the sink
6633 set by 'OUTPUT'. With '--detached', a detached signature is created
6636 The key used for signing is the default one or the one specified in
6637 the configuration file. To get finer control over the keys, it is
6638 possible to use the command
6642 to set the signer's key. USERID should be the internal
6643 representation of the key; the server may accept any other way of
6644 specification. If this is a valid and trusted recipient the server does
6645 respond with OK, otherwise the return is an ERR with the reason why the
6646 key cannot be used, the signature will then not be created using this
6647 key. If the policy is not to sign at all if not all keys are valid, the
6648 client has to take care of this. All 'SIGNER' commands are cumulative
6649 until a 'RESET' is done. Note that a 'SIGN' does not reset this list of
6650 signers which is in contrast to the 'RECIPIENT' command.
6653 File: gnupg.info, Node: GPGSM VERIFY, Next: GPGSM GENKEY, Prev: GPGSM SIGN, Up: GPGSM Protocol
6655 5.6.4 Verifying a Message
6656 -------------------------
6658 To verify a message the command:
6662 is used. It does a verify operation on the message send to the input
6663 FD. The result is written out using status lines. If an output FD was
6664 given, the signed text will be written to that. If the signature is a
6665 detached one, the server will inquire about the signed material and the
6666 client must provide it.
6669 File: gnupg.info, Node: GPGSM GENKEY, Next: GPGSM LISTKEYS, Prev: GPGSM VERIFY, Up: GPGSM Protocol
6671 5.6.5 Generating a Key
6672 ----------------------
6674 This is used to generate a new keypair, store the secret part in the PSE
6675 and the public key in the key database. We will probably add optional
6676 commands to allow the client to select whether a hardware token is used
6677 to store the key. Configuration options to 'GPGSM' can be used to
6678 restrict the use of this command.
6682 'GPGSM' checks whether this command is allowed and then does an
6683 INQUIRY to get the key parameters, the client should then send the key
6684 parameters in the native format:
6686 S: INQUIRE KEY_PARAM native
6691 Please note that the server may send Status info lines while reading
6692 the data lines from the client. After this the key generation takes
6693 place and the server eventually does send an ERR or OK response. Status
6694 lines may be issued as a progress indicator.
6697 File: gnupg.info, Node: GPGSM LISTKEYS, Next: GPGSM EXPORT, Prev: GPGSM GENKEY, Up: GPGSM Protocol
6699 5.6.6 List available keys
6700 -------------------------
6702 To list the keys in the internal database or using an external key
6703 provider, the command:
6707 is used. To allow multiple patterns (which are ORed during the
6708 search) quoting is required: Spaces are to be translated into "+" or
6709 into "%20"; in turn this requires that the usual escape quoting rules
6712 LISTSECRETKEYS PATTERN
6714 Lists only the keys where a secret key is available.
6716 The list commands are affected by the option
6718 OPTION list-mode=MODE
6722 Use default (which is usually the same as 1).
6724 List only the internal keys.
6726 List only the external keys.
6728 List internal and external keys.
6730 Note that options are valid for the entire session.
6733 File: gnupg.info, Node: GPGSM EXPORT, Next: GPGSM IMPORT, Prev: GPGSM LISTKEYS, Up: GPGSM Protocol
6735 5.6.7 Export certificates
6736 -------------------------
6738 To export certificate from the internal key database the command:
6740 EXPORT [--data [--armor] [--base64]] [--] PATTERN
6742 is used. To allow multiple patterns (which are ORed) quoting is
6743 required: Spaces are to be translated into "+" or into "%20"; in turn
6744 this requires that the usual escape quoting rules are done.
6746 If the '--data' option has not been given, the format of the output
6747 depends on what was set with the 'OUTPUT' command. When using PEM
6748 encoding a few informational lines are prepended.
6750 If the '--data' has been given, a target set via 'OUTPUT' is ignored
6751 and the data is returned inline using standard 'D'-lines. This avoids
6752 the need for an extra file descriptor. In this case the options
6753 '--armor' and '--base64' may be used in the same way as with the
6757 File: gnupg.info, Node: GPGSM IMPORT, Next: GPGSM DELETE, Prev: GPGSM EXPORT, Up: GPGSM Protocol
6759 5.6.8 Import certificates
6760 -------------------------
6762 To import certificates into the internal key database, the command
6764 IMPORT [--re-import]
6766 is used. The data is expected on the file descriptor set with the
6767 'INPUT' command. Certain checks are performed on the certificate. Note
6768 that the code will also handle PKCS#12 files and import private keys; a
6769 helper program is used for that.
