\input texinfo @c -*- mode: texinfo -*- @c %**start of header @setfilename ../../info/epa.info @settitle EasyPG Assistant User's Manual @include docstyle.texi @c %**end of header @set VERSION 1.0.0 @copying This file describes EasyPG Assistant @value{VERSION}. Copyright @copyright{} 2007--2021 Free Software Foundation, Inc. @quotation Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.3 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no Invariant Sections, with the Front-Cover Texts being ``A GNU Manual,'' and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation License''. (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have the freedom to copy and modify this GNU manual.'' @end quotation @end copying @dircategory Emacs misc features @direntry * EasyPG Assistant: (epa). An Emacs user interface to GNU Privacy Guard. @end direntry @titlepage @title EasyPG Assistant @author by Daiki Ueno @page @vskip 0pt plus 1filll @insertcopying @end titlepage @contents @node Top, Overview, (dir), (dir) @top EasyPG Assistant user's manual EasyPG Assistant is an Emacs user interface to GNU Privacy Guard (GnuPG, @pxref{Top, , Top, gnupg, Using the GNU Privacy Guard}). EasyPG Assistant is a part of the package called EasyPG, an all-in-one GnuPG interface for Emacs. EasyPG also contains the library interface called EasyPG Library. @ifnottex @insertcopying @end ifnottex @menu * Overview:: * Quick start:: * Commands:: * Caching Passphrases:: * GnuPG version compatibility:: * Bug Reports:: * GNU Free Documentation License:: The license for this documentation. * Key Index:: * Function Index:: * Variable Index:: @end menu @node Overview, Quick start, Top, Top @chapter Overview EasyPG Assistant provides the following features. @itemize @bullet @item Key management. @item Cryptographic operations on regions. @item Cryptographic operations on files. @item Dired integration. @item Mail-mode integration. @item Automatic encryption/decryption of *.gpg files. @end itemize @node Quick start, Commands, Overview, Top @chapter Quick start EasyPG Assistant commands are prefixed by @samp{epa-}. For example, @itemize @bullet @item To browse your keyring, type @kbd{M-x epa-list-keys} @item To create a cleartext signature of the region, type @kbd{M-x epa-sign-region} @item To encrypt a file, type @kbd{M-x epa-encrypt-file} @end itemize EasyPG Assistant provides several cryptographic features which can be integrated into other Emacs functionalities. For example, automatic encryption/decryption of @file{*.gpg} files. @node Commands, GnuPG version compatibility, Quick start, Top @chapter Commands This chapter introduces various commands for typical use cases. @menu * Key management:: * Cryptographic operations on regions:: * Cryptographic operations on files:: * Dired integration:: * Mail-mode integration:: * Encrypting/decrypting gpg files:: @end menu @node Key management, Cryptographic operations on regions, Commands, Commands @section Key management Probably the first step of using EasyPG Assistant is to browse your keyring. @kbd{M-x epa-list-keys} is corresponding to @samp{gpg --list-keys} from the command line. @deffn Command epa-list-keys name mode Show all keys matched with @var{name} from the public keyring. @end deffn @noindent The output looks as follows. @example u A5B6B2D4B15813FE Daiki Ueno @end example @noindent A character on the leftmost column indicates the trust level of the key. If it is @samp{u}, the key is marked as ultimately trusted. The second column is the key ID, and the rest is the user ID. You can move over entries by @key{TAB}. If you type @key{RET} or click button1 on an entry, you will see more detailed information about the key you selected. @example u Daiki Ueno u A5B6B2D4B15813FE 1024bits DSA Created: 2001-10-09 Expires: 2007-09-04 Capabilities: sign certify Fingerprint: 8003 7CD0 0F1A 9400 03CA 50AA A5B6 B2D4 B158 13FE u 4447461B2A9BEA2D 2048bits ELGAMAL_E Created: 2001-10-09 Expires: 2007-09-04 Capabilities: encrypt Fingerprint: 9003 D76B 73B7 4A8A E588 10AF 4447 461B 2A9B EA2D @end example @noindent To browse your private keyring, use @kbd{M-x epa-list-secret-keys}. @deffn Command epa-list-secret-keys name Show all keys matched with @var{name} from the private keyring. @end deffn @noindent In @file{*Keys*} buffer, several commands are available. The common use case is to export some keys to a file. To do that, type @kbd{m} to select keys, type @kbd{o}, and then supply the filename. Below are other commands related to key