\input texinfo
@c This Texinfo document has been automatically generated by
@c docbook2texi from a DocBook documentation. The tool used
@c can be found at:
@c
@c Please send any bug reports, improvements, comments,
@c patches, etc. to Steve Cheng .
@setfilename gpg.info
@node top
@top gpg
@menu
@end menu
@majorheading Name
gpg ---- encryption and signing tool
@majorheading Synopsis
@majorheading DESCRIPTION
@code{gpg} is the main program for the GnuPG system.
This man page only lists the commands and options available.
For a more verbose documentation get the GNU Privacy Handbook (GPH), which is
available at http://www.gnupg.org/gph/ .
You will find a list of HOWTO documents at http://www.gnupg.org/docs.html .
@majorheading COMMANDS
@code{gpg} recognizes these commands:
@table @asis
@item -s, ---sign
Make a signature. This command may be combined
with ---encrypt.
@item ---clearsign
Make a clear text signature.
@item -b, ---detach-sign
Make a detached signature.
@item -e, ---encrypt
Encrypt data. This option may be combined with ---sign.
@item -c, ---symmetric
Encrypt with symmetric cipher only.
This command asks for a passphrase.
@item ---store
Store only (make a simple RFC1991 packet).
@item ---decrypt @code{file}
Decrypt @code{file} (or stdin if no file is specified) and
write it to stdout (or the file specified with
---output). If the decrypted file is signed, the
signature is also verified. This command differs
from the default operation, as it never writes to the
filename which is included in the file and it
rejects files which don't begin with an encrypted
message.
@item ---verify @code{sigfile} @code{signed-files}
Assume that @code{sigfile} is a signature and verify it
without generating any output. With no arguments,
the signature packet is read from stdin. If
only a sigfile is given, it may be a complete
signature or a detached signature, in which case
the signed stuff is expected in a file without the
".sig" or ".asc" extension.
With more than
1 argument, the first should be a detached signature
and the remaining files are the signed stuff. To read the signed
stuff from stdin, use @samp{-} as the second filename.
For security reasons a detached signature cannot read the signed
material from stdin without denoting it in the above way.
@item ---verify-files @code{files}
This is a special version of the ---verify command which does not work with
detached signatures. The command expects the files to be verified either
on the command line or reads the filenames from stdin; each name must be on
separate line. The command is intended for quick checking of many files.
@item ---list-keys @code{names}
@itemx ---list-public-keys @code{names}
List all keys from the public keyrings, or just the
ones given on the command line.
@item ---list-secret-keys @code{names}
List all keys from the secret keyrings, or just the
ones given on the command line.
@item ---list-sigs @code{names}
Same as ---list-keys, but the signatures are listed too.
@item ---check-sigs @code{names}
Same as ---list-sigs, but the signatures are verified.
@item ---fingerprint @code{names}
List all keys with their fingerprints. This is the
same output as ---list-keys but with the additional output
of a line with the fingerprint. May also be combined
with ---list-sigs or --check-sigs.
If this command is given twice, the fingerprints of all
secondary keys are listed too.
@item ---list-packets
List only the sequence of packets. This is mainly
useful for debugging.
@item ---gen-key
Generate a new key pair. This command is normally only used
interactively.
There is an experimental feature which allows you to create keys
in batch mode. See the file @file{doc/DETAILS}
in the source distribution on how to use this.
@item ---edit-key @code{name}
Present a menu which enables you to do all key
related tasks:
@table @asis
@item sign
Make a signature on key of user @code{name}
If the key is not yet signed by the default
user (or the users given with -u), 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 -u.
@item 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.
@item revsig
Revoke a signature. GnuPG asks for every
signature which has been done by one of
the secret keys, whether a revocation
certificate should be generated.
@item trust
Change the owner trust value. This updates the
trust-db immediately and no save is required.
@item disable
@itemx enable
Disable or enable an entire key. A disabled key can normally not be used
for encryption.
@item adduid
Create an alternate user id.
@item deluid
Delete a user id.
@item addkey
Add a subkey to this key.
@item delkey
Remove a subkey.
@item revkey
Revoke a subkey.
@item expire
Change the key expiration time. If a key is
selected, the time of this key will be changed.
