trusty (1) gpg.1.gz

Provided by: gnupg_1.4.16-1ubuntu2.6_amd64 bug

NAME

       gpg - OpenPGP encryption and signing tool

SYNOPSIS

       gpg [--homedir dir] [--options file] [options] command [args]

DESCRIPTION

       gpg  is the OpenPGP part of the GNU Privacy Guard (GnuPG). It is a tool to provide digital encryption and
       signing services using the OpenPGP standard. gpg features complete  key  management  and  all  bells  and
       whistles you can expect from a decent OpenPGP implementation.

       This  is  the  standalone  version  of  gpg.   For  desktop use you should consider using gpg2  ([On some
       platforms gpg2 is installed under the name gpg]).

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.

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  give
       both filenames on the command line or use '-' to specify STDIN.

INTEROPERABILITY

       GnuPG tries to be a very flexible implementation of the OpenPGP standard. In particular, GnuPG implements
       many of the optional parts of the standard, such as the SHA-512 hash, and the ZLIB and BZIP2  compression
       algorithms. It is important to be aware that not all OpenPGP programs implement these optional algorithms
       and that by forcing their use via the --cipher-algo, --digest-algo,  --cert-digest-algo,  or  --compress-
       algo options in GnuPG, it is possible to create a perfectly valid OpenPGP message, but one that cannot be
       read by the intended recipient.

       There are dozens of variations of OpenPGP programs available, and  each  supports  a  slightly  different
       subset of these optional algorithms.  For example, until recently, no (unhacked) version of PGP supported
       the BLOWFISH cipher algorithm. A message using BLOWFISH simply could not  be  read  by  a  PGP  user.  By
       default,  GnuPG  uses  the  standard  OpenPGP  preferences system that will always do the right thing and
       create messages that are usable by all recipients, regardless of which OpenPGP  program  they  use.  Only
       override this safe default if you really know what you are doing.

       If  you  absolutely  must override the safe default, or if the preferences on a given key are invalid for
       some reason, you are far better off using the --pgp6, --pgp7, or --pgp8 options. These options  are  safe
       as  they  do not force any particular algorithms in violation of OpenPGP, but rather reduce the available
       algorithms to a "PGP-safe" list.

COMMANDS

       Commands are not distinguished from options except for the fact that only one command is allowed.

       gpg may be run with no commands, in which case it will perform a reasonable action depending on the  type
       of  file  it  is  given  as  input  (an  encrypted  message is decrypted, a signature is verified, a file
       containing keys is listed).

       Please remember that option as well as command parsing stops as soon as a non-option is encountered,  you
       can explicitly stop parsing by using the special option --.

   Commands not specific to the function

       --version
              Print  the  program  version  and  licensing  information.   Note  that you cannot abbreviate this
              command.

       --help

       -h     Print a usage message summarizing the most useful command line  options.   Note  that  you  cannot
              abbreviate this command.

       --warranty
              Print warranty information.

       --dump-options
              Print a list of all available options and commands.  Note that you cannot abbreviate this command.

   Commands to select the type of operation

       --sign

       -s     Make  a  signature.  This  command  may  be  combined  with  --encrypt (for a signed and encrypted
              message), --symmetric (for a  signed  and  symmetrically  encrypted  message),  or  --encrypt  and
              --symmetric  together  (for  a  signed  message  that  may  be  decrypted  via  a  secret key or a
              passphrase).  The key to be used for signing is chosen by default or can be set with the  --local-
              user and --default-key options.

       --clearsign
              Make  a  clear  text  signature.   The  content  in a clear text signature is readable without any
              special software. OpenPGP software is only needed to verify the signature.  Clear text  signatures
              may modify end-of-line whitespace for platform independence and are not intended to be reversible.
              The key to be used for signing is chosen by default or  can  be  set  with  the  --local-user  and
              --default-key options.

       --detach-sign

       -b     Make a detached signature.

       --encrypt

       -e     Encrypt  data.  This  option  may  be  combined  with --sign (for a signed and encrypted message),
              --symmetric (for a message that may be decrypted via a secret key or a passphrase), or --sign  and
              --symmetric  together  (for  a  signed  message  that  may  be  decrypted  via  a  secret key or a
              passphrase).

       --symmetric

       -c     Encrypt with a symmetric cipher using a passphrase. The default symmetric cipher  used  is  CAST5,
              but  may  be  chosen with the --cipher-algo option. This option may be combined with --sign (for a
              signed and symmetrically encrypted message), --encrypt (for a message that may be decrypted via  a
              secret  key  or  a passphrase), or --sign and --encrypt together (for a signed message that may be
              decrypted via a secret key or a passphrase).

       --store
              Store only (make a simple RFC1991 literal data packet).

       --decrypt

       -d     Decrypt the file given on the command line (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.

       --verify
              Assume  that  the  first  argument  is a signed file or a detached 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 '-'  as  the  second  filename.   For  security  reasons  a  detached
              signature cannot read the signed material from STDIN without denoting it in the above way.

              Note:  When  verifying a cleartext signature, gpg verifies only what makes up the cleartext signed
              data and not any extra data outside of the cleartext signature or header lines following  directly
              the  dash  marker  line.  The option --output may be used to write out the actual signed data; but
              there are other pitfalls with this format as well.  It is suggested to avoid cleartext  signatures
              in favor of detached signatures.

       --multifile
              This  modifies  certain other commands to accept multiple files for processing on the command line
              or read from STDIN with each filename on a separate  line.  This  allows  for  many  files  to  be
              processed  at  once.  --multifile  may  currently  be  used  along  with  --verify, --encrypt, and
              --decrypt. Note that --multifile --verify may not be used with detached signatures.

       --verify-files
              Identical to --multifile --verify.

       --encrypt-files
              Identical to --multifile --encrypt.

       --decrypt-files
              Identical to --multifile --decrypt.

       --list-keys

       -k

       --list-public-keys
              List all keys from the public keyrings, or just the  keys  given  on  the  command  line.   -k  is
              slightly  different  from --list-keys in that it allows only for one argument and takes the second
              argument as the keyring to search.  This is for command line compatibility with PGP 2 and has been
              removed in gpg2.

              Avoid  using  the output of this command in scripts or other programs as it is likely to change as
              GnuPG changes. See --with-colons for a machine-parseable key listing command that  is  appropriate
              for use in scripts and other programs.

       --list-secret-keys

       -K     List  all keys from the secret keyrings, or just the ones given on the command line. A # after the
              letters sec means that the secret key is not usable (for example, if it was created via  --export-
              secret-subkeys).

       --list-sigs
              Same as --list-keys, but the signatures are listed too.

              For each signature listed, there are several flags in between the "sig" tag and keyid. These flags
              give additional information about each signature. From left to right, they are the numbers 1-3 for
              certificate  check  level (see --ask-cert-level), "L" for a local or non-exportable signature (see
              --lsign-key), "R" for a nonRevocable signature (see the --edit-key command "nrsign"),  "P"  for  a
              signature  that contains a policy URL (see --cert-policy-url), "N" for a signature that contains a
              notation (see --cert-notation), "X" for an eXpired  signature  (see  --ask-cert-expire),  and  the
              numbers 1-9 or "T" for 10 and above to indicate trust signature levels (see the --edit-key command
              "tsign").

       --check-sigs
              Same as --list-sigs, but the signatures are verified.   Note  that  for  performance  reasons  the
              revocation status of a signing key is not shown.

              The  status  of the verification is indicated by a flag directly following the "sig" tag (and thus
              before the flags described above for --list-sigs).  A "!" indicates that the  signature  has  been
              successfully  verified, a "-" denotes a bad signature and a "%" is used if an error occurred while
              checking the signature (e.g. a non supported algorithm).

       --fingerprint
              List all keys (or the specified ones) along 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.

       --list-packets
              List only the sequence of packets. This is mainly useful for debugging.

       --card-edit
              Present  a  menu to work with a smartcard. The subcommand "help" provides an overview on available
              commands.    For    a    detailed    description,    please    see    the    Card     HOWTO     at
              http://www.gnupg.org/documentation/howtos.html#GnuPG-cardHOWTO .

       --card-status
              Show the content of the smart card.

       --change-pin
              Present  a  menu to allow changing the PIN of a smartcard. This functionality is also available as
              the subcommand "passwd" with the --card-edit command.

       --delete-key name
              Remove key from the public keyring. In batch mode either --yes is required  or  the  key  must  be
              specified by fingerprint. This is a safeguard against accidental deletion of multiple keys.

       --delete-secret-key name
              Remove key from the secret keyring. In batch mode the key must be specified by fingerprint.

       --delete-secret-and-public-key name
              Same  as --delete-key, but if a secret key exists, it will be removed first. In batch mode the key
              must be specified by fingerprint.

       --export
              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.

       --send-keys key IDs
              Similar to --export but sends the keys to a keyserver.  Fingerprints may be used  instead  of  key
              IDs.  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.  If no key  IDs
              are given, gpg does nothing.

       --export-secret-keys

       --export-secret-subkeys
              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.  See the option --simple-sk-checksum if you want to
              import such an exported key with an older OpenPGP implementation.

       --import

       --fast-import
              Import/merge  keys.  This adds the given keys to the keyring. The fast version is currently just a
              synonym.

              There are a few other options which control how this command works.   Most  notable  here  is  the
              --import-options merge-only option which does not insert new keys but does only the merging of new
              signatures, user-IDs and subkeys.

       --recv-keys key IDs
              Import the keys with the given key IDs from a keyserver. Option --keyserver must be used  to  give
              the name of this keyserver.

       --refresh-keys
              Request  updates from a keyserver for keys that already exist on the local keyring. This is useful
              for updating a key with the latest signatures, user IDs, etc. Calling this with no arguments  will
              refresh  the entire keyring. Option --keyserver must be used to give the name of the keyserver for
              all keys that do not have preferred keyservers set (see --keyserver-options honor-keyserver-url).

       --search-keys names
              Search the keyserver for the given names. Multiple names given here will  be  joined  together  to
              create  the  search string for the keyserver.  Option --keyserver must be used to give the name of
              this keyserver.  Keyservers that support different search methods allow using the syntax specified
              in  "How to specify a user ID" below. Note that different keyserver types support different search
              methods. Currently only LDAP supports them all.

       --fetch-keys URIs
              Retrieve keys located at the specified URIs.  Note  that  different  installations  of  GnuPG  may
              support different protocols (HTTP, FTP, LDAP, etc.)

       --update-trustdb
              Do  trust  database  maintenance. This command iterates over all keys and builds the Web of Trust.
              This is an interactive command because it may have to ask for the "ownertrust"  values  for  keys.
              The  user  has  to  give  an  estimation  of  how far she trusts the owner of the displayed key to
              correctly certify (sign) other keys. GnuPG only asks for the ownertrust value if it  has  not  yet
              been assigned to a key. Using the --edit-key menu, the assigned value can be changed at any time.