6771 With the option '--re-import' the input data is expected to a be a
6772 linefeed separated list of fingerprints. The command will re-import the
6773 corresponding certificates; that is they are made permanent by removing
6774 their ephemeral flag.
6777 File: gnupg.info, Node: GPGSM DELETE, Next: GPGSM GETAUDITLOG, Prev: GPGSM IMPORT, Up: GPGSM Protocol
6779 5.6.9 Delete certificates
6780 -------------------------
6782 To delete a certificate the command
6786 is used. To allow multiple patterns (which are ORed) quoting is
6787 required: Spaces are to be translated into "+" or into "%20"; in turn
6788 this requires that the usual escape quoting rules are done.
6790 The certificates must be specified unambiguously otherwise an error
6794 File: gnupg.info, Node: GPGSM GETAUDITLOG, Next: GPGSM GETINFO, Prev: GPGSM DELETE, Up: GPGSM Protocol
6796 5.6.10 Retrieve an audit log
6797 ----------------------------
6799 This command is used to retrieve an audit log.
6801 GETAUDITLOG [--data] [--html]
6803 If '--data' is used, the audit log is send using D-lines instead of
6804 being sent to the file descriptor given by an 'OUTPUT' command. If
6805 '--html' is used, the output is formatted as an XHTML block. This is
6806 designed to be incorporated into a HTML document.
6809 File: gnupg.info, Node: GPGSM GETINFO, Next: GPGSM OPTION, Prev: GPGSM GETAUDITLOG, Up: GPGSM Protocol
6811 5.6.11 Return information about the process
6812 -------------------------------------------
6814 This is a multipurpose function to return a variety of information.
6818 The value of WHAT specifies the kind of information returned:
6820 Return the version of the program.
6822 Return the process id of the process.
6824 Return OK if the agent is running.
6825 'cmd_has_option CMD OPT'
6826 Return OK if the command CMD implements the option OPT. The
6827 leading two dashes usually used with OPT shall not be given.
6829 Return OK if the connection is in offline mode. This may be either
6830 due to a 'OPTION offline=1' or due to 'gpgsm' being started with
6831 option '--disable-dirmngr'.
6834 File: gnupg.info, Node: GPGSM OPTION, Prev: GPGSM GETINFO, Up: GPGSM Protocol
6836 5.6.12 Session options
6837 ----------------------
6839 The standard Assuan option handler supports these options.
6843 These NAMEs are recognized:
6846 Change the session's environment to be passed via gpg-agent to
6847 Pinentry. VALUE is a string of the form '<KEY>[=[<STRING>]]'. If
6848 only '<KEY>' is given the environment variable '<KEY>' is removed
6849 from the session environment, if '<KEY>=' is given that environment
6850 variable is set to the empty string, and if '<STRING>' is given it
6851 is set to that string.
6854 Set the session environment variable 'DISPLAY' is set to VALUE.
6856 Set the session environment variable 'GPG_TTY' is set to VALUE.
6858 Set the session environment variable 'TERM' is set to VALUE.
6860 Set the session environment variable 'LC_CTYPE' is set to VALUE.
6862 Set the session environment variable 'LC_MESSAGES' is set to VALUE.
6864 Set the session environment variable 'XAUTHORITY' is set to VALUE.
6865 'pinentry-user-data'
6866 Set the session environment variable 'PINENTRY_USER_DATA' is set to
6870 This option overrides the command line option '--include-certs'. A
6871 VALUE of -2 includes all certificates except for the root
6872 certificate, -1 includes all certicates, 0 does not include any
6873 certicates, 1 includes only the signers certicate and all other
6874 positive values include up to VALUE certificates starting with the
6878 *Note gpgsm-cmd listkeys::.
6881 If VALUE is true the output of the list commands (*note gpgsm-cmd
6882 listkeys::) is written to the file descriptor set with the last
6883 'OUTPUT' command. If VALUE is false the output is written via data
6884 lines; this is the default.
6887 If VALUE is true for each listed certificate the validation status
6888 is printed. This may result in the download of a CRL or the user
6889 being asked about the trustworthiness of a root certificate. The
6890 default is given by a command line option (*note gpgsm-option
6891 --with-validation::).
6894 If VALUE is true certificates with a corresponding private key are
6895 marked by the list commands.
6898 This option overrides the command line option 'validation-model'
6899 for the session. (*Note gpgsm-option --validation-model::.)
6902 This option globally enables the command line option
6903 '--with-key-data'. (*Note gpgsm-option --with-key-data::.)
6906 If VALUE is true data to write an audit log is gathered. (*Note
6907 gpgsm-cmd getauditlog::.)
