$Id$
Command Reference
Key specifiers
Many commands and options require a key specifier.
A key specifier is the key ID or any portion of ther user ID of
a key.
Consider the following example.
alice%gpg --list-keys chloe
pub 1024D/B87DBA93 1999-06-28 Chloe (Jester) <chloe@cyb.org>
uid Chloe (Plebian) <chloe@tel.net>
sub 2048g/B7934539 1999-06-28
For this key, 0xB87DBA93,
Chloe,
Plebian, and
oe@tel
are all examples of key specifiers that match the above key.
send-keys
send keys to a key server
send-keys key
Description
This command sends a public key to a keyserver.
The parameter key specifies
the public key that should be uploaded.
The command requires the option
to specify
to which keyserver &gpg; should send the keys.
recv-keys
retrieve keys from a key server
key-id key-id ...
Description
This command downloads one or more public keys from a keyserver.
Each key-id is a key ID.
The command requires the option
to
specify from which keyserver &gpg; should download the keys.
encrypt
encrypt a document
filename
Description
This command encrypts the document
filename to
recipients specified using the
option .
If the parameter filename
is omitted, then the document to encrypt is taken from standard input.
If the option is omitted,
&gpg; will prompt for a recipient.
If the option is used,
&gpg; will output the encrypted information to the specified file.
decrypt
decrypt an encrypted document
filename
Description
This command decrypts filename
and puts the result on standard output.
If the parameter filename
is omitted, then the document to decrypt is taken from standard input.
Use the option
to output the decrypted message to a file instead.
clearsign
make a cleartext signature
filename
Description
This command signs a message that can be verified to ensure that the
original message has not been changed.
Verification of the signed message is done using the command
.
fingerprint
display key fingerprints
name ...
Description
This command prints the fingerprints of the specified public keys.
The parameter name is a
key specifier.
If no parameter name is
provided, &gpg; will print the fingerprints of all the keys on
your public keyring.
detach-sig
make a detached signature
filename
Description
This command creates a signature file that can be used
to verify that the orginal file
filename has not
been changed.
Verification of the file using a detached signature is done using the
command .
gen-key
generate a new keypair
Description
This command generates a private/public key pair for use in encrypting,
decrypting, and signing of messages.
You will br prompted for the kind of key you wish to create, the key
size, and the key's expiration date.
symmetric
encrypt a document using only a symmetric encryption algorithm
filename
Description
This command encrypts a document using a symmetric algorithm with
a key derived from a passphrase supplied by you during execution.
The key should be selected to make it difficult to randomly guess the key.
To decrypt a document encrypted in this manner use the command.
.
list-keys
list information about the specified keys
key ...
Description
This command lists the public key specified by the key specifiers on the
command line.
If no key specifier is given, &gpg; will print all of the keys on the
public keyring.
import
import keys to a local keyring
filename
Description
This command imports one or more public keys onto the user's public
keyring from the file filename.
verify
verify a signed document
signature document
Description
This command verifies a document against a signature
to ensure that the document has not been altered since the signature
was created.
If signature is omitted,
&gpg; will look in document
for a clearsign signature.
gen-revoke
generate a revocation certificate for a public/private keypair
key
Description
This command generates a revocation certificate for a public/private
key pair.
The parameter key is
a key specifier.
export
export keys from a local keyring
key key ...
Description
This command exports the public keys components of the keys specified
by the key specifiers key key ....
The export command by default sends its output to standard output.
This key file can later be imported into another keyring using the command
.
edit-key
presents a menu for operating on keys
key
Description
This command presents a menu which enables you to perform
key-related taskes.
The key specifier key
specifies the key pair to be edited.
If the specifier matches more than one key pair, &gpg; issues
an error and exits.
Key listings displayed during key editing show the key with its
secondary keys and all user ids.
Selected keys or user ids are indicated by an asterisk.
The trust and validity values are displayed with the primary key:
the first is the assigned trust and the second is the
calculated validity.
Letters are used for the values:
LetterMeaning
-
No ownertrust assigned / not yet calculated.
e
Trust calculation has failed.
q
Not enough information for calculation.
n
Never trust this key.
m
Marginally trusted.
f
Fully trusted.
u
Ultimately trusted.
The following lists each key editing command and a description
of its behavior.
sign
Makes a signature on the current key.
If th key is not yet signed by the default user or the user
given with the option
,
the program displays the information of the key again, together with
its fingerprint and asks whether it should be signed.
This question is repeated for all users specified with the option
.
lsign
Same as sign, but the signature is
marked as non-exportable and will therefore never be used by others.
This may be used to make keys valid only in the local environment.
revsig
Revoke a signature.
Asks for each signature makde by a one of the private keys whether
a revocation certificate should be generated.
trust
Change the owner trust value.
This updates the trust database immediately and no save is required.
disable
Disable the key.
A disabled key cannot normally be used for encryption.
enable
Enable a key that has been previously
disabled.
adduid
Add a new user id to the current key.
deluid
Delete a user id from the current key.
addkey
Add a new subkey to the current key.
delkey
Delete a subkey from the current key.
revkey
Revoke a subkey of the current key.
expire
Change a key expiration time.
If a subkey is selected, the time of that key will be changed.
With no selection the expiration time of the current primary key is changed.
key n
Toggle selection of subkey with index n.
Use 0 to deselect all.
uid n
Toggle selection of user id with index n.
Use 0 to deselect all.
toggle
Change the passphrase of the private key of the selected key pair.
toggle
Toggle between public and private key listings.
check
Check all selected user ids.
pref
List preferences.
save
Save all changes to the current key and quit.
save
Quit without updating the current key.