       --check-trustdb
              Do  trust database maintenance without user interaction. From time to time the trust database must
              be updated so that expired keys or signatures and the resulting changes in the Web of Trust can be
              tracked. Normally, GnuPG will calculate when this is required and do it automatically unless --no-
              auto-check-trustdb is set. This command can be used to force a trust database check at  any  time.
              The  processing  is identical to that of --update-trustdb but it skips keys with a not yet defined
              "ownertrust".

              For use with cron jobs, this command can be used together with --batch in  which  case  the  trust
              database check is done only if a check is needed. To force a run even in batch mode add the option
              --yes.

       --export-ownertrust
              Send the ownertrust values to STDOUT. This is useful for backup purposes as these values  are  the
              only ones which can't be re-created from a corrupted trustdb.  Example:
                  gpg --export-ownertrust > otrust.txt

       --import-ownertrust
              Update  the  trustdb  with the ownertrust values stored in files (or STDIN if not given); existing
              values will be overwritten.  In case of a severely damaged trustdb and if you have a recent backup
              of the ownertrust values (e.g. in the file ‘otrust.txt’, you may re-create the trustdb using these
              commands:
                  cd ~/.gnupg
                  rm trustdb.gpg
                  gpg --import-ownertrust < otrust.txt

       --rebuild-keydb-caches
              When updating from version 1.0.6 to 1.0.7 this command should be used to create  signature  caches
              in the keyring. It might be handy in other situations too.

       --print-md algo

       --print-mds
              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.

       --gen-random 0|1|2 count
              Emit count random bytes of the given quality level 0, 1 or 2. If count is not given  or  zero,  an
              endless  sequence of random bytes will be emitted.  If used with --armor the output will be base64
              encoded.  PLEASE, don't use this command unless you  know  what  you  are  doing;  it  may  remove
              precious entropy from the system!

       --gen-prime mode bits
              Use the source, Luke :-). The output format is still subject to change.

       --enarmor

       --dearmor
              Pack  or unpack an arbitrary input into/from an OpenPGP ASCII armor.  This is a GnuPG extension to
              OpenPGP and in general not very useful.

   How to manage your keys

       This section explains the main commands for key management

       --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
              ‘doc/DETAILS’ in the source distribution on how to use this.

       --gen-revoke name
              Generate a revocation certificate for the complete key. To revoke a subkey or a signature, use the
              --edit command.

       --desig-revoke name
              Generate a designated revocation certificate for a key. This allows a user (with the permission of
              the keyholder) to revoke someone else's key.

       --edit-key
              Present  a  menu which enables you to do most of the key management related tasks.  It expects the
              specification of a key on the command line.

              uid n  Toggle selection of user ID or photographic user ID with index n.  Use * to select all  and
                     0 to deselect all.

              key n  Toggle selection of subkey with index n.  Use * to select all and 0 to deselect all.

              sign   Make  a  signature on key of user 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.

              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.

              nrsign Same  as  "sign"  but  the  signature is marked as non-revocable and can therefore never be
                     revoked.

              tsign  Make a trust signature. This is a signature that  combines  the  notions  of  certification
                     (like  a  regular  signature),  and  trust (like the "trust" command). It is generally only
                     useful in distinct communities or groups.

              Note that "l" (for local / non-exportable), "nr" (for non-revocable, and "t" (for  trust)  may  be
              freely mixed and prefixed to "sign" to create a signature of any type desired.

              delsig Delete  a  signature. Note that it is not possible to retract a signature, once it has been
                     send to the public (i.e. to a keyserver).  In that case you better use revsig.

              revsig Revoke a signature. For every signature which has been generated by one of the secret keys,
                     GnuPG asks whether a revocation certificate should be generated.

              check  Check the signatures on all selected user IDs.

              adduid Create an additional user ID.

              addphoto
                     Create  a photographic user ID. This will prompt for a JPEG file that will be embedded into
                     the user ID. Note that a very large JPEG will make for a very large  key.  Also  note  that
                     some  programs will display your JPEG unchanged (GnuPG), and some programs will scale it to
                     fit in a dialog box (PGP).

              showphoto
                     Display the selected photographic user ID.

              deluid Delete a user ID or photographic user ID.  Note that it is not possible to retract  a  user
                     id, once it has been send to the public (i.e. to a keyserver).  In that case you better use
                     revuid.

              revuid Revoke a user ID or photographic user ID.

              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.
                     Note that setting a photo user ID as primary makes it primary over other  photo  user  IDs,
                     and setting a regular user ID as primary makes it primary over other regular user IDs.

              keyserver
                     Set  a  preferred  keyserver  for the specified user ID(s). This allows other users to know
                     where you prefer they get your key from. See  --keyserver-options  honor-keyserver-url  for
                     more on how this works.  Setting a value of "none" removes an existing preferred keyserver.

              notation
                     Set a name=value notation for the specified user ID(s). See --cert-notation for more on how
                     this works. Setting a value of "none" removes all notations, setting  a  notation  prefixed
                     with  a  minus  sign  (-)  removes  that notation, and setting a notation name (without the
                     =value) prefixed with a minus sign removes all notations with that name.

              pref   List preferences from the selected user ID. This  shows  the  actual  preferences,  without
                     including any implied preferences.

              showpref
                     More  verbose  preferences  listing for the selected user ID. This shows the preferences in
                     effect by  including  the  implied  preferences  of  3DES  (cipher),  SHA-1  (digest),  and
                     Uncompressed  (compression)  if  they  are  not already included in the preference list. In
                     addition, the preferred keyserver and signature notations (if any) are shown.

              setpref string
                     Set the list of user ID preferences to string for all (or  just  the  selected)  user  IDs.
                     Calling  setpref with no arguments sets the preference list to the default (either built-in
                     or set via --default-preference-list), and calling setpref with "none" as the argument sets
                     an  empty  preference  list.  Use gpg --version to get a list of available algorithms. Note
                     that while you can change the preferences on an attribute user ID (aka "photo  ID"),  GnuPG
                     does not select keys via attribute user IDs so these preferences will not be used by GnuPG.

                     When  setting  preferences, you should list the algorithms in the order which you'd like to
                     see them used by someone else when encrypting a message to your key.  If you don't  include
                     3DES,  it will be automatically added at the end.  Note that there are many factors that go
                     into choosing an algorithm (for example, your key may not be the only  recipient),  and  so
                     the  remote  OpenPGP application being used to send to you may or may not follow your exact
                     chosen order for a given message.  It will, however,  only  choose  an  algorithm  that  is
                     present  on the preference list of every recipient key.  See also the INTEROPERABILITY WITH
                     OTHER OPENPGP PROGRAMS section below.

              addkey Add a subkey to this key.

              addcardkey
                     Generate a subkey on a card and add it to this key.

              keytocard
                     Transfer the selected secret subkey (or the primary key if no subkey has been selected)  to
                     a  smartcard.  The secret key in the keyring will be replaced by a stub if the key could be
                     stored successfully on the card and you use the save command later. Only certain key  types
                     may  be  transferred to the card. A sub menu allows you to select on what card to store the
                     key. Note that it is not possible to get that key back from the card -  if  the  card  gets
                     broken your secret key will be lost unless you have a backup somewhere.

              bkuptocard file
                     Restore  the  given  file  to  a card. This command may be used to restore a backup key (as
                     generated during card initialization) to a new card. In almost all cases this will  be  the
                     encryption key. You should use this command only with the corresponding public key and make
                     sure that the file given as argument is indeed the  backup  to  restore.  You  should  then
                     select  2 to restore as encryption key.  You will first be asked to enter the passphrase of
                     the backup key and then for the Admin PIN of the card.

              delkey Remove a subkey (secondart key). Note that it is not possible to retract a subkey, once  it
                     has been send to the public (i.e. to a keyserver).  In that case you better use revkey.

              revkey Revoke a subkey.

              expire Change  the  key or subkey expiration time. If a subkey is selected, the expiration time of
                     this subkey will be changed. With no selection, the key expiration of the  primary  key  is
                     changed.

              trust  Change the owner trust value for the key. This updates the trust-db immediately and no save
                     is required.

              disable

              enable Disable or enable an entire key. A disabled key can not normally be used for encryption.

              addrevoker
                     Add a designated revoker to the key. This takes one optional argument:  "sensitive".  If  a
                     designated  revoker is marked as sensitive, it will not be exported by default (see export-
                     options).

              passwd Change the passphrase of the secret key.

              toggle Toggle between public and secret key listing.

              clean  Compact (by removing all signatures except the selfsig) any  user  ID  that  is  no  longer
                     usable  (e.g.  revoked, or expired). Then, remove any signatures that are not usable by the
                     trust calculations.  Specifically, this removes any signature that does not  validate,  any
                     signature  that  is  superseded  by  a  later signature, revoked signatures, and signatures
                     issued by keys that are not present on the keyring.

              minimize
                     Make the key as small as possible. This removes all signatures from each user ID except for
                     the most recent self-signature.

              cross-certify
                     Add  cross-certification  signatures  to  signing subkeys that may not currently have them.
                     Cross-certification signatures protect against a subtle attack against signing subkeys. See
                     --require-cross-certification.   All  new keys generated have this signature by default, so
                     this option is only useful to bring older keys up to date.

              save   Save all changes to the key rings and quit.

              quit   Quit the program without updating the key rings.

              The listing shows you the key with its secondary keys and all user ids.  The primary  user  id  is
              indicated  by  a dot, and 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:

              -      No ownertrust assigned / not yet calculated.

              e      Trust calculation has failed; probably due to an expired key.

              q      Not enough information for calculation.

              n      Never trust this key.

              m      Marginally trusted.

              f      Fully trusted.

              u      Ultimately trusted.

       --sign-key name
              Signs  a public key with your secret key. This is a shortcut version of the subcommand "sign" from
              --edit.

       --lsign-key name
              Signs a public key with your secret key but marks it as non-exportable. This is a shortcut version
              of the subcommand "lsign" from --edit-key.

OPTIONS

       gpg features a bunch of options to control the exact behaviour and to change the default configuration.

       Long  options  can  be  put in an options file (default "~/.gnupg/gpg.conf"). Short option names will not
       work - for example, "armor" is a valid option for the options file, while "a" is not. 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  is  not
       generally useful as the command will execute automatically with every execution of gpg.

       Please remember that option parsing stops as soon as a non-option is encountered, you can explicitly stop
       parsing by using the special option --.

   How to change the configuration

       These options are used to change the configuration and are usually found in the option file.

       --default-key name
              Use name as the default key to sign with. If this option is not used, the default key is the first
              key found in the secret keyring.  Note that -u or --local-user overrides this option.

       --default-recipient name
              Use  name  as default recipient if option --recipient is not used and don't ask if this is a valid
              one. name must be non-empty.

       --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.

       --no-default-recipient
              Reset --default-recipient and --default-recipient-self.

       -v, --verbose
              Give more information during processing. If used twice, the input data is listed in detail.

       --no-verbose
              Reset verbose level to 0.

       -q, --quiet
              Try to be as quiet as possible.

       --batch

       --no-batch
              Use batch mode.  Never ask, do not allow interactive commands.  --no-batch disables  this  option.
              Note  that even with a filename given on the command line, gpg might still need to read from STDIN
              (in particular if gpg figures that the input is a detached signature and no  data  file  has  been
              specified).   Thus  if  you  do  not  want  to  feed  data  via STDIN, you should connect STDIN to
              ‘/dev/null’.

       --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 even if --batch is used.

       --yes  Assume "yes" on most questions.

       --no   Assume "no" on most questions.

       --list-options parameters
              This is a space or comma delimited string that gives options used when listing keys and signatures
              (that is, --list-keys, --list-sigs, --list-public-keys,  --list-secret-keys,  and  the  --edit-key
              functions).   Options  can  be  prepended  with  a no- (after the two dashes) to give the opposite
              meaning.  The options are:

              show-photos
                     Causes --list-keys, --list-sigs, --list-public-keys, and --list-secret-keys to display  any
                     photo  IDs  attached  to  the key.  Defaults to no. See also --photo-viewer.  Does not work
                     with --with-colons: see --attribute-fd for the  appropriate  way  to  get  photo  data  for
                     scripts and other frontends.

              show-policy-urls
                     Show policy URLs in the --list-sigs or --check-sigs listings.  Defaults to no.

              show-notations

              show-std-notations

              show-user-notations
                     Show all, IETF standard, or user-defined signature notations in the --list-sigs or --check-
                     sigs listings. Defaults to no.

              show-keyserver-urls
                     Show any preferred keyserver URL in the --list-sigs or --check-sigs listings.  Defaults  to
                     no.

              show-uid-validity
                     Display the calculated validity of user IDs during key listings.  Defaults to no.

              show-unusable-uids
                     Show revoked and expired user IDs in key listings. Defaults to no.

              show-unusable-subkeys
                     Show revoked and expired subkeys in key listings. Defaults to no.

              show-keyring
                     Display  the  keyring  name  at  the head of key listings to show which keyring a given key
                     resides on. Defaults to no.

              show-sig-expire
                     Show signature expiration dates (if  any)  during  --list-sigs  or  --check-sigs  listings.
                     Defaults to no.

              show-sig-subpackets
                     Include  signature subpackets in the key listing. This option can take an optional argument
                     list of the subpackets to list. If no argument is passed, list all subpackets. Defaults  to
                     no.  This  option  is  only  meaningful  when using --with-colons along with --list-sigs or
                     --check-sigs.

       --verify-options parameters
              This is a space or comma delimited string that  gives  options  used  when  verifying  signatures.
              Options can be prepended with a `no-' to give the opposite meaning. The options are:

              show-photos
                     Display  any  photo  IDs present on the key that issued the signature.  Defaults to no. See
                     also --photo-viewer.

              show-policy-urls
                     Show policy URLs in the signature being verified. Defaults to no.

              show-notations

              show-std-notations

              show-user-notations
                     Show all, IETF standard,  or  user-defined  signature  notations  in  the  signature  being
                     verified. Defaults to IETF standard.

              show-keyserver-urls
                     Show any preferred keyserver URL in the signature being verified.  Defaults to no.

              show-uid-validity
                     Display  the  calculated  validity  of  the  user IDs on the key that issued the signature.
                     Defaults to no.

              show-unusable-uids
                     Show revoked and expired user IDs during signature verification.  Defaults to no.

              show-primary-uid-only
                     Show only the primary user ID during signature verification.  That is all the AKA lines  as
                     well as photo Ids are not shown with the signature verification status.

              pka-lookups
                     Enable  PKA  lookups  to  verify  sender  addresses.  Note that PKA is based on DNS, and so
                     enabling this option may disclose information on when and what signatures are  verified  or
                     to  whom  data  is  encrypted. This is similar to the "web bug" described for the auto-key-
                     retrieve feature.

              pka-trust-increase
                     Raise the trust in a signature to full if the signature passes PKA validation. This  option
                     is only meaningful if pka-lookups is set.

       --enable-large-rsa

       --disable-large-rsa
              With  --gen-key  and  --batch,  enable  the  creation  of larger RSA secret keys than is generally
              recommended (up to 8192 bits).  These large keys are more expensive to use, and  their  signatures
              and certifications are also larger.

       --enable-dsa2

       --disable-dsa2
              Enable  hash  truncation  for all DSA keys even for old DSA Keys up to 1024 bit.  This is also the
              default with --openpgp.  Note that older versions of GnuPG also required this flag  to  allow  the
              generation of DSA larger than 1024 bit.

       --photo-viewer string
              This  is  the  command  line  that  should  be  run to view a photo ID. "%i" will be expanded to a
              filename containing the photo. "%I" does the same, except the file will not be  deleted  once  the
              viewer  exits.   Other  flags  are "%k" for the key ID, "%K" for the long key ID, "%f" for the key
              fingerprint, "%t" for the extension of the image type (e.g. "jpg"), "%T" for the MIME type of  the
              image  (e.g.  "image/jpeg"),  "%v" for the single-character calculated validity of the image being
              viewed (e.g. "f"), "%V" for the calculated validity as a string (e.g.  "full"), and  "%%"  for  an
              actual  percent  sign.  If  neither  %i  or %I are present, then the photo will be supplied to the
              viewer on standard input.

              The default viewer is "xloadimage -fork -quiet -title 'KeyID 0x%k' STDIN". Note that if your image
              viewer program is not secure, then executing it from GnuPG does not make it secure.

       --exec-path string
              Sets  a  list  of  directories to search for photo viewers and keyserver helpers. If not provided,
              keyserver helpers use  the  compiled-in  default  directory,  and  photo  viewers  use  the  $PATH
              environment variable.  Note, that on W32 system this value is ignored when searching for keyserver
              helpers.

       --keyring file
              Add file to the current list of keyrings. If 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 GnuPG home directory ("~/.gnupg" if --homedir or $GNUPGHOME is not used).

              Note that this adds a keyring to the current list. If the intent is to use the  specified  keyring
              alone, use --keyring along with --no-default-keyring.

       --secret-keyring file
              Same as --keyring but for the secret keyrings.

       --primary-keyring file
              Designate file as the primary public keyring. This means that newly imported keys (via --import or
              keyserver --recv-from) will go to this keyring.

       --trustdb-name file
              Use file instead of the default trustdb. If 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 GnuPG home directory (‘~/.gnupg’ if --homedir or $GNUPGHOME is not used).

       --homedir dir
              Set the name of the home directory to dir. If this option is not used, the home directory defaults
              to  ‘~/.gnupg’.  It is only recognized when given on the command line.  It also overrides any home
              directory stated through the environment variable ‘GNUPGHOME’ or (on Windows systems) by means  of
              the Registry entry HKCU\Software\GNU\GnuPG:HomeDir.

              On  Windows  systems it is possible to install GnuPG as a portable application.  In this case only
              this command line option is considered, all other ways to set a home directory are ignored.

              To install GnuPG as a portable application under Windows, create an empty file name  ‘gpgconf.ctl’
              in  the  same  directory  as  the  tool  ‘gpgconf.exe’.  The root of the installation is than that
              directory; or, if ‘gpgconf.exe’ has been installed directly below a  directory  named  ‘bin’,  its
              parent  directory.   You  also  need  to  make  sure  that the following directories exist and are
              writable: ‘ROOT/home’ for the GnuPG home and ‘ROOT/var/cache/gnupg’ for internal cache files.

       --pcsc-driver file
              Use file to access the smartcard reader. The current default is `libpcsclite.so.1' for GLIBC based
              systems, `/System/Library/Frameworks/PCSC.framework/PCSC' for MAC OS X, `winscard.dll' for Windows
              and `libpcsclite.so' for other systems.

       --disable-ccid
              Disable the integrated support for CCID compliant readers. This allows to fall back to one of  the
              other  drivers  even if the internal CCID driver can handle the reader. Note, that CCID support is
              only available if libusb was available at build time.

       --reader-port number_or_string
              This option may be used to specify the port of the card terminal. A value of 0 refers to the first
              serial  device; add 32768 to access USB devices. The default is 32768 (first USB device). PC/SC or
              CCID readers might need a string here; run the program in verbose mode to get a list of  available
              readers. The default is then the first reader found.

       --display-charset name
              Set  the name of the native character set. This is used to convert some informational strings like
              user IDs to the proper UTF-8 encoding.  Note that this has nothing to do with the character set of
              data  to  be  encrypted or signed; GnuPG does not recode user-supplied data. If this option is not
              used, the default character set is determined from the current locale.  A  verbosity  level  of  3
              shows the chosen set.  Valid values for name are:

              iso-8859-1
                     This is the Latin 1 set.

              iso-8859-2
                     The Latin 2 set.

              iso-8859-15
                     This is currently an alias for the Latin 1 set.

              koi8-r The usual Russian set (rfc1489).

              utf-8  Bypass all translations and assume that the OS uses native UTF-8 encoding.

       --utf8-strings

       --no-utf8-strings
              Assume  that  command line arguments are given as UTF8 strings. The default (--no-utf8-strings) is
              to assume that arguments are encoded in the character set as specified by --display-charset. These
              options affect all following arguments. Both options may be used multiple times.

       --options file
              Read  options  from  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.

       --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.

       -z n

       --compress-level n

       --bzip2-compress-level n
              Set  compression level to n for the ZIP and ZLIB compression algorithms. The default is to use the
              default compression level of zlib (normally 6). --bzip2-compress-level sets the compression  level
              for  the  BZIP2  compression  algorithm (defaulting to 6 as well). This is a different option from
              --compress-level since BZIP2 uses a significant amount of memory for each  additional  compression
              level.  -z sets both. A value of 0 for n disables compression.

       --bzip2-decompress-lowmem
              Use  a different decompression method for BZIP2 compressed files. This alternate method uses a bit
              more than half the memory, but also runs at half the speed.  This  is  useful  under  extreme  low
              memory circumstances when the file was originally compressed at a high --bzip2-compress-level.

       --mangle-dos-filenames

       --no-mangle-dos-filenames
              Older  version  of  Windows cannot handle filenames with more than one dot. --mangle-dos-filenames
              causes GnuPG to replace (rather than add to) the extension of an output  filename  to  avoid  this
              problem. This option is off by default and has no effect on non-Windows platforms.

       --ask-cert-level

       --no-ask-cert-level
              When  making  a  key signature, prompt for a certification level. If this option is not specified,
              the certification level  used  is  set  via  --default-cert-level.  See  --default-cert-level  for
              information  on  the  specific  levels  and  how  they are used. --no-ask-cert-level disables this
              option. This option defaults to no.

       --default-cert-level n
              The default to use for the check level when signing a key.

              0 means you make no particular claim as to how carefully you verified the key.

              1 means you believe the key is owned by the person who claims to own it but you could not, or  did
              not  verify the key at all. This is useful for a "persona" verification, where you sign the key of
              a pseudonymous user.

              2 means you did casual verification of the key. For example, this could mean that you verified the
              key fingerprint and checked the user ID on the key against a photo ID.

              3  means you did extensive verification of the key. For example, this could mean that you verified
              the key fingerprint with the owner of the key in person, and that you checked, by means of a  hard
              to  forge document with a photo ID (such as a passport) that the name of the key owner matches the
              name in the user ID on the key, and finally that you verified (by  exchange  of  email)  that  the
              email address on the key belongs to the key owner.

              Note  that  the examples given above for levels 2 and 3 are just that: examples. In the end, it is
              up to you to decide just what "casual" and "extensive" mean to you.

              This option defaults to 0 (no particular claim).

       --min-cert-level
              When building the trust database, treat any signatures with a certification level  below  this  as
              invalid.  Defaults  to  2,  which  disregards level 1 signatures. Note that level 0 "no particular
              claim" signatures are always accepted.

       --trusted-key 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.

       --trust-model pgp|classic|direct|always|auto
              Set what trust model GnuPG should follow. The models are:

              pgp    This  is the Web of Trust combined with trust signatures as used in PGP 5.x and later. This
                     is the default trust model when creating a new trust database.

              classic
                     This is the standard Web of Trust as used in PGP 2.x and earlier.

              direct Key validity is set directly by the user and not calculated via the Web of Trust.

              always Skip key validation and assume that used keys are always fully trusted. You generally won't
                     use  this unless you are using 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.

              auto   Select  the trust model depending on whatever the internal trust database says. This is the
                     default model if such a database already exists.

       --auto-key-locate parameters

       --no-auto-key-locate
              GnuPG can automatically locate and retrieve keys as needed using this option.  This  happens  when
              encrypting to an email address (in the "user@example.com" form), and there are no user@example.com
              keys on the local keyring.  This option takes any number of the following mechanisms, in the order
              they are to be tried:

              cert   Locate a key using DNS CERT, as specified in rfc4398.

              pka    Locate a key using DNS PKA.

              ldap   Using  DNS  Service Discovery, check the domain in question for any LDAP keyservers to use.
                     If this fails, attempt to locate the  key  using  the  PGP  Universal  method  of  checking
                     'ldap://keys.(thedomain)'.

              keyserver
                     Locate a key using whatever keyserver is defined using the --keyserver option.

              keyserver-URL
                     In  addition,  a  keyserver URL as used in the --keyserver option may be used here to query
                     that particular keyserver.

              local  Locate the key using the local keyrings.  This mechanism allows to select the order a local
                     key  lookup  is  done.  Thus using '--auto-key-locate local' is identical to --no-auto-key-
                     locate.

              nodefault
                     This flag disables the standard local key lookup, done before any of the mechanisms defined
                     by  the  --auto-key-locate  are tried.  The position of this mechanism in the list does not
                     matter.  It is not required if local is also used.

       --keyid-format short|0xshort|long|0xlong
              Select how to display key IDs. "short" is the traditional 8-character key ID. "long" is  the  more
              accurate  (but  less  convenient) 16-character key ID. Add an "0x" to either to include an "0x" at
              the beginning of the key ID, as in 0x99242560.  Note that this option is  ignored  if  the  option
              --with-colons is used.

       --keyserver name
              Use  name  as  your keyserver. This is the server that --recv-keys, --send-keys, and --search-keys
              will communicate with to receive keys from, send keys to, and search for keys on.  The  format  of
              the  name  is  a URI: `scheme:[//]keyservername[:port]' The scheme is the type of keyserver: "hkp"
              for the HTTP (or compatible) keyservers, "ldap" for the LDAP keyservers, or "mailto" for the Graff
              email  keyserver.  Note  that your particular installation of GnuPG may have other keyserver types
              available as well. Keyserver schemes are case-insensitive.  After  the  keyserver  name,  optional
              keyserver  configuration  options  may  be provided. These are the same as the global --keyserver-
              options from below, but apply only to this particular keyserver.

              Most keyservers synchronize with each other, so there is generally no need to send  keys  to  more
              than  one  server.  The  keyserver  hkp://keys.gnupg.net  uses round robin DNS to give a different
              keyserver each time you use it.

       --keyserver-options name=value1
              This is a space or comma delimited string that gives options for the  keyserver.  Options  can  be
              prefixed  with a `no-' to give the opposite meaning. Valid import-options or export-options may be
              used here as well to apply to importing (--recv-key)  or  exporting  (--send-key)  a  key  from  a
              keyserver. While not all options are available for all keyserver types, some common options are:

              include-revoked
                     When  searching for a key with --search-keys, include keys that are marked on the keyserver
                     as revoked. Note that not all keyservers differentiate between revoked and unrevoked  keys,
                     and  for  such keyservers this option is meaningless. Note also that most keyservers do not
                     have cryptographic verification of key revocations, and so  turning  this  option  off  may
                     result in skipping keys that are incorrectly marked as revoked.

              include-disabled
                     When  searching for a key with --search-keys, include keys that are marked on the keyserver
                     as disabled. Note that this option is not used with HKP keyservers.

              auto-key-retrieve
                     This option enables the automatic retrieving  of  keys  from  a  keyserver  when  verifying
                     signatures made by keys that are not on the local keyring.

                     Note  that  this  option makes a "web bug" like behavior possible.  Keyserver operators can
                     see which keys you request, so by sending you a message signed by a brand  new  key  (which
                     you  naturally  will  not  have  on your local keyring), the operator can tell both your IP
                     address and the time when you verified the signature.

              honor-keyserver-url
                     When using --refresh-keys, if the key in question has a preferred keyserver URL,  then  use
                     that preferred keyserver to refresh the key from. In addition, if auto-key-retrieve is set,
                     and the signature being verified has a preferred keyserver URL,  then  use  that  preferred
                     keyserver to fetch the key from. Defaults to yes.

              honor-pka-record
                     If  auto-key-retrieve  is  set, and the signature being verified has a PKA record, then use
                     the PKA information to fetch the key. Defaults to yes.

              include-subkeys
                     When receiving a key, include subkeys as potential targets. Note that this  option  is  not
                     used with HKP keyservers, as they do not support retrieving keys by subkey id.

              use-temp-files
                     On  most  Unix-like  platforms,  GnuPG  communicates  with the keyserver helper program via
                     pipes, which is the most efficient method. This option forces GnuPG to use temporary  files
                     to  communicate.  On  some  platforms  (such  as  Win32 and RISC OS), this option is always
                     enabled.

              keep-temp-files
                     If using `use-temp-files', do not delete the temp files after using them.  This  option  is
                     useful to learn the keyserver communication protocol by reading the temporary files.

              verbose
                     Tell  the keyserver helper program to be more verbose. This option can be repeated multiple
                     times to increase the verbosity level.

              timeout
                     Tell the keyserver helper program how long (in seconds) to  try  and  perform  a  keyserver
                     action  before  giving up. Note that performing multiple actions at the same time uses this
                     timeout value per action.  For example, when retrieving multiple keys via --recv-keys,  the
                     timeout  applies  separately to each key retrieval, and not to the --recv-keys command as a
                     whole. Defaults to 30 seconds.

              http-proxy=value
                     Set the proxy to use  for  HTTP  and  HKP  keyservers.   This  overrides  the  "http_proxy"
                     environment variable, if any.

              max-cert-size
                     When  retrieving  a  key via DNS CERT, only accept keys up to this size.  Defaults to 16384
                     bytes.

              debug  Turn on debug output in the keyserver helper program.   Note  that  the  details  of  debug
                     output  depends  on  which  keyserver  helper  program  is  being used, and in turn, on any
                     libraries that the keyserver helper program uses internally (libcurl, openldap, etc).

              check-cert
                     Enable certificate checking if the keyserver presents one (for hkps or ldaps).  Defaults to
                     on.

              ca-cert-file
                     Provide  a  certificate store to override the system default.  Only necessary if check-cert
                     is enabled, and the keyserver is using a certificate  that  is  not  present  in  a  system
                     default certificate list.

                     Note  that  depending  on the SSL library that the keyserver helper is built with, this may
                     actually be a directory or a file.

       --completes-needed n
              Number of completely trusted users to introduce a new key signer (defaults to 1).

       --marginals-needed n
              Number of marginally trusted users to introduce a new key signer (defaults to 3)

       --max-cert-depth n
              Maximum depth of a certification chain (default is 5).

       --simple-sk-checksum
              Secret keys are integrity protected by using a SHA-1 checksum. This method is part of the upcoming
              enhanced  OpenPGP  specification  but  GnuPG  already  uses it as a countermeasure against certain
              attacks.  Old applications don't understand this new format, so this option may be used to  switch
              back  to  the  old behaviour. Using this option bears a security risk. Note that using this option
              only takes effect when the secret key is encrypted - the simplest way to make this  happen  is  to
              change the passphrase on the key (even changing it to the same value is acceptable).

       --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.

       --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.

       --auto-check-trustdb

       --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.  This may be a  time  consuming  process.  --no-auto-
              check-trustdb disables this option.

       --use-agent

       --no-use-agent
              Try to use the GnuPG-Agent.  With this option, GnuPG first tries to connect to the agent before it
              asks for a passphrase. --no-use-agent disables this option.

       --gpg-agent-info
              Override the value of the environment variable 'GPG_AGENT_INFO'. This is  only  used  when  --use-
              agent has been given.  Given that this option is not anymore used by gpg2, it should be avoided if
              possible.

       --lock-once
              Lock the databases the first time a lock is requested and  do  not  release  the  lock  until  the
              process terminates.

       --lock-multiple
              Release  the  locks every time a lock is no longer needed. Use this to override a previous --lock-
              once from a config file.

       --lock-never
              Disable locking entirely. This option should be used only in very special environments,  where  it
              can  be  assured  that  only one process is accessing those files. A bootable floppy with a stand-
              alone encryption system will probably use this. Improper usage of this option may lead to data and
              key corruption.

       --exit-on-status-write-error
              This  option  will  cause write errors on the status FD to immediately terminate the process. That
              should in fact be the default but it never worked this way and thus we need an  option  to  enable
              this,  so  that the change won't break applications which close their end of a status fd connected
              pipe too early. Using this option along with  --enable-progress-filter  may  be  used  to  cleanly
              cancel long running gpg operations.

       --limit-card-insert-tries n
              With n greater than 0 the number of prompts asking to insert a smartcard gets limited to N-1. Thus
              with a value of 1 gpg won't at all ask to insert a card if none has been inserted at startup. This
              option  is  useful  in  the  configuration  file  in  case  an application does not know about the
              smartcard support and waits ad infinitum for an inserted card.

       --no-random-seed-file
              GnuPG uses a file to  store  its  internal  random  pool  over  invocations.   This  makes  random
              generation  faster; however sometimes write operations are not desired. This option can be used to
              achieve that with the cost of slower random generation.

       --no-greeting
              Suppress the initial copyright message.

       --no-secmem-warning
              Suppress the warning about "using insecure memory".

       --no-permission-warning
              Suppress the warning about unsafe file and home directory (--homedir) permissions. Note  that  the
              permission checks that GnuPG performs are not intended to be authoritative, but rather they simply
              warn about certain common permission problems. Do not assume that the lack of a warning means that
              your system is secure.

              Note  that the warning for unsafe --homedir permissions cannot be suppressed in the gpg.conf file,
              as this would allow an attacker to place an unsafe gpg.conf file in place, and use  this  file  to
              suppress  warnings  about  itself. The --homedir permissions warning may only be suppressed on the
              command line.

       --no-mdc-warning
              Suppress the warning about missing MDC integrity protection.

       --require-secmem

       --no-require-secmem
              Refuse to run if GnuPG cannot get secure memory. Defaults to no (i.e. run, but give a warning).

       --require-cross-certification

       --no-require-cross-certification
              When verifying a signature  made  from  a  subkey,  ensure  that  the  cross  certification  "back
              signature"  on  the  subkey  is  present and valid.  This protects against a subtle attack against
              subkeys that can sign.  Defaults to --require-cross-certification for gpg.

       --expert

       --no-expert
              Allow the user to do certain nonsensical or "silly" things like signing an expired or revoked key,
              or  certain  potentially incompatible things like generating unusual key types. This also disables
              certain warning messages about potentially incompatible actions. As the name implies, this  option
              is  for  experts only. If you don't fully understand the implications of what it allows you to do,
              leave this off. --no-expert disables this option.

   Key related options

       --recipient name

       -r     Encrypt for user id name. If this option or --hidden-recipient is not specified,  GnuPG  asks  for
              the user-id unless --default-recipient is given.

       --hidden-recipient name

       -R     Encrypt  for  user  ID name, but hide the key ID of this user's key. This option helps to hide the
              receiver of the message and is a limited countermeasure against traffic analysis. If  this  option
              or --recipient is not specified, GnuPG asks for the user ID unless --default-recipient is given.

       --encrypt-to 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.

       --hidden-encrypt-to name
              Same as --hidden-recipient but this one is intended for use in the options file and  may  be  used
              with your own user-id as a hidden "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.

       --no-encrypt-to
              Disable the use of all --encrypt-to and --hidden-encrypt-to keys.

       --group name=value1
              Sets  up a named group, which is similar to aliases in email programs.  Any time the group name is
              a recipient (-r or --recipient), it will be expanded to the values specified. Multiple groups with
              the same name are automatically merged into a single group.

              The  values  are  key  IDs or fingerprints, but any key description is accepted. Note that a value
              with spaces in it will be treated as two different values. Note also there is only  one  level  of
              expansion  ---  you  cannot make an group that points to another group. When used from the command
              line, it may be necessary to quote the argument to this option to prevent the shell from  treating
              it as multiple arguments.

       --ungroup name
              Remove a given entry from the --group list.

       --no-groups
              Remove all entries from the --group list.

       --local-user name

       -u     Use name as the key to sign with. Note that this option overrides --default-key.

       --try-secret-key name
              For  hidden  recipients  GPG needs to know the keys to use for trial decryption.  The key set with
              --default-key is always tried first, but this is often not sufficient.  This option allows to  set
              more  keys  to be used for trial decryption.  Although any valid user-id specification may be used
              for name it makes sense to use at least the long keyid to avoid ambiguities.  Note that  gpg-agent
              might  pop  up  a  pinentry  for  a  lot keys to do the trial decryption.  If you want to stop all
              further trial decryption you may use close-window button instead of the cancel button.

       --try-all-secrets
              Don't look at the key ID as stored in the message but try all secret keys  in  turn  to  find  the
              right decryption key. This option forces the behaviour as used by anonymous recipients (created by
              using --throw-keyids or --hidden-recipient) and might  come  handy  in  case  where  an  encrypted
              message contains a bogus key ID.

       --skip-hidden-recipients

       --no-skip-hidden-recipients
              During  decryption  skip  all anonymous recipients.  This option helps in the case that people use
              the hidden recipients feature to hide there own encrypt-to key from others.  If oneself  has  many
              secret  keys  this  may  lead  to  a major annoyance because all keys are tried in turn to decrypt
              soemthing which was not really intended for it.  The  drawback  of  this  option  is  that  it  is
              currently not possible to decrypt a message which includes real anonymous recipients.

   Input and Output

       --armor

       -a     Create ASCII armored output.  The default is to create the binary OpenPGP format.

       --no-armor
              Assume the input data is not in ASCII armored format.

       --output file

       -o file
              Write output to file.

       --max-output n
              This  option  sets  a  limit on the number of bytes that will be generated when processing a file.
              Since OpenPGP supports various levels of compression, it is possible that the plaintext of a given
              message  may be significantly larger than the original OpenPGP message. While GnuPG works properly
              with such messages, there is often a desire to set a maximum file  size  that  will  be  generated
              before processing is forced to stop by the OS limits. Defaults to 0, which means "no limit".

       --import-options parameters
              This  is  a  space or comma delimited string that gives options for importing keys. Options can be
              prepended with a `no-' to give the opposite meaning. The options are:

              import-local-sigs
                     Allow importing key signatures marked as "local". This is not  generally  useful  unless  a
                     shared keyring scheme is being used.  Defaults to no.

              repair-pks-subkey-bug
                     During  import,  attempt  to repair the damage caused by the PKS keyserver bug (pre version
                     0.9.6) that mangles keys with multiple subkeys. Note that this cannot completely repair the
                     damaged key as some crucial data is removed by the keyserver, but it does at least give you
                     back one subkey. Defaults to no for regular --import and to yes for keyserver --recv-keys.

              merge-only
                     During import, allow key updates to existing keys, but do not allow  any  new  keys  to  be
                     imported. Defaults to no.

              import-clean
                     After  import,  compact (remove all signatures except the self-signature) any user IDs from
                     the new key that are not usable.  Then, remove any signatures from the new key that are not
                     usable.   This  includes  signatures  that  were issued by keys that are not present on the
                     keyring. This option is the same as running the --edit-key command  "clean"  after  import.
                     Defaults to no.

              import-minimal
                     Import  the smallest key possible. This removes all signatures except the most recent self-
                     signature on each user ID. This option is  the  same  as  running  the  --edit-key  command
                     "minimize" after import.  Defaults to no.

       --export-options parameters
              This  is  a  space or comma delimited string that gives options for exporting keys. Options can be
              prepended with a `no-' to give the opposite meaning. The options are:

              export-local-sigs
                     Allow exporting key signatures marked as "local". This is not  generally  useful  unless  a
                     shared keyring scheme is being used.  Defaults to no.

              export-attributes
                     Include  attribute  user  IDs (photo IDs) while exporting. This is useful to export keys if
                     they are going to be used by an OpenPGP program that does not accept  attribute  user  IDs.
                     Defaults to yes.

              export-sensitive-revkeys
                     Include designated revoker information that was marked as "sensitive". Defaults to no.

              export-reset-subkey-passwd
                     When  using the --export-secret-subkeys command, this option resets the passphrases for all
                     exported subkeys to empty. This is useful when the exported subkey is  to  be  used  on  an
                     unattended machine where a passphrase doesn't necessarily make sense. Defaults to no.

              export-clean
                     Compact (remove all signatures from) user IDs on the key being exported if the user IDs are
                     not usable. Also, do  not  export  any  signatures  that  are  not  usable.  This  includes
                     signatures that were issued by keys that are not present on the keyring. This option is the
                     same as running the --edit-key command "clean" before export except that the local copy  of
                     the key is not modified. Defaults to no.

              export-minimal
                     Export  the smallest key possible. This removes all signatures except the most recent self-
                     signature on each user ID. This option is  the  same  as  running  the  --edit-key  command
                     "minimize" before export except that the local copy of the key is not modified. Defaults to
                     no.

       --with-colons
              Print key listings delimited by colons. Note that the output will be encoded in  UTF-8  regardless
              of  any  --display-charset  setting.  This  format is useful when GnuPG is called from scripts and
              other programs as it is easily machine parsed. The details of this format are  documented  in  the
              file ‘doc/DETAILS’, which is included in the GnuPG source distribution.

       --fixed-list-mode
              Do not merge primary user ID and primary key in --with-colon listing mode and print all timestamps
              as seconds since 1970-01-01.

       --with-fingerprint
              Same as the command --fingerprint but changes only the format  of  the  output  and  may  be  used
              together with another command.

       --with-keygrip
              Include the keygrip in the key listings.

   OpenPGP protocol specific options.

       -t, --textmode

       --no-textmode
              Treat  input  files as text and store them in the OpenPGP canonical text form with standard "CRLF"
              line endings. This also sets the necessary flags to inform the recipient  that  the  encrypted  or
              signed  data  is  text  and  may need its line endings converted back to whatever the local system
              uses. This option is useful when communicating between two  platforms  that  have  different  line
              ending  conventions  (UNIX-like  to Mac, Mac to Windows, etc). --no-textmode disables this option,
              and is the default.

              If -t (but not --textmode) is used together with armoring and signing,  this  enables  clearsigned
              messages.  This kludge is needed for command-line compatibility with command-line versions of PGP;
              normally you would use --sign or --clearsign to select the type of the signature.

       --force-v3-sigs

       --no-force-v3-sigs
              OpenPGP states that an implementation should generate v4 signatures but PGP versions 5  through  7
              only  recognize  v4 signatures on key material. This option forces v3 signatures for signatures on
              data.  Note that this option implies  --no-ask-sig-expire,  and  unsets  --sig-policy-url,  --sig-
              notation,  and  --sig-keyserver-url,  as  these features cannot be used with v3 signatures.  --no-
              force-v3-sigs disables this option.  Defaults to no.

       --force-v4-certs

       --no-force-v4-certs
              Always use v4 key signatures even on v3 keys. This option also changes the default hash  algorithm
              for v3 RSA keys from MD5 to SHA-1.  --no-force-v4-certs disables this option.

       --force-mdc
              Force the use of encryption with a modification detection code. This is always used with the newer
              ciphers (those with a blocksize greater than 64 bits), or if all of the  recipient  keys  indicate
              MDC support in their feature flags.

       --disable-mdc
              Disable  the use of the modification detection code. Note that by using this option, the encrypted
              message becomes vulnerable to a message modification attack.