6909 'allow-pinentry-notify'
6910 If this option is used notifications about the launch of a Pinentry
6911 are passed back to the client.
6913 'with-ephemeral-keys'
6914 If VALUE is true ephemeral certificates are included in the output
6915 of the list commands.
6918 If this option is used all keys set by the command line option
6919 '--encrypt-to' are ignored.
6922 If VALUE is true or VALUE is not given all network access is
6923 disabled for this session. This is the same as the command line
6924 option '--disable-dirmngr'.
6927 File: gnupg.info, Node: Invoking SCDAEMON, Next: Specify a User ID, Prev: Invoking GPGSM, Up: Top
6929 6 Invoking the SCDAEMON
6930 ***********************
6932 The 'scdaemon' is a daemon to manage smartcards. It is usually invoked
6933 by 'gpg-agent' and in general not used directly.
6935 *Note Option Index::, for an index to 'scdaemon''s commands and
6940 * Scdaemon Commands:: List of all commands.
6941 * Scdaemon Options:: List of all options.
6942 * Card applications:: Description of card applications.
6943 * Scdaemon Configuration:: Configuration files.
6944 * Scdaemon Examples:: Some usage examples.
6945 * Scdaemon Protocol:: The protocol the daemon uses.
6948 File: gnupg.info, Node: Scdaemon Commands, Next: Scdaemon Options, Up: Invoking SCDAEMON
6953 Commands are not distinguished from options except for the fact that
6954 only one command is allowed.
6957 Print the program version and licensing information. Note that you
6958 cannot abbreviate this command.
6961 Print a usage message summarizing the most useful command-line
6962 options. Note that you cannot abbreviate this command.
6965 Print a list of all available options and commands. Note that you
6966 cannot abbreviate this command.
6969 Run in server mode and wait for commands on the 'stdin'. The
6970 default mode is to create a socket and listen for commands there.
6973 Run in server mode and wait for commands on the 'stdin' as well as
6974 on an additional Unix Domain socket. The server command 'GETINFO'
6975 may be used to get the name of that extra socket.
6978 Run the program in the background. This option is required to
6979 prevent it from being accidentally running in the background.
6982 File: gnupg.info, Node: Scdaemon Options, Next: Card applications, Prev: Scdaemon Commands, Up: Invoking SCDAEMON
6988 Reads configuration from FILE instead of from the default per-user
6989 configuration file. The default configuration file is named
6990 'scdaemon.conf' and expected in the '.gnupg' directory directly
6991 below the home directory of the user.
6994 Set the name of the home directory to DIR. If this option is not
6995 used, the home directory defaults to '~/.gnupg'. It is only
6996 recognized when given on the command line. It also overrides any
6997 home directory stated through the environment variable 'GNUPGHOME'
6998 or (on Windows systems) by means of the Registry entry
6999 HKCU\SOFTWARE\GNU\GNUPG:HOMEDIR.
7001 On Windows systems it is possible to install GnuPG as a portable
7002 application. In this case only this command line option is
7003 considered, all other ways to set a home directory are ignored.
7005 To install GnuPG as a portable application under Windows, create an
7006 empty file named 'gpgconf.ctl' in the same directory as the tool
7007 'gpgconf.exe'. The root of the installation is then that
7008 directory; or, if 'gpgconf.exe' has been installed directly below a
7009 directory named 'bin', its parent directory. You also need to make
7010 sure that the following directories exist and are writable:
7011 'ROOT/home' for the GnuPG home and 'ROOT/usr/local/var/cache/gnupg'
7012 for internal cache files.
7016 Outputs additional information while running. You can increase the
7017 verbosity by giving several verbose commands to 'gpgsm', such as
7020 '--debug-level LEVEL'
7021 Select the debug level for investigating problems. LEVEL may be a
7022 numeric value or a keyword:
7025 No debugging at all. A value of less than 1 may be used
7026 instead of the keyword.
7028 Some basic debug messages. A value between 1 and 2 may be
7029 used instead of the keyword.
7031 More verbose debug messages. A value between 3 and 5 may be
7032 used instead of the keyword.
7034 Even more detailed messages. A value between 6 and 8 may be
7035 used instead of the keyword.
7037 All of the debug messages you can get. A value greater than 8
7038 may be used instead of the keyword. The creation of hash
7039 tracing files is only enabled if the keyword is used.
7041 How these messages are mapped to the actual debugging flags is not
7042 specified and may change with newer releases of this program. They
7043 are however carefully selected to best aid in debugging.
7045 Note: All debugging options are subject to change and thus
7046 should not be used by any application program. As the name
7047 says, they are only used as helpers to debug problems.