management. Some of them take a file as input/output, and others take the current region. @deffn Command epa-insert-keys keys Insert selected @var{keys} after the point. It will let you select keys before insertion. By default, it will encode keys in the OpenPGP armor format. @end deffn @deffn Command epa-import-keys file Import keys from @var{file} to your keyring. @end deffn @deffn Command epa-import-keys-region start end Import keys from the current region between @var{start} and @var{end} to your keyring. @end deffn @deffn Command epa-import-armor-in-region start end Import keys in the OpenPGP armor format in the current region between @var{start} and @var{end}. The difference from @code{epa-import-keys-region} is that @code{epa-import-armor-in-region} searches armors in the region and applies @code{epa-import-keys-region} to each of them. @end deffn @deffn Command epa-delete-keys allow-secret Delete selected keys. If @var{allow-secret} is non-@code{nil}, it also delete the secret keys. @end deffn @node Cryptographic operations on regions, Cryptographic operations on files, Key management, Commands @section Cryptographic operations on regions @deffn Command epa-decrypt-region start end Decrypt the current region between @var{start} and @var{end}. It replaces the region with the decrypted text. @end deffn @deffn Command epa-decrypt-armor-in-region start end Decrypt OpenPGP armors in the current region between @var{start} and @var{end}. The difference from @code{epa-decrypt-region} is that @code{epa-decrypt-armor-in-region} searches armors in the region and applies @code{epa-decrypt-region} to each of them. That is, this command does not alter the original text around armors. @end deffn @deffn Command epa-verify-region start end Verify the current region between @var{start} and @var{end}. It sends the verification result to the minibuffer or a popup window. It replaces the region with the signed text. @end deffn @deffn Command epa-verify-cleartext-in-region Verify OpenPGP cleartext blocks in the current region between @var{start} and @var{end}. The difference from @code{epa-verify-region} is that @code{epa-verify-cleartext-in-region} searches OpenPGP cleartext blocks in the region and applies @code{epa-verify-region} to each of them. That is, this command does not alter the original text around OpenPGP cleartext blocks. @end deffn @deffn Command epa-sign-region start end signers type Sign the current region between @var{start} and @var{end}. By default, it creates a cleartext signature. If a prefix argument is given, it will let you select signing keys, and then a signature type. @end deffn @deffn Command epa-encrypt-region start end recipients sign signers Encrypt the current region between @var{start} and @var{end}. It will let you select recipients. If a prefix argument is given, it will also ask you whether or not to sign the text before encryption and if you answered yes, it will let you select the signing keys. @end deffn @node Cryptographic operations on files, Dired integration, Cryptographic operations on regions, Commands @section Cryptographic operations on files @deffn Command epa-decrypt-file file &optional output Decrypt @var{file}. If you do not specify the name @var{output} to use for the decrypted file, this function prompts for the value to use. @end deffn @deffn Command epa-verify-file file Verify @var{file}. @end deffn @deffn Command epa-sign-file file signers type Sign @var{file}. If a prefix argument is given, it will let you select signing keys, and then a signature type. @end deffn @deffn Command epa-encrypt-file file recipients Encrypt @var{file}. It will let you select recipients. @end deffn @node Dired integration, Mail-mode integration, Cryptographic operations on files, Commands @section Dired integration EasyPG Assistant extends Dired Mode for GNU Emacs to allow users to easily do cryptographic operations on files. For example, @example M-x dired (mark some files) : e (or M-x epa-dired-do-encrypt) (select recipients by 'm' and click [OK]) @end example @noindent The following keys are assigned. @table @kbd @item : d @kindex : d @findex epa-dired-do-decrypt Decrypt marked files. @item : v @kindex : v @findex epa-dired-do-verify Verify marked files. @item : s @kindex : s @findex epa-dired-do-sign Sign marked files. @item : e @kindex : e @findex epa-dired-do-encrypt Encrypt marked files. @end table @node Mail-mode integration, Encrypting/decrypting gpg files, Dired integration, Commands @section Mail-mode integration EasyPG Assistant provides a minor mode @code{epa-mail-mode} to help user compose inline OpenPGP messages. Inline OpenPGP is a traditional style of sending signed/encrypted emails by embedding raw OpenPGP blobs inside a message body, not using modern MIME format. NOTE: Inline OpenPGP is not recommended and you should consider to use PGP/MIME@. See @uref{https://josefsson.org/inline-openpgp-considered-harmful.html, Inline OpenPGP in E-mail is bad@comma{} Mm'kay?