       --personal-cipher-preferences string
              Set the list of personal cipher preferences to string.   Use  gpg  --version  to  get  a  list  of
              available  algorithms,  and  use none to set no preference at all.  This allows the user to safely
              override the algorithm chosen by the recipient  key  preferences,  as  GPG  will  only  select  an
              algorithm  that  is  usable by all recipients.  The most highly ranked cipher in this list is also
              used for the --symmetric encryption command.

       --personal-digest-preferences string
              Set the list of personal digest preferences to string.   Use  gpg  --version  to  get  a  list  of
              available  algorithms,  and  use none to set no preference at all.  This allows the user to safely
              override the algorithm chosen by the recipient  key  preferences,  as  GPG  will  only  select  an
              algorithm  that is usable by all recipients.  The most highly ranked digest algorithm in this list
              is also used when signing without encryption (e.g. --clearsign or --sign).

       --personal-compress-preferences string
              Set the list of personal compression preferences to string.  Use gpg --version to get  a  list  of
              available  algorithms,  and  use none to set no preference at all.  This allows the user to safely
              override the algorithm chosen by the recipient  key  preferences,  as  GPG  will  only  select  an
              algorithm  that is usable by all recipients.  The most highly ranked compression algorithm in this
              list is also used when there are no recipient keys to consider (e.g. --symmetric).

       --s2k-cipher-algo name
              Use name as the cipher algorithm used to protect secret keys.  The default cipher is  CAST5.  This
              cipher is also used for conventional encryption if --personal-cipher-preferences and --cipher-algo
              is not given.

       --s2k-digest-algo name
              Use name as the digest algorithm used to mangle the passphrases.  The default algorithm is SHA-1.

       --s2k-mode n
              Selects how passphrases are mangled. If n is 0 a plain passphrase (which is not recommended)  will
              be  used,  a  1  adds  a salt to the passphrase and a 3 (the default) iterates the whole process a
              number of times (see --s2k-count).   Unless  --rfc1991  is  used,  this  mode  is  also  used  for
              conventional encryption.

       --s2k-count n
              Specify how many times the passphrase mangling is repeated.  This value may range between 1024 and
              65011712 inclusive.  The default is inquired from gpg-agent.  Note that  not  all  values  in  the
              1024-65011712  range  are  legal  and  if an illegal value is selected, GnuPG will round up to the
              nearest legal value.  This option is only meaningful if --s2k-mode is 3.

   Compliance options

       These options control what GnuPG is compliant to. Only one of these options may be active at a time. Note
       that  the  default  setting of this is nearly always the correct one. See the INTEROPERABILITY WITH OTHER
       OPENPGP PROGRAMS section below before using one of these options.

       --gnupg
              Use standard GnuPG behavior. This is essentially OpenPGP behavior (see --openpgp), but  with  some
              additional workarounds for common compatibility problems in different versions of PGP. This is the
              default option, so it is not generally needed, but it  may  be  useful  to  override  a  different
              compliance option in the gpg.conf file.

       --openpgp
              Reset  all  packet, cipher and digest options to strict OpenPGP behavior. Use this option to reset
              all previous options like --s2k-*, --cipher-algo, --digest-algo  and  --compress-algo  to  OpenPGP
              compliant values. All PGP workarounds are disabled.

       --rfc4880
              Reset  all  packet,  cipher  and  digest  options  to  strict RFC-4880 behavior. Note that this is
              currently the same thing as --openpgp.

       --rfc2440
              Reset all packet, cipher and digest options to strict RFC-2440 behavior.

       --rfc1991
              Try to be more RFC-1991 (PGP 2.x) compliant.

       --pgp2 Set up all options to be as PGP 2.x compliant as possible, and warn if an action  is  taken  (e.g.
              encrypting  to  a non-RSA key) that will create a message that PGP 2.x will not be able to handle.
              Note that `PGP 2.x' here means `MIT PGP 2.6.2'. There are other versions of PGP 2.x available, but
              the MIT release is a good common baseline.

              This  option  implies  --rfc1991  --disable-mdc  --no-force-v4-certs  --escape-from-lines --force-
              v3-sigs --cipher-algo IDEA --digest-algo MD5 --compress-algo ZIP. It also disables --textmode when
              encrypting.

       --pgp6 Set  up  all  options to be as PGP 6 compliant as possible. This restricts you to the ciphers IDEA
              (if the IDEA plugin is installed), 3DES, and CAST5, the hashes MD5, SHA1 and  RIPEMD160,  and  the
              compression algorithms none and ZIP. This also disables --throw-keyids, and making signatures with
              signing subkeys as PGP 6 does not understand signatures made by signing subkeys.

              This option implies --disable-mdc --escape-from-lines --force-v3-sigs.

       --pgp7 Set up all options to be as PGP 7 compliant as possible. This is identical to --pgp6  except  that
              MDCs  are  not  disabled,  and  the  list  of allowable ciphers is expanded to add AES128, AES192,
              AES256, and TWOFISH.

       --pgp8 Set up all options to be as PGP 8 compliant as possible. PGP 8 is a  lot  closer  to  the  OpenPGP
              standard  than  previous  versions  of  PGP,  so  all  this does is disable --throw-keyids and set
              --escape-from-lines.  All algorithms are  allowed  except  for  the  SHA224,  SHA384,  and  SHA512
              digests.

   Doing things one usually doesn't want to do.

       -n

       --dry-run
              Don't make any changes (this is not completely implemented).

       --list-only
              Changes  the  behaviour  of some commands. This is like --dry-run but different in some cases. The
              semantic of this command may be extended in  the  future.  Currently  it  only  skips  the  actual
              decryption pass and therefore enables a fast listing of the encryption keys.

       -i

       --interactive
              Prompt before overwriting any files.

       --debug-level level
              Select the debug level for investigating problems. level may be a numeric value or by a keyword:

              none   No debugging at all.  A value of less than 1 may be used instead of the keyword.

              basic  Some basic debug messages.  A value between 1 and 2 may be used instead of the keyword.

              advanced
                     More verbose debug messages.  A value between 3 and 5 may be used instead of the keyword.

              expert Even more detailed messages.  A value between 6 and 8 may be used instead of the keyword.

              guru   All  of  the  debug messages you can get. A value greater than 8 may be used instead of the
                     keyword.  The creation of hash tracing files is only enabled if the keyword is used.

       How these messages are mapped to the actual debugging flags is not specified and may  change  with  newer
       releases of this program. They are however carefully selected to best aid in debugging.

       --debug flags
              Set debugging flags. All flags are or-ed and flags may be given in C syntax (e.g. 0x0042).

       --debug-all
              Set all useful debugging flags.

       --debug-ccid-driver
              Enable  debug  output from the included CCID driver for smartcards.  Note that this option is only
              available on some system.

       --faked-system-time epoch
              This option is only useful for testing; it sets the system time back or forth to  epoch  which  is
              the number of seconds elapsed since the year 1970.  Alternatively epoch may be given as a full ISO
              time string (e.g. "20070924T154812").

       --enable-progress-filter
              Enable certain PROGRESS status outputs.  This  option  allows  frontends  to  display  a  progress
              indicator while gpg is processing larger files.  There is a slight performance overhead using it.

       --status-fd n
              Write  special status strings to the file descriptor n.  See the file DETAILS in the documentation
              for a listing of them.

       --status-file file
              Same as --status-fd, except the status data is written to file file.

       --logger-fd n
              Write log output to file descriptor n and not to STDERR.

       --log-file file

       --logger-file file
              Same as --logger-fd, except the logger data is written to file file.  Note that --log-file is only
              implemented for GnuPG-2.

       --attribute-fd n
              Write attribute subpackets to the file descriptor n. This is most useful for use with --status-fd,
              since the status messages are needed to separate  out  the  various  subpackets  from  the  stream
              delivered to the file descriptor.

       --attribute-file file
              Same as --attribute-fd, except the attribute data is written to file file.

       --comment string

       --no-comments
              Use  string  as  a comment string in clear text signatures and ASCII armored messages or keys (see
              --armor). The default behavior is not to use a comment string. --comment may be repeated  multiple
              times  to  get multiple comment strings. --no-comments removes all comments.  It is a good idea to
              keep the length of a single comment below 60 characters  to  avoid  problems  with  mail  programs
              wrapping  such  lines.  Note that comment lines, like all other header lines, are not protected by
              the signature.

       --emit-version

       --no-emit-version
              Force inclusion of the version string in ASCII armored output.  If given once only the name of the
              program  and  the  major number is emitted (default), given twice the minor is also emitted, given
              triple the micro is added, and given quad an operating  system  identification  is  also  emitted.
              --no-emit-version disables the version line.

       --sig-notation name=value

       --cert-notation name=value

       -N, --set-notation name=value
              Put  the name value pair into the signature as notation data.  name must consist only of printable
              characters or spaces, and must contain a '@'  character  in  the  form  keyname@domain.example.com
              (substituting  the  appropriate  keyname  and  domain  name,  of course).  This is to help prevent
              pollution of the IETF reserved notation namespace. The --expert  flag  overrides  the  '@'  check.
              value  may  be  any  printable  string;  it will be encoded in UTF8, so you should check that your
              --display-charset is set correctly. If you prefix name with an exclamation mark (!), the  notation
              data  will  be  flagged  as  critical  (rfc4880:5.2.3.16). --sig-notation sets a notation for data
              signatures. --cert-notation sets a notation for key  signatures  (certifications).  --set-notation
              sets both.

              There  are special codes that may be used in notation names. "%k" will be expanded into the key ID
              of the key being signed, "%K" into the long key  ID  of  the  key  being  signed,  "%f"  into  the
              fingerprint  of  the  key being signed, "%s" into the key ID of the key making the signature, "%S"
              into the long key ID of the key making the signature, "%g" into the fingerprint of the key  making
              the  signature  (which might be a subkey), "%p" into the fingerprint of the primary key of the key
              making the signature, "%c" into the signature count from the OpenPGP smartcard, and  "%%"  results
              in  a  single "%". %k, %K, and %f are only meaningful when making a key signature (certification),
              and %c is only meaningful when using the OpenPGP smartcard.

       --sig-policy-url string

       --cert-policy-url string

       --set-policy-url string
              Use string as a  Policy  URL  for  signatures  (rfc4880:5.2.3.20).   If  you  prefix  it  with  an
              exclamation  mark  (!), the policy URL packet will be flagged as critical. --sig-policy-url sets a
              policy  url  for  data  signatures.  --cert-policy-url  sets  a  policy  url  for  key  signatures
              (certifications). --set-policy-url sets both.

              The same %-expandos used for notation data are available here as well.

       --sig-keyserver-url string
              Use  string as a preferred keyserver URL for data signatures. If you prefix it with an exclamation
              mark (!), the keyserver URL packet will be flagged as critical.