7050 This option is only useful for debugging and the behavior may
7051 change at any time without notice. FLAGS are bit encoded and may
7052 be given in usual C-Syntax. The currently defined bits are:
7057 values of big number integers
7059 low level crypto operations
7065 show memory statistics
7067 write hashed data to files named 'dbgmd-000*'
7069 trace Assuan protocol. See also option
7070 '--debug-assuan-log-cats'.
7072 trace APDU I/O to the card. This may reveal sensitive data.
7074 trace some card reader related function calls.
7077 Same as '--debug=0xffffffff'
7080 When running in server mode, wait N seconds before entering the
7081 actual processing loop and print the pid. This gives time to
7084 '--debug-ccid-driver'
7085 Enable debug output from the included CCID driver for smartcards.
7086 Using this option twice will also enable some tracing of the T=1
7087 protocol. Note that this option may reveal sensitive data.
7089 '--debug-disable-ticker'
7090 This option disables all ticker functions like checking for card
7093 '--debug-allow-core-dump'
7094 For security reasons we won't create a core dump when the process
7095 aborts. For debugging purposes it is sometimes better to allow
7096 core dump. This option enables it and also changes the working
7097 directory to '/tmp' when running in '--server' mode.
7100 This option appends a thread ID to the PID in the log output.
7102 '--debug-assuan-log-cats CATS'
7103 Changes the active Libassuan logging categories to CATS. The value
7104 for CATS is an unsigned integer given in usual C-Syntax. A value
7105 of of 0 switches to a default category. If this option is not used
7106 the categories are taken from the environment variable
7107 'ASSUAN_DEBUG'. Note that this option has only an effect if the
7108 Assuan debug flag has also been with the option '--debug'. For a
7109 list of categories see the Libassuan manual.
7112 Don't detach the process from the console. This is mainly useful
7116 Append all logging output to FILE. This is very helpful in seeing
7117 what the agent actually does. Use 'socket://' to log to socket.
7119 '--pcsc-driver LIBRARY'
7120 Use LIBRARY to access the smartcard reader. The current default is
7121 'libpcsclite.so'. Instead of using this option you might also want
7122 to install a symbolic link to the default file name (e.g. from
7123 'libpcsclite.so.1').
7125 '--ctapi-driver LIBRARY'
7126 Use LIBRARY to access the smartcard reader. The current default is
7127 'libtowitoko.so'. Note that the use of this interface is
7128 deprecated; it may be removed in future releases.
7131 Disable the integrated support for CCID compliant readers. This
7132 allows falling back to one of the other drivers even if the
7133 internal CCID driver can handle the reader. Note, that CCID
7134 support is only available if libusb was available at build time.
7136 '--reader-port NUMBER_OR_STRING'
7137 This option may be used to specify the port of the card terminal.
7138 A value of 0 refers to the first serial device; add 32768 to access
7139 USB devices. The default is 32768 (first USB device). PC/SC or
7140 CCID readers might need a string here; run the program in verbose
7141 mode to get a list of available readers. The default is then the
7144 To get a list of available CCID readers you may use this command:
7145 echo scd getinfo reader_list \
7146 | gpg-connect-agent --decode | awk '/^D/ {print $2}'
7149 If N is not 0 and no client is actively using the card, the card
7150 will be powered down after N seconds. Powering down the card
7151 avoids a potential risk of damaging a card when used with certain
7152 cheap readers. This also allows applications that are not aware of
7153 Scdaemon to access the card. The disadvantage of using a card
7154 timeout is that accessing the card takes longer and that the user
7155 needs to enter the PIN again after the next power up.
7157 Note that with the current version of Scdaemon the card is powered
7158 down immediately at the next timer tick for any value of N other
7161 '--enable-pinpad-varlen'
7162 Please specify this option when the card reader supports variable
7163 length input for pinpad (default is no). For known readers (listed
7164 in ccid-driver.c and apdu.c), this option is not needed. Note that
7165 if your card reader doesn't supports variable length input but you
7166 want to use it, you need to specify your pinpad request on your
7170 Even if a card reader features a pinpad, do not try to use it.
7173 This option disables the use of admin class commands for card
7174 applications where this is supported. Currently we support it for
7175 the OpenPGP card. This option is useful to inhibit accidental
7176 access to admin class command which could ultimately lock the card
7177 through wrong PIN numbers. Note that GnuPG versions older than
7178 2.0.11 featured an '--allow-admin' option which was required to use
7179 such admin commands. This option has no more effect today because
7180 the default is now to allow admin commands.
7182 '--disable-application NAME'
7183 This option disables the use of the card application named NAME.
7184 This is mainly useful for debugging or if a application with lower
7185 priority should be used by default.