With no selection the key expiration of the
primary key is changed.
@item passwd
Change the passphrase of the secret key.
@item primary
Flag the current user id as the primary one, removes the primary user
id flag from all other user ids and sets the timestamp of all
affected self-signatures one second ahead.
@item uid @code{n}
Toggle selection of user id with index @code{n}.
Use 0 to deselect all.
@item key @code{n}
Toggle selection of subkey with index @code{n}.
Use 0 to deselect all.
@item check
Check all selected user ids.
@item pref
List preferences.
@item showpref
More verbose preferences listing.
@item setpref @code{string}
Set the list of user ID preferences to @code{string}, this should be
a string similar to the one printed by "pref". Using an empty string
will set the default preference string, using "none" will set the
preferences to nil. Only available algorithms are allowed. This
command just initializes an internal list and does not change anything
unless another command which changes the self-signatures is used.
@item updpref
Change the preferences of all user IDs (or just of the selected ones
to the current list of preferences. The timestamp of all affected
self-signatures fill be advanced by one second.
@item toggle
Toggle between public and secret key listing.
@item save
Save all changes to the key rings and quit.
@item quit
Quit the program without updating the
key rings.
@end table
The listing shows you the key with its secondary
keys and all user ids. Selected keys or user ids
are indicated by an asterisk. The trust value is
displayed with the primary key: the first is the
assigned owner trust and the second is the calculated
trust value. Letters are used for the values:
@table @asis
@item -
No ownertrust assigned / not yet calculated.
@item e
Trust
calculation has failed; probably due to an expired key.
@item q
Not enough information for calculation.
@item n
Never trust this key.
@item m
Marginally trusted.
@item f
Fully trusted.
@item u
Ultimately trusted.
@end table
@item ---sign-key @code{name}
Sign a public key with your secret key. This is a shortcut version
of the subcommand "sign" from ---edit.
@item ---lsign-key @code{name}
Sign a public key with your secret key but mark it as non-exportable.
This is a shortcut version of the subcommand "lsign" from ---edit.
@item ---trusted-key @code{long key ID}
Assume that the specified key (which must be given
as a full 8 byte key ID) is as trustworthy as one of
your own secret keys. This option is useful if you
don't want to keep your secret keys (or one of them)
online but still want to be able to check the validity of a given
recipient's or signator's key.
@item ---delete-key @code{name}
Remove key from the public keyring
@item ---delete-secret-key @code{name}
Remove key from the secret and public keyring
@item ---delete-secret-and-public-key @code{name}
Same as ---delete-key, but if a secret key exists, it will be removed first.
@item ---gen-revoke
Generate a revocation certificate for the complete key. To revoke
a subkey or a signature, use the ---edit command.
@item ---export @code{names}
Either export all keys from all keyrings (default
keyrings and those registered via option ---keyring),
or if at least one name is given, those of the given
name. The new keyring is written to stdout or to
the file given with option "output". Use together
with ---armor to mail those keys.
@item ---send-keys @code{names}
Same as ---export but sends the keys to a keyserver.
Option ---keyserver must be used to give the name
of this keyserver. Don't send your complete keyring
to a keyserver - select only those keys which are new
or changed by you.
@item ---export-all @code{names}
Same as ---export, but also exports keys which
are not compatible with OpenPGP.
@item ---export-secret-keys @code{names}
@itemx ---export-secret-subkeys @code{names}
Same as ---export, but exports the secret keys instead.
This is normally not very useful and a security risk.
The second form of the command has the special property to
render the secret part of the primary key useless; this is
a GNU extension to OpenPGP and other implementations can
not be expected to successfully import such a key.
@item ---import @code{files}
@itemx ---fast-import @code{files}
Import/merge keys. This adds the given keys to the
keyring.
The fast version does not update
the trustdb; this can be done at any time with the
command ---update-trustdb.
There are a few other options which control how this command works.
Most notable here is the ---merge-only option which does not insert new keys
but does only the merging of new signatures, user-IDs and subkeys.
@item ---recv-keys @code{key IDs}
Import the keys with the given key IDs from a HKP
keyserver. Option ---keyserver must be used to
give the name of this keyserver.
@item ---recv-keys @code{key IDs}
Import the keys with the given key IDs from a HKP
keyserver. Option ---keyserver must be used to
give the name of this keyserver.