              The same %-expandos used for notation data are available here as well.

       --set-filename string
              Use string as the filename which is stored inside messages.  This overrides the default, which  is
              to use the actual filename of the file being encrypted.

       --for-your-eyes-only

       --no-for-your-eyes-only
              Set  the  `for  your  eyes only' flag in the message. This causes GnuPG to refuse to save the file
              unless the --output option is given, and PGP to use a "secure  viewer"  with  a  claimed  Tempest-
              resistant  font to display the message. This option overrides --set-filename.  --no-for-your-eyes-
              only disables this option.

       --use-embedded-filename

       --no-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. Defaults to no.

       --cipher-algo name
              Use  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. In general, you do not want to use this option as it allows you to violate
              the OpenPGP standard.  --personal-cipher-preferences is the safe way to accomplish the same thing.

       --digest-algo name
              Use name as the message digest algorithm. Running the program with the command --version yields  a
              list  of  supported algorithms. In general, you do not want to use this option as it allows you to
              violate the OpenPGP standard. --personal-digest-preferences is the safe way to accomplish the same
              thing.

       --compress-algo name
              Use  compression  algorithm  name.  "zlib"  is  RFC-1950  ZLIB  compression. "zip" is RFC-1951 ZIP
              compression which is used by PGP.  "bzip2" is a more modern compression scheme that  can  compress
              some  things  better  than zip or zlib, but at the cost of more memory used during compression and
              decompression. "uncompressed" or "none" disables compression. If this  option  is  not  used,  the
              default behavior is to examine the recipient key preferences to see which algorithms the recipient
              supports. If all else fails, ZIP is used for maximum compatibility.

              ZLIB may give better compression results than ZIP, as the compression window size is  not  limited
              to  8k.  BZIP2  may  give  even better compression results than that, but will use a significantly
              larger amount of memory while compressing and decompressing. This may be significant in low memory
              situations.  Note,  however,  that  PGP  (all  versions)  only supports ZIP compression. Using any
              algorithm other than ZIP or "none" will make the message unreadable with PGP. In general,  you  do
              not want to use this option as it allows you to violate the OpenPGP standard. --personal-compress-
              preferences is the safe way to accomplish the same thing.

       --cert-digest-algo name
              Use name as the message digest algorithm used when signing a key. Running  the  program  with  the
              command  --version yields a list of supported algorithms. Be aware that if you choose an algorithm
              that GnuPG supports but other OpenPGP implementations do not, then some users will not be able  to
              use the key signatures you make, or quite possibly your entire key.

       --disable-cipher-algo name
              Never  allow  the  use  of name as cipher algorithm.  The given name will not be checked so that a
              later loaded algorithm will still get disabled.

       --disable-pubkey-algo name
              Never allow the use of name as public key algorithm.  The given name will not be checked so that a
              later loaded algorithm will still get disabled.

       --throw-keyids

       --no-throw-keyids
              Do  not put the recipient key IDs into encrypted messages. This helps to hide the receivers of the
              message and is a  limited  countermeasure  against  traffic  analysis.  ([Using  a  little  social
              engineering  anyone  who  is  able  to  decrypt  the  message  can  check whether one of the other
              recipients is the one he suspects.])  On the receiving side,  it  may  slow  down  the  decryption
              process  because all available secret keys must be tried.  --no-throw-keyids disables this option.
              This option is essentially the same as using --hidden-recipient for all recipients.

       --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.

       --escape-from-lines

       --no-escape-from-lines
              Because some mailers change lines starting with "From " to ">From " it  is  good  to  handle  such
              lines in a special way when creating cleartext signatures to prevent the mail system from breaking
              the signature. Note that all other PGP versions do it this way too.   Enabled  by  default.  --no-
              escape-from-lines disables this option.

       --passphrase-repeat n
              Specify  how many times gpg will request a new passphrase be repeated.  This is useful for helping
              memorize a passphrase.  Defaults to 1 repetition.

       --passphrase-fd n
              Read the passphrase from file descriptor n. Only the first line will be read from file  descriptor
              n.  If  you use 0 for n, the passphrase will be read from STDIN. This can only be used if only one
              passphrase is supplied.

       --passphrase-file file
              Read the passphrase from file file. Only the first line will be read from file file. This can only
              be  used  if  only  one  passphrase  is  supplied.  Obviously, a passphrase stored in a file is of
              questionable security if other users can read this file. Don't use this option if  you  can  avoid
              it.

       --passphrase string
              Use string as the passphrase. This can only be used if only one passphrase is supplied. Obviously,
              this is of very questionable security on a multi-user system. Don't use this  option  if  you  can
              avoid it.

       --pinentry-mode mode
              Set the pinentry mode to mode.  Allowed values for mode are:

              default
                     Use the default of the agent, which is ask.

              ask    Force the use of the Pinentry.

              cancel Emulate use of Pinentry's cancel button.

              error  Return a Pinentry error (``No Pinentry'').

              loopback
                     Redirect Pinentry queries to the caller.  Note that in contrast to Pinentry the user is not
                     prompted again if he enters a bad password.

       --command-fd n
              This is a replacement for the deprecated shared-memory IPC mode.  If this option is enabled,  user
              input  on  questions is not expected from the TTY but from the given file descriptor. It should be
              used together with --status-fd. See the file doc/DETAILS in the source distribution for details on
              how to use it.

       --command-file file
              Same as --command-fd, except the commands are read out of file file

       --allow-non-selfsigned-uid

       --no-allow-non-selfsigned-uid
              Allow the import and use of keys with user IDs which are not self-signed. This is not recommended,
              as a non self-signed user ID is trivial to forge. --no-allow-non-selfsigned-uid disables.

       --allow-freeform-uid
              Disable all checks on the form of the user ID while generating a new one. This option should  only
              be  used  in  very special environments as it does not ensure the de-facto standard format of user
              IDs.

       --ignore-time-conflict
              GnuPG normally checks that the timestamps associated  with  keys  and  signatures  have  plausible
              values.  However, sometimes a signature seems to be older than the key due to clock problems. This
              option makes these checks just a warning. See also --ignore-valid-from  for  timestamp  issues  on
              subkeys.

       --ignore-valid-from
              GnuPG  normally does not select and use subkeys created in the future.  This option allows the use
              of such keys and thus exhibits the pre-1.0.7 behaviour. You should  not  use  this  option  unless
              there is some clock problem. See also --ignore-time-conflict for timestamp issues with signatures.

       --ignore-crc-error
              The  ASCII  armor  used  by  OpenPGP  is  protected by a CRC checksum against transmission errors.
              Occasionally the CRC gets mangled somewhere on the transmission channel  but  the  actual  content
              (which  is  protected  by  the OpenPGP protocol anyway) is still okay. This option allows GnuPG to
              ignore CRC errors.

       --ignore-mdc-error
              This option changes a MDC integrity protection failure into a warning.  This can be  useful  if  a
              message  is  partially  corrupt,  but  it  is necessary to get as much data as possible out of the
              corrupt message.  However, be aware that a MDC protection failure may also mean that  the  message
              was tampered with intentionally by an attacker.

       --no-default-keyring
              Do  not add the default keyrings to the list of keyrings. Note that GnuPG will not operate without
              any keyrings, so if you use this option and do not provide alternate  keyrings  via  --keyring  or
              --secret-keyring, then GnuPG will still use the default public or secret keyrings.

       --skip-verify
              Skip  the  signature  verification  step.  This  may  be used to make the decryption faster if the
              signature verification is not needed.

       --with-key-data
              Print key listings delimited by colons (like --with-colons) and print the public key data.

       --fast-list-mode
              Changes the output of the list commands to work faster; this is achieved  by  leaving  some  parts
              empty.  Some  applications don't need the user ID and the trust information given in the listings.
              By using this options they can get a faster listing. The exact behaviour of this option may change
              in future versions.  If you are missing some information, don't use this option.

       --no-literal
              This is not for normal use. Use the source to see for what it might be useful.

       --set-filesize
              This is not for normal use. Use the source to see for what it might be useful.

       --show-session-key
              Display  the  session  key used for one message. See --override-session-key for the counterpart of
              this option.

              We think that Key Escrow is a Bad Thing; however the  user  should  have  the  freedom  to  decide
              whether  to go to prison or to reveal the content of one specific message without compromising all
              messages ever encrypted for one secret key. DON'T USE IT UNLESS YOU ARE REALLY FORCED TO DO SO.

       --override-session-key string
              Don't use the public key but the session key string. The format of this string is the same as  the
              one  printed  by  --show-session-key.  This  option  is  normally not used but comes handy in case
              someone forces you to reveal the content of an encrypted message; using this  option  you  can  do
              this without handing out the secret key.

       --ask-sig-expire

       --no-ask-sig-expire
              When  making a data signature, prompt for an expiration time. If this option is not specified, the
              expiration time set via --default-sig-expire is used. --no-ask-sig-expire disables this option.

       --default-sig-expire
              The default expiration time to  use  for  signature  expiration.  Valid  values  are  "0"  for  no
              expiration, a number followed by the letter d (for days), w (for weeks), m (for months), or y (for
              years) (for example "2m" for two months, or "5y" for five years), or an absolute date in the  form
              YYYY-MM-DD. Defaults to "0".

       --ask-cert-expire

       --no-ask-cert-expire
              When  making  a key signature, prompt for an expiration time. If this option is not specified, the
              expiration time set via --default-cert-expire is used. --no-ask-cert-expire disables this option.

       --default-cert-expire
              The default expiration time to use for key signature expiration.  Valid  values  are  "0"  for  no
              expiration, a number followed by the letter d (for days), w (for weeks), m (for months), or y (for
              years) (for example "2m" for two months, or "5y" for five years), or an absolute date in the  form
              YYYY-MM-DD. Defaults to "0".

       --allow-secret-key-import
              This is an obsolete option and is not used anywhere.

       --allow-multiple-messages

       --no-allow-multiple-messages
              Allow processing of multiple OpenPGP messages contained in a single file or stream.  Some programs
              that call GPG are not prepared to deal with multiple messages being processed  together,  so  this
              option defaults to no.  Note that versions of GPG prior to 1.4.7 always allowed multiple messages.

              Warning: Do not use this option unless you need it as a temporary workaround!

       --enable-special-filenames
              This  options  enables  a  mode  in  which  filenames of the form ‘-&n’, where n is a non-negative
              decimal number, refer to the file descriptor n and not to a file with that name.

       --no-expensive-trust-checks
              Experimental use only.

       --preserve-permissions
              Don't change the permissions of a secret keyring back to user read/write  only.  Use  this  option
              only if you really know what you are doing.

       --default-preference-list string
              Set  the  list  of  default  preferences  to string. This preference list is used for new keys and
              becomes the default for "setpref" in the edit menu.