7187 All the long options may also be given in the configuration file
7188 after stripping off the two leading dashes.
7191 File: gnupg.info, Node: Card applications, Next: Scdaemon Configuration, Prev: Scdaemon Options, Up: Invoking SCDAEMON
7193 6.3 Description of card applications
7194 ====================================
7196 'scdaemon' supports the card applications as described below.
7200 * OpenPGP Card:: The OpenPGP card application
7201 * NKS Card:: The Telesec NetKey card application
7202 * DINSIG Card:: The DINSIG card application
7203 * PKCS#15 Card:: The PKCS#15 card application
7204 * Geldkarte Card:: The Geldkarte application
7205 * SmartCard-HSM:: The SmartCard-HSM application
7206 * Undefined Card:: The Undefined stub application
7209 File: gnupg.info, Node: OpenPGP Card, Next: NKS Card, Up: Card applications
7211 6.3.1 The OpenPGP card application "openpgp"
7212 --------------------------------------------
7214 This application is currently only used by 'gpg' but may in future also
7215 be useful with 'gpgsm'. Version 1 and version 2 of the card is
7218 The specifications for these cards are available at
7219 <http://g10code.com/docs/openpgp-card-1.0.pdf> and
7220 <http://g10code.com/docs/openpgp-card-2.0.pdf>.
7223 File: gnupg.info, Node: NKS Card, Next: DINSIG Card, Prev: OpenPGP Card, Up: Card applications
7225 6.3.2 The Telesec NetKey card "nks"
7226 -----------------------------------
7228 This is the main application of the Telesec cards as available in
7229 Germany. It is a superset of the German DINSIG card. The card is used
7233 File: gnupg.info, Node: DINSIG Card, Next: PKCS#15 Card, Prev: NKS Card, Up: Card applications
7235 6.3.3 The DINSIG card application "dinsig"
7236 ------------------------------------------
7238 This is an application as described in the German draft standard _DIN V
7239 66291-1_. It is intended to be used by cards supporting the German
7240 signature law and its bylaws (SigG and SigV).
7243 File: gnupg.info, Node: PKCS#15 Card, Next: Geldkarte Card, Prev: DINSIG Card, Up: Card applications
7245 6.3.4 The PKCS#15 card application "p15"
7246 ----------------------------------------
7248 This is common framework for smart card applications. It is used by
7252 File: gnupg.info, Node: Geldkarte Card, Next: SmartCard-HSM, Prev: PKCS#15 Card, Up: Card applications
7254 6.3.5 The Geldkarte card application "geldkarte"
7255 ------------------------------------------------
7257 This is a simple application to display information of a German
7258 Geldkarte. The Geldkarte is a small amount debit card application which
7259 comes with almost all German banking cards.
7262 File: gnupg.info, Node: SmartCard-HSM, Next: Undefined Card, Prev: Geldkarte Card, Up: Card applications
7264 6.3.6 The SmartCard-HSM card application "sc-hsm"
7265 -------------------------------------------------
7267 This application adds read-only support for keys and certificates stored
7268 on a SmartCard-HSM (http://www.smartcard-hsm.com).
7270 To generate keys and store certifiates you may use OpenSC
7271 (https://github.com/OpenSC/OpenSC/wiki/SmartCardHSM) or the tools from
7272 OpenSCDP (http://www.openscdp.org).
7274 The SmartCard-HSM cards requires a card reader that supports Extended
7278 File: gnupg.info, Node: Undefined Card, Prev: SmartCard-HSM, Up: Card applications
7280 6.3.7 The Undefined card application "undefined"
7281 ------------------------------------------------
7283 This is a stub application to allow the use of the APDU command even if
7284 no supported application is found on the card. This application is not
7285 used automatically but must be explicitly requested using the SERIALNO
7289 File: gnupg.info, Node: Scdaemon Configuration, Next: Scdaemon Examples, Prev: Card applications, Up: Invoking SCDAEMON
7291 6.4 Configuration files
7292 =======================
7294 There are a few configuration files to control certain aspects of
7295 'scdaemons''s operation. Unless noted, they are expected in the current
7296 home directory (*note option --homedir::).
7299 This is the standard configuration file read by 'scdaemon' on
7300 startup. It may contain any valid long option; the leading two
7301 dashes may not be entered and the option may not be abbreviated.
7302 This default name may be changed on the command line (*note option
7306 If this file is present and executable, it will be called on every
7307 card reader's status change. An example of this script is provided
7308 with the distribution
7311 This file is created by 'scdaemon' to let other applications now
7312 about reader status changes. Its use is now deprecated in favor of