@item ---update-trustdb
Do trust DB maintenance. This command goes over all keys and builds
the Web-of-Trust. This is an intercative command because it may has to
ask for the "ownertrust" values of keys. The user has to give an
estimation in how far she trusts the owner of the displayed key to
correctly certify (sign) other keys. It does only ask for that value
if it has not yet been assigned to a key. Using the edit menu, that
value can be changed at any time later.
@item ---check-trustdb
Do trust DB maintenance without user interaction. Form time to time
the trust database must be updated so that expired keys and resulting
changes in the Web-of_trust can be tracked. GnuPG tries to figure
when this is required and then does it implicitly; this command can be
used to force such a check. The processing is identically to that of
---update-trustdb but it skips keys with a not yet defined "ownertrust".
@item ---import-ownertrust @code{files}
Update the trustdb with the ownertrust values stored
in @code{files} (or stdin if not given); existing
values will be overwritten.
@item ---print-md @code{algo} @code{files}
@itemx ---print-mds @code{files}
Print message digest of algorithm ALGO for all given files or stdin.
With the second form (or a deprecated "*" as algo) digests for all
available algorithms are printed.
@item ---gen-random @code{0|1|2} @code{count}
Emit COUNT random bytes of the given quality level. If count is not given
or zero, an endless sequence of random bytes will be emitted.
PLEASE, don't use this command unless you know what you are doing; it may
remove precious entropy from the system!
@item ---gen-prime @code{mode} @code{bits} @code{qbits}
Use the source, Luke :-). The output format is still subject to change.
@item ---version
Print version information along with a list
of supported algorithms.
@item ---warranty
Print warranty information.
@item -h, ---help
Print usage information. This is a really long list even though it doesn't list
all options.
@end table
@majorheading OPTIONS
Long options can be put in an options file (default "~/.gnupg/options").
Do not write the 2 dashes, but simply the name of the option and any
required arguments. Lines with a hash as the first non-white-space
character are ignored. Commands may be put in this file too, but that
does not make sense.
@code{gpg} recognizes these options:
@table @asis
@item -a, ---armor
Create ASCII armored output.
@item -o, ---output @code{file}
Write output to @code{file}.
@item -u, ---local-user @code{name}
Use @code{name} as the user ID to sign.
This option is silently ignored for the list commands,
so that it can be used in an options file.
@item ---default-key @code{name}
Use @code{name} as default user ID for signatures. If this
is not used the default user ID is the first user ID
found in the secret keyring.
@item -r, ---recipient @code{name}
@itemx
Encrypt for user id @code{name}. If this option is not
specified, GnuPG asks for the user-id unless ---default-recipient is given
@item ---default-recipient @code{name}
Use @code{name} as default recipient if option ---recipient is not used and
don't ask if this is a valid one. @code{name} must be non-empty.
@item ---default-recipient-self
Use the default key as default recipient if option ---recipient is not used and
don't ask if this is a valid one. The default key is the first one from the
secret keyring or the one set with ---default-key.
@item ---no-default-recipient
Reset ---default-recipient and --default-recipient-self.
@item ---encrypt-to @code{name}
Same as ---recipient but this one is intended for use
in the options file and may be used with
your own user-id as an "encrypt-to-self". These keys
are only used when there are other recipients given
either by use of ---recipient or by the asked user id.
No trust checking is performed for these user ids and
even disabled keys can be used.
@item ---no-encrypt-to
Disable the use of all ---encrypt-to keys.
@item -v, ---verbose
Give more information during processing. If used
twice, the input data is listed in detail.
@item -q, ---quiet
Try to be as quiet as possible.
@item -z @code{n}
Set compression level to @code{n}. A value of 0 for @code{n}
disables compression. Default is to use the default
compression level of zlib (normally 6).
@item -t, ---textmode
Use canonical text mode. If -t (but not
---textmode) is used together with armoring
and signing, this enables clearsigned messages.
This kludge is needed for PGP compatibility;
normally you would use ---sign or --clearsign
to selected the type of the signature.
@item -n, ---dry-run
Don't make any changes (this is not completely implemented).
@item -i, ---interactive
Prompt before overwriting any files.
@item ---batch
Use batch mode. Never ask, do not allow interactive
commands.
@item ---no-tty
Make sure that the TTY (terminal) is never used for any output.
This option is needed in some cases because GnuPG sometimes prints
warnings to the TTY if ---batch is used.
@item ---no-batch
Disable batch mode. This may be of use if ---batch
is enabled from an options file.
@item ---yes
Assume "yes" on most questions.
@item ---no
Assume "no" on most questions.
@item ---always-trust
Skip key validation and assume that used keys are always fully trusted.
You won't use this unless you have installed some external validation
scheme. This option also suppresses the "[uncertain]" tag printed
with signature checks when there is no evidence that the user ID
is bound to the key.
@item ---keyserver @code{name}
Use @code{name} to lookup keys which are not yet in
your keyring. This is only done while verifying
messages with signatures. The option is also
required for the command ---send-keys to
specify the keyserver to where the keys should
be send. All keyservers synchronize with each
other - so there is no need to send keys to more
than one server. Using the command
"host -l pgp.net | grep wwwkeys" gives you a
list of keyservers. Because there is load
balancing using round-robin DNS you may notice
that you get different key servers.
@item ---no-auto-key-retrieve
This option disables the automatic retrieving of keys from a keyserver
while verifying signatures. This option allows you to keep a keyserver in
the options file for the ---send-keys and --recv-keys commands.
@item ---honor-http-proxy
Try to access the keyserver over the proxy set with the variable
"http_proxy".
@item ---keyring @code{file}
Add @code{file} to the list of keyrings.
If @code{file} begins with a tilde and a slash, these
are replaced by the HOME directory. If the filename
does not contain a slash, it is assumed to be in the
home-directory ("~/.gnupg" if ---homedir is not used).
The filename may be prefixed with a scheme:
"gnupg-ring:" is the default one.
It might make sense to use it together with ---no-default-keyring.
@item ---secret-keyring @code{file}
Same as ---keyring but for the secret keyrings.
@item ---homedir @code{directory}
Set the name of the home directory to @code{directory} If this
option is not used it defaults to "~/.gnupg". It does
not make sense to use this in a options file. This
also overrides the environment variable "GNUPGHOME".
@item ---charset @code{name}
Set the name of the native character set. This is used
to convert some strings to proper UTF-8 encoding.
Valid values for @code{name} are:
@table @asis
@item iso-8859-1
This is the default Latin 1 set.
@item iso-8859-2
The Latin 2 set.
@item koi8-r
The usual Russian set (rfc1489).
@item utf-8
Bypass all translations and assume
that the OS uses native UTF-8 encoding.
@end table
@item ---utf8-strings
@itemx ---no-utf8-strings
Assume that the arguments are already given as UTF8 strings. The default
(---no-utf8-strings)
is to assume that arguments are encoded in the character set as specified
by ---charset. These options affect all following arguments. Both options may
be used multiple times.
@item ---options @code{file}
Read options from @code{file} and do not try to read
them from the default options file in the homedir
(see ---homedir). This option is ignored if used
in an options file.
@item ---no-options
Shortcut for "---options /dev/null". This option is
detected before an attempt to open an option file.
Using this option will also prevent the creation of a
"~./gnupg" homedir.
@item ---load-extension @code{name}
Load an extension module. If @code{name} does not
contain a slash it is searched in "/usr/local/lib/gnupg"
See the manual for more information about extensions.
@item ---debug @code{flags}
Set debugging flags. All flags are or-ed and @code{flags} may
be given in C syntax (e.g. 0x0042).
@item ---debug-all
Set all useful debugging flags.
@item ---status-fd @code{n}
Write special status strings to the file descriptor @code{n}.
See the file DETAILS in the documentation for a listing of them.
@item ---logger-fd @code{n}
Write log output to file descriptor @code{n} and not to stderr.
@item ---no-comment
Do not write comment packets. This option affects only
the generation of secret keys. Please note, that this has nothing
to do with the comments in clear text signatures.
@item ---comment @code{string}
Use @code{string} as comment string in clear text signatures.
The default is not do write a comment string.
@item ---default-comment
Force to write the standard comment string in clear
text signatures. Use this to overwrite a ---comment
from a config file. This option is now obsolete because there is no
default comment string anymore.
@item ---no-version
Omit the version string in clear text signatures.
@item ---emit-version
Force to write the version string in clear text
signatures. Use this to overwrite a previous
---no-version from a config file.
@item -N, ---notation-data @code{name=value}
Put the name value pair into the signature as notation data.
@code{name} must consist only of alphanumeric characters, digits
or the underscore; the first character must not be a digit.
@code{value} may be any printable string; it will be encoded in UTF8,
so you should check that your ---charset is set correctly.
If you prefix @code{name} with an exclamation mark, the notation
data will be flagged as critical (rfc2440:5.2.3.15).
@item ---set-policy-url @code{string}
Use @code{string} as Policy URL for signatures (rfc2440:5.2.3.19).
If you prefix it with an exclamation mark, the policy URL
packet will be flagged as critical.
@item ---set-filename @code{string}
Use @code{string} as the name of file which is stored in
messages.
@item ---use-embedded-filename
Try to create a file with a name as embedded in the data.
This can be a dangerous option as it allows to overwrite files.
@item ---completes-needed @code{n}
Number of completely trusted users to introduce a new
key signer (defaults to 1).
@item ---marginals-needed @code{n}
Number of marginally trusted users to introduce a new
key signer (defaults to 3)
@item ---max-cert-depth @code{n}
Maximum depth of a certification chain (default is 5).
@item ---cipher-algo @code{name}
Use @code{name} as cipher algorithm. Running the program
with the command ---version yields a list of supported
algorithms. If this is not used the cipher algorithm is
selected from the preferences stored with the key.
@item ---digest-algo @code{name}
Use @code{name} as message digest algorithm. Running the
program with the command ---version yields a list of
supported algorithms. Please note that using this
option may violate the OpenPGP requirement, that a
160 bit hash is to be used for DSA.
@item ---s2k-cipher-algo @code{name}
Use @code{name} as the cipher algorithm used to protect secret
keys. The default cipher is BLOWFISH. This cipher is
also used for conventional encryption if ---cipher-algo
is not given.
@item ---s2k-digest-algo @code{name}
Use @code{name} as the digest algorithm used to mangle the
passphrases. The default algorithm is RIPE-MD-160.
This digest algorithm is also used for conventional
encryption if ---digest-algo is not given.
@item ---s2k-mode @code{n}
Selects how passphrases are mangled. If @code{n} is 0
a plain passphrase (which is not recommended) will be used,
a 1 (default) adds a salt to the passphrase and
a 3 iterates the whole process a couple of times.
Unless ---rfc1991 is used, this mode is also used
for conventional encryption.
@item ---compress-algo @code{n}
Use compress algorithm @code{n}. Default is 2 which is
RFC1950 compression. You may use 1 to use the old zlib
version (RFC1951) which is used by PGP. The default algorithm may
give better results because the window size is not limited
to 8K. If this is not used the OpenPGP behavior is used,
i.e. the compression algorithm is selected from the
preferences; note, that this can't be done if you do
not encrypt the data.
@item ---disable-cipher-algo @code{name}
Never allow the use of @code{name} as cipher algorithm.
The given name will not be checked so that a later loaded algorithm
will still get disabled.
@item ---disable-pubkey-algo @code{name}
Never allow the use of @code{name} as public key algorithm.
The given name will not be checked so that a later loaded algorithm
will still get disabled.
@item ---no-sig-cache
Do not cache the verification status of key signatures.
Caching gives a much better performance in key listings. However, if
you suspect that your public keyring is not save against write
modifications, you can use this option to disable the caching. It
probably does not make sense to disable it because all kind of damage
can be done if someone else has write access to your public keyring.
@item ---no-sig-create-check
GnuPG normally verifies each signature right after creation to protect
against bugs and hardware malfunctions which could leak out bits from
the secret key. This extra verification needs some time (about 115%
for DSA keys), and so this option can be used to disable it.
However, due to the fact that the signature creation needs manual
interaction, this performance penalty does not matter in most settings.
@item ---no-auto-check-trustdb
If GnuPG feels that its information about the Web-of-Trust has to be
updated, it automatically runs the ---check-trustdb command
internally. As this is a time consuming process, this option allow to
disable the automatic invocation.