       --default-keyserver-url name
              Set the default keyserver URL to name. This keyserver will be  used  as  the  keyserver  URL  when
              writing a new self-signature on a key, which includes key generation and changing preferences.

       --list-config
              Display  various  internal configuration parameters of GnuPG. This option is intended for external
              programs that call GnuPG to perform tasks,  and  is  thus  not  generally  useful.  See  the  file
              ‘doc/DETAILS’  in  the  source  distribution  for  the details of which configuration items may be
              listed. --list-config is only usable with --with-colons set.

       --gpgconf-list
              This command is similar to --list-config but in general only internally used by the gpgconf tool.

       --gpgconf-test
              This is more or less dummy action.  However it parses the  configuration  file  and  returns  with
              failure  if  the  configuration file would prevent gpg from startup.  Thus it may be used to run a
              syntax check on the configuration file.

   Deprecated options

       --load-extension name
              Load an extension module. If name does not contain a slash it is searched  for  in  the  directory
              configured  when  GnuPG was built (generally "/usr/local/lib/gnupg"). Extensions are not generally
              useful anymore, and the use of this option is deprecated.

       --show-photos

       --no-show-photos
              Causes --list-keys, --list-sigs, --list-public-keys, --list-secret-keys, and verifying a signature
              to  also  display the photo ID attached to the key, if any. See also --photo-viewer. These options
              are deprecated.  Use  --list-options  [no-]show-photos  and/or  --verify-options  [no-]show-photos
              instead.

       --show-keyring
              Display the keyring name at the head of key listings to show which keyring a given key resides on.
              This option is deprecated: use --list-options [no-]show-keyring instead.

       --ctapi-driver file
              Use file to access the smartcard reader. The current default is `libtowitoko.so'.  Note  that  the
              use of this interface is deprecated; it may be removed in future releases.

       --always-trust
              Identical to --trust-model always. This option is deprecated.

       --show-notation

       --no-show-notation
              Show  signature  notations in the --list-sigs or --check-sigs listings as well as when verifying a
              signature with a notation in it. These  options  are  deprecated.  Use  --list-options  [no-]show-
              notation and/or --verify-options [no-]show-notation instead.

       --show-policy-url

       --no-show-policy-url
              Show policy URLs in the --list-sigs or --check-sigs listings as well as when verifying a signature
              with a policy URL in it. These options are  deprecated.  Use  --list-options  [no-]show-policy-url
              and/or --verify-options [no-]show-policy-url instead.

EXAMPLES

       gpg -se -r Bob file
              sign and encrypt for user Bob

       gpg --clearsign file
              make a clear text signature

       gpg -sb file
              make a detached signature

       gpg -u 0x12345678 -sb file
              make a detached signature with the key 0x12345678

       gpg --list-keys user_ID
              show keys

       gpg --fingerprint user_ID
              show fingerprint

       gpg --verify pgpfile

       gpg --verify sigfile
              Verify  the signature of the file but do not output the data. The second form is used for detached
              signatures, where sigfile is the detached signature (either ASCII armored or binary) and  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 sigfile or by asking the user for the filename.

HOW TO SPECIFY A USER ID

       There are different ways to specify a user ID to GnuPG.  Some of them are only valid for gpg  others  are
       only good for gpgsm.  Here is the entire list of ways to specify a key:

       By key Id.
              This  format  is deduced from the length of the string and its content or 0x prefix. The key Id of
              an X.509 certificate are the low 64 bits of its SHA-1 fingerprint.  The use of key Ids is  just  a
              shortcut, for all automated processing the fingerprint should be used.

              When  using  gpg  an  exclamation mark (!) may be appended to force using the specified primary or
              secondary key and not to try and calculate which primary or secondary key to use.

              The last four lines of the example give the key ID in their long form as internally  used  by  the
              OpenPGP protocol. You can see the long key ID using the option --with-colons.

         234567C4
         0F34E556E
         01347A56A
         0xAB123456

         234AABBCC34567C4
         0F323456784E56EAB
         01AB3FED1347A5612
         0x234AABBCC34567C4

       By fingerprint.
              This format is deduced from the length of the string and its content or the 0x prefix.  Note, that
              only the 20 byte version fingerprint  is  available  with  gpgsm  (i.e.  the  SHA-1  hash  of  the
              certificate).

              When  using  gpg  an  exclamation mark (!) may be appended to force using the specified primary or
              secondary key and not to try and calculate which primary or secondary key to use.

              The best way to specify a key Id is by using the fingerprint.  This avoids any ambiguities in case
              that there are duplicated key IDs.

         1234343434343434C434343434343434
         123434343434343C3434343434343734349A3434
         0E12343434343434343434EAB3484343434343434
         0xE12343434343434343434EAB3484343434343434

       gpgsm  also  accepts colons between each pair of hexadecimal digits because this is the de-facto standard
       on how to present X.509 fingerprints.  gpg also allows the use of the space separated  SHA-1  fingerprint
       as printed by the key listing commands.

       By exact match on OpenPGP user ID.
              This is denoted by a leading equal sign. It does not make sense for X.509 certificates.

         =Heinrich Heine <heinrichh@uni-duesseldorf.de>

       By exact match on an email address.
              This is indicated by enclosing the email address in the usual way with left and right angles.

         <heinrichh@uni-duesseldorf.de>

       By word match.
              All  words must match exactly (not case sensitive) but can appear in any order in the user ID or a
              subjects name.  Words are any sequences of letters, digits, the underscore and all characters with
              bit 7 set.

         +Heinrich Heine duesseldorf

       By exact match on the subject's DN.
              This is indicated by a leading slash, directly followed by the RFC-2253 encoded DN of the subject.
              Note that you can't use the string printed  by  "gpgsm  --list-keys"  because  that  one  as  been
              reordered  and  modified  for better readability; use --with-colons to print the raw (but standard
              escaped) RFC-2253 string

         /CN=Heinrich Heine,O=Poets,L=Paris,C=FR

       By exact match on the issuer's DN.
              This is indicated by a leading hash mark, directly followed by a slash and then directly  followed
              by  the  rfc2253  encoded  DN of the issuer.  This should return the Root cert of the issuer.  See
              note above.

         #/CN=Root Cert,O=Poets,L=Paris,C=FR

       By exact match on serial number and issuer's DN.
              This is indicated by a hash mark, followed by the hexadecimal representation of the serial number,
              then followed by a slash and the RFC-2253 encoded DN of the issuer. See note above.

         #4F03/CN=Root Cert,O=Poets,L=Paris,C=FR

       By keygrip
              This  is  indicated  by an ampersand followed by the 40 hex digits of a keygrip.  gpgsm prints the
              keygrip when using the command --dump-cert.  It does not yet work for OpenPGP keys.

         &D75F22C3F86E355877348498CDC92BD21010A480

       By substring match.
              This is the default mode but applications may want to explicitly  indicate  this  by  putting  the
              asterisk in front.  Match is not case sensitive.

         Heine
         *Heine

       Please note that we have reused the hash mark identifier which was used in old GnuPG versions to indicate
       the so called local-id.  It is not anymore used and there should be no  conflict  when  used  with  X.509
       stuff.

       Using  the  RFC-2253  format  of  DNs  has  the  drawback that it is not possible to map them back to the
       original encoding, however we don't have to do this because our key database stores this encoding as meta
       data.

FILES

       There are a few configuration files to control certain aspects of gpg's operation. Unless noted, they are
       expected in the current home directory (see: [option --homedir]).

       gpg.conf
              This is the standard configuration file read by gpg on startup.  It may  contain  any  valid  long
              option;  the  leading  two  dashes may not be entered and the option may not be abbreviated.  This
              default name may be changed on the command line (see: [gpg-option --options]).  You should  backup
              this file.

       Note   that  on  larger  installations,  it  is  useful  to  put  predefined  files  into  the  directory
       ‘/etc/skel/.gnupg/’ so that newly created users start up with a working configuration.

       For internal purposes gpg creates and maintains a few other files; They all live in in the  current  home
       directory (see: [option --homedir]).  Only the gpg may modify these files.

       ~/.gnupg/secring.gpg
              The secret keyring.  You should backup this file.

       ~/.gnupg/secring.gpg.lock
              The lock file for the secret keyring.

       ~/.gnupg/pubring.gpg
              The public keyring.  You should backup this file.

       ~/.gnupg/pubring.gpg.lock
              The lock file for the public keyring.

       ~/.gnupg/trustdb.gpg
              The  trust  database.  There is no need to backup this file; it is better to backup the ownertrust
              values (see: [option --export-ownertrust]).

       ~/.gnupg/trustdb.gpg.lock
              The lock file for the trust database.

       ~/.gnupg/random_seed
              A file used to preserve the state of the internal random pool.

       /usr[/local]/share/gnupg/options.skel
              The skeleton options file.

       /usr[/local]/lib/gnupg/
              Default location for extensions.

       Operation is further controlled by a few environment variables:

       HOME   Used to locate the default home directory.

       GNUPGHOME
              If set directory used instead of "~/.gnupg".

       GPG_AGENT_INFO
              Used to locate the gpg-agent.
                This is only honored when --use-agent is set.
                The value consists of 3 colon delimited fields: The first is the path
                to the Unix Domain Socket, the second the PID of the gpg-agent and the
                protocol version which should be set to 1. When starting the gpg-agent
                as described in its documentation, this variable is set to the correct
                value. The option --gpg-agent-info can be used to override it.

       PINENTRY_USER_DATA
              This value is passed via gpg-agent to pinentry.  It is useful to convey  extra  information  to  a
              custom pinentry.

       COLUMNS

       LINES  Used to size some displays to the full size of the screen.

       LANGUAGE
              Apart  from  its use by GNU, it is used in the W32 version to override the language selection done
              through the Registry.  If used and set to a valid and available language name (langid),  the  file
              with the translation is loaded from

              gpgdir/gnupg.nls/langid.mo.   Here  gpgdir  is  the directory out of which the gpg binary has been
              loaded.  If it can't be loaded the Registry is tried and as last resort the native Windows  locale
              system is used.

BUGS

       On  older  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  (which  may  contain
       passphrases  or  other  sensitive  material) 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.

       Note  also  that some systems (especially laptops) have the ability to ``suspend to disk'' (also known as
       ``safe sleep'' or ``hibernate'').  This writes all memory to disk before going into a low power  or  even
       powered  off  mode.   Unless  measures  are  taken  in  the operating system to protect the saved memory,
       passphrases or other sensitive material may be recoverable from it later.

       Before you report a bug you should first search the mailing list archives for similar problems and second
       check whether such a bug has already been reported to our bug tracker at http://bugs.gnupg.org .

SEE ALSO

       gpgv(1),

       The  full  documentation  for this tool is maintained as a Texinfo manual.  If GnuPG and the info program
       are properly installed at your site, the command

         info gnupg

       should give you access to the complete manual including a menu structure and an index.