}. @noindent Once @code{epa-mail-mode} is enabled, the following keys are assigned. You can do it by @kbd{C-u 1 M-x epa-mail-mode} or through the Customize interface. Try @kbd{M-x customize-variable epa-global-mail-mode}. @table @kbd @item C-c C-e C-d and C-c C-e d @kindex C-c C-e C-d @kindex C-c C-e d @findex epa-mail-decrypt Decrypt OpenPGP armors in the current buffer. @item C-c C-e C-v and C-c C-e v @kindex C-c C-e C-v @kindex C-c C-e v @findex epa-mail-verify Verify OpenPGP cleartext signed messages in the current buffer. @item C-c C-e C-s and C-c C-e s @kindex C-c C-e C-s @kindex C-c C-e s @findex epa-mail-sign Compose a signed message from the current buffer, using your default key. With a prefix argument, select the key to use interactively. @item C-c C-e C-e and C-c C-e e @kindex C-c C-e C-e @kindex C-c C-e e @findex epa-mail-encrypt @vindex epa-mail-aliases Compose an encrypted message from the current buffer. By default it tries to build the recipient list from @samp{to}, @samp{cc}, and @samp{bcc} fields of the mail header. To include your key in the recipient list, use @samp{encrypt-to} option in @file{~/.gnupg/gpg.conf}. This function translates recipient addresses using the @code{epa-mail-aliases} list. You can also use that option to ignore specific recipients for encryption purposes. With prefix argument, asks you to select the recipients interactively, whether to sign, and which key(s) to sign with. @end table @node Encrypting/decrypting gpg files, , Mail-mode integration, Commands @section Encrypting/decrypting gpg files By default, every file whose name ends with @file{.gpg} will be treated as encrypted. That is, when you open such a file, the decrypted text is inserted in the buffer rather than encrypted one. Similarly, when you save the buffer to a @file{foo.gpg} file, encrypted data is written. The file name pattern for encrypted files can be controlled by @code{epa-file-name-regexp}. @defvar epa-file-name-regexp Regexp which matches filenames treated as encrypted. @end defvar You can disable this behavior with @kbd{M-x epa-file-disable}, and then get it back with @kbd{M-x epa-file-enable}. @deffn Command epa-file-disable Disable automatic encryption/decryption of *.gpg files. @end deffn @deffn Command epa-file-enable Enable automatic encryption/decryption of *.gpg files. @end deffn @noindent By default, @code{epa-file} will try to use symmetric encryption, aka password-based encryption. If you want to use public key encryption instead, do @kbd{M-x epa-file-select-keys}, which pops up the key selection dialog. @deffn Command epa-file-select-keys Select recipient keys to encrypt the currently visiting file with public key encryption. @end deffn You can also change the default behavior with the variable @code{epa-file-select-keys}. @defvar epa-file-select-keys Control whether or not to pop up the key selection dialog. @end defvar For frequently visited files, it might be a good idea to tell Emacs which encryption method should be used through @xref{File Variables, , , emacs, the Emacs Manual}. Use the @code{epa-file-encrypt-to} local variable for this. @vindex epa-file-encrypt-to For example, if you want an Elisp file to be encrypted with a public key associated with an email address @samp{ueno@@unixuser.org}, add the following line to the beginning of the file. @cartouche @lisp ;; -*- epa-file-encrypt-to: ("ueno@@unixuser.org") -*- @end lisp @end cartouche Instead, if you want the file always (regardless of the value of the @code{epa-file-select-keys} variable) encrypted with symmetric encryption, change the line as follows. @cartouche @lisp ;; -*- epa-file-encrypt-to: nil -*- @end lisp @end cartouche Other variables which control the automatic encryption/decryption behavior are below. @defvar epa-file-cache-passphrase-for-symmetric-encryption If non-@code{nil}, cache passphrase for symmetric encryption. The default value is @code{nil}. @end defvar @defvar epa-file-inhibit-auto-save If non-@code{nil}, disable auto-saving when opening an