@item ---throw-keyid
Do not put the keyid into encrypted packets. This option
hides the receiver of the message and is a countermeasure
against traffic analysis. It may slow down the decryption
process because all available secret keys are tried.
@item ---not-dash-escaped
This option changes the behavior of cleartext signatures
so that they can be used for patch files. You should not
send such an armored file via email because all spaces
and line endings are hashed too. You can not use this
option for data which has 5 dashes at the beginning of a
line, patch files don't have this. A special armor header
line tells GnuPG about this cleartext signature option.
@item ---escape-from-lines
Because some mailers change lines starting with "From "
to "
Using an exact to match string. The equal sign indicates this.
@item
Using the email address part which must match exactly. The left angle bracket
indicates this email address mode.
@item +Heinrich Heine duesseldorf
All words must match exactly (not case sensitive) but can appear in
any order in the user ID. Words are any sequences of letters,
digits, the underscore and all characters with bit 7 set.
@item #34
Using the Local ID. This is a very low level method and should
only be used by applications which really need it. The hash character
indicates this method. An application should not assume that this is
only a number.
@item Heine
@itemx *Heine
By case insensitive substring matching. This is the default mode but
applications may want to explicitly indicate this by putting the asterisk
in front.
@end table
Note that you can append an exclamation mark to key IDs or
fingerprints. This flag which tells GnuPG to use exactly
that primary or secondary key and don't try to figure out which
secondary or primary key to use.
@majorheading RETURN VALUE
The program returns 0 if everything was fine, 1 if at least
a signature was bad, and other error codes for fatal errors.
@majorheading EXAMPLES
@table @asis
@item gpg -se -r @code{Bob} @code{file}
sign and encrypt for user Bob
@item gpg ---clearsign @code{file}
make a clear text signature
@item gpg -sb @code{file}
make a detached signature
@item gpg ---list-keys @code{user_ID}
show keys
@item gpg ---fingerprint @code{user_ID}
show fingerprint
@item gpg ---verify @code{pgpfile}
@itemx gpg ---verify @code{sigfile} @code{files}
Verify the signature of the file but do not output the data. The second form
is used for detached signatures, where @code{sigfile} is the detached
signature (either ASCII armored of binary) and @code{files} are the signed
data; if this is not given the name of the file holding the signed data is
constructed by cutting off the extension (".asc" or ".sig") of
@code{sigfile} or by asking the user for the filename.
@end table
@majorheading ENVIRONMENT
@table @asis
@item HOME
Used to locate the default home directory.
@item GNUPGHOME
If set directory used instead of "~/.gnupg".
@item http_proxy
Only honored when the option ---honor-http-proxy is set.
@end table
@majorheading FILES
@table @asis
@item ~/.gnupg/secring.gpg
The secret keyring
@item ~/.gnupg/secring.gpg.lock
and the lock file
@item ~/.gnupg/pubring.gpg
The public keyring
@item ~/.gnupg/pubring.gpg.lock
and the lock file
@item ~/.gnupg/trustdb.gpg
The trust database
@item ~/.gnupg/trustdb.gpg.lock
and the lock file
@item ~/.gnupg/random_seed
used to preserve the internal random pool
@item ~/.gnupg/options
May contain options
@item /usr[/local]/share/gnupg/options.skel
Skeleton options file
@item /usr[/local]/lib/gnupg/
Default location for extensions
@end table
@majorheading WARNINGS
Use a *good* password for your user account and a *good* passphrase
to protect your secret key. This passphrase is the weakest part of the
whole system. Programs to do dictionary attacks on your secret keyring
are very easy to write and so you should protect your "~/.gnupg/"
directory very well.
Keep in mind that, if this program is used over a network (telnet), it
is *very* easy to spy out your passphrase!
If you are going to verify detached signatures, make sure that the
program knows about it; either be giving both filenames on the
commandline or using @samp{-} to specify stdin.
@majorheading BUGS
On many systems this program should be installed as setuid(root). This
is necessary to lock memory pages. Locking memory pages prevents the
operating system from writing memory pages to disk. If you get no
warning message about insecure memory your operating system supports
locking without being root. The program drops root privileges as soon
as locked memory is allocated.
@bye