encrypted file. The default value is @code{t}. @end defvar @node GnuPG version compatibility, Caching Passphrases, Commands, Top @chapter GnuPG version compatibility As of February 2016, there are three active branches of GnuPG: 2.1, 2.0, and 1.4. All those branches should work flawlessly with Emacs with basic use-cases. They have, however, some incompatible characteristics, which might be visible when used from Emacs. @itemize @item The key store format used by GnuPG 2.1 is incompatible with 1.4. That means, a key created with GnuPG 2.1 is not visible with 1.4. @item GnuPG 2.1 uses a fixed address for the Unix domain socket used to communicate with gpg-agent. The @code{GPG_AGENT_INFO} environment variable, which is used by GnuPG 2.0 and 1.4, is ignored. That means, if your system has both GnuPG 2.1 and 1.4, the gpg command from GnuPG 1.4 is not able to use gpg-agent provided by 2.1 (at least out of box). @item GnuPG 2.1 (2.1.5 or later) has a mechanism to direct the Pinentry password prompt to the Emacs minibuffer@footnote{To enable this feature, add @samp{allow-emacs-pinentry} to @file{~/.gnupg/gpg-agent.conf} and let gpg-agent reload the configuration, with: @samp{gpgconf --reload gpg-agent}}, which would be useful when you use Emacs remotely or from a text-only terminal. That feature is not available in other versions, and more specifically, with 2.0 (as of 2.0.29), there is no way to avoid the graphical prompt. @end itemize @node Caching Passphrases, Bug Reports, GnuPG version compatibility, Top @chapter Caching Passphrases Typing passphrases is a troublesome task if you frequently open and close the same file. GnuPG and EasyPG Assistant provide mechanisms to remember your passphrases for a limited time. Using these, you only need to re-enter the passphrase occasionally. However, the configuration is a bit confusing since it depends on your GnuPG installation@xref{GnuPG version compatibility}, encryption method (symmetric or public key), and whether or not you want to use gpg-agent. Here are some questions: @enumerate @item Do you use GnuPG version 2.1 or 2.0 instead of GnuPG version 1.4? @item Do you use symmetric encryption rather than public key encryption? @item Do you want to use gpg-agent? @end enumerate Here are configurations depending on your answers: @multitable {111} {222} {333} {configuration configuration configuration} @item @b{1} @tab @b{2} @tab @b{3} @tab Configuration @item Yes @tab Yes @tab Yes @tab Set up gpg-agent. @item Yes @tab Yes @tab No @tab You can't, without gpg-agent. @item Yes @tab No @tab Yes @tab Set up gpg-agent. @item Yes @tab No @tab No @tab You can't, without gpg-agent. @item No @tab Yes @tab Yes @tab Set up elisp passphrase cache. @item No @tab Yes @tab No @tab Set up elisp passphrase cache. @item No @tab No @tab Yes @tab Set up gpg-agent. @item No @tab No @tab No @tab You can't, without gpg-agent. @end multitable To set up gpg-agent, follow the instruction in GnuPG manual. @pxref{Invoking GPG-AGENT, , Invoking GPG-AGENT, gnupg}. To set up elisp passphrase cache, set @code{epa-file-cache-passphrase-for-symmetric-encryption}. @xref{Encrypting/decrypting gpg files}. @node Bug Reports, GNU Free Documentation License, Caching Passphrases, Top @chapter Bug Reports Bugs and problems with EasyPG Assistant are actively worked on by the Emacs development team. Feature requests and suggestions are also more than welcome. Use @kbd{M-x report-emacs-bug}, @pxref{Bugs, , Bugs, emacs, Reporting Bugs}. When submitting a bug report, please try to describe in excruciating detail the steps required to reproduce the problem. Also try to collect necessary information to fix the bug, such as: @itemize @bullet @item the GnuPG version. Send the output of @samp{gpg --version}. @item the GnuPG configuration. Send the contents of @file{~/.gnupg/gpg.conf}. @end itemize Before reporting the bug, you should set @code{epg-debug} in the @file{~/.emacs} file and repeat the bug. Then, include the contents of the @file{ *epg-debug*} buffer. Note that the first letter of the buffer name is a whitespace. @node GNU Free Documentation License, Key Index, Bug Reports, Top @appendix GNU Free Documentation License @include doclicense.texi @node Key Index, Function Index, GNU Free Documentation License, Top @unnumbered Key Index @printindex ky @node Function Index, Variable Index, Key Index, Top @unnumbered Function Index @printindex fn @node Variable Index, , Function Index, Top @unnumbered Variable Index @printindex vr @bye @c End: