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@c Copyright (C) 2004 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
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@c This is part of the GnuPG manual.
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@c For copying conditions, see the file GnuPG.texi.
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GnuPG comes with a couple of smaller tools:
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* watchgnupg:: Read logs from a socket.
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* addgnupghome:: Create .gnupg home directories.
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* gpgconf:: Modify .gnupg home directories.
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* gpgsm-gencert.sh:: Generate an X.509 certificate request.
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* gpg-preset-passphrase:: Put a passphrase into the cache.
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@section Read logs from a socket
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Most of the main utilities are able to write there log files to a
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Unix Domain socket if configured that way. @command{watchgnupg} is a simple
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listener for such a socket. It ameliorates the output with a time
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stamp and makes sure that long lines are not interspersed with log
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output from other utilities.
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@command{watchgnupg} is commonly invoked as
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@samp{watchgnupg --force ~/.gnupg/S.log}
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This starts it on the current terminal for listening on the socket
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@file{~/.gnupg/S.log}.
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@command{watchgnupg} understands these options:
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Delete an already existing socket file.
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Enable extra informational output.
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print version of the program and exit
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Display a brief help page and exit
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@section Create .gnupg home directories.
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If GnuPG is installed on a system with existing user accounts, it is
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sometimes required to populate the GnuPG home directory with existing
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files. Especially a @file{trustlist.txt} and a keybox with some
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initial certificates are often desired. This scripts help to do this
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by copying all files from @file{/etc/skel/.gnupg} to the home
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directories of the accounts given on the command line. It takes care
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not to overwrite existing GnuPG home directories.
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@command{addgnupghome} is invoked by root as:
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@samp{addgnupghome account1 account2 ... accountn}
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@section Modify .gnupg home directories.
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The @command{gpgconf} is a utility to automatically and reasonable
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safely query and modify configuration files in the @file{.gnupg} home
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directory. It is designed not to be invoked manually by the user, but
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automatically by graphical user interfaces (GUI).@footnote{Please note
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that currently no locking is done, so concurrent access should be
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avoided. There are some precautions to avoid corruption with
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concurrent usage, but results may be inconsistent and some changes may
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get lost. The stateless design makes it difficult to provide more
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@command{gpgconf} provides access to the configuration of one or more
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components of the GnuPG system. These components correspond more or
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less to the programs that exist in the GnuPG framework, like GnuPG,
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GPGSM, DirMngr, etc. But this is not a strict one-to-one
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relationship. Not all configuration options are available through
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@command{gpgconf}. @command{gpgconf} provides a generic and abstract
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method to access the most important configuration options that can
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feasibly be controlled via such a mechanism.
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@command{gpgconf} can be used to gather and change the options
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available in each component, and can also provide their default
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values. @command{gpgconf} will give detailed type information that
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can be used to restrict the user's input without making an attempt to
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@command{gpgconf} provides the backend of a configuration editor. The
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configuration editor would usually be a graphical user interface
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program, that allows to display the current options, their default
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values, and allows the user to make changes to the options. These
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changes can then be made active with @command{gpgconf} again. Such a
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program that uses @command{gpgconf} in this way will be called GUI
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throughout this section.
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* Invoking gpgconf:: List of all commands and options.
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* Format conventions:: Formatting conventions relevant for all commands.
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* Listing components:: List all gpgconf components.
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* Listing options:: List all options of a component.
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* Changing options:: Changing options of a component.
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@node Invoking gpgconf
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@subsection Invoking gpgconf
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One of the following commands must be given:
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@item --list-components
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List all components. This is the default command used if none is
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@item --list-options @var{component}
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List all options of the component @var{component}.
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@item --change-options @var{component}
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Change the options of the component @var{component}.
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The following options may be used:
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@c FIXME: Not yet supported.
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@c @item -o @var{file}
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@c @itemx --output @var{file}
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@c Use @var{file} as output file.
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Outputs additional information while running. Specifically, this
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extends numerical field values by human-readable descriptions.
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@c FIXME: Not yet supported.
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@c Do not actually change anything. Useful together with
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@c @code{--change-options} for testing purposes.
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Only used together with @code{--change-options}. If one of the
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modified options can be changed in a running daemon process, signal
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the running daemon to ask it to reparse its configuration file after
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This means that the changes will take effect at run-time, as far as
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this is possible. Otherwise, they will take effect at the next start
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of the respective backend programs.
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@node Format conventions
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@subsection Format conventions
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Some lines in the output of @command{gpgconf} contain a list of
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colon-separated fields. The following conventions apply:
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The GUI program is required to strip off trailing newline and/or
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carriage return characters from the output.
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@command{gpgconf} will never leave out fields. If a certain version
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provides a certain field, this field will always be present in all
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@command{gpgconf} versions from that time on.
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Future versions of @command{gpgconf} might append fields to the list.
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New fields will always be separated from the previously last field by
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a colon separator. The GUI should be prepared to parse the last field
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it knows about up until a colon or end of line.
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Not all fields are defined under all conditions. You are required to
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ignore the content of undefined fields.
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There are several standard types for the content of a field:
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Some fields contain strings that are not escaped in any way. Such
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fields are described to be used @emph{verbatim}. These fields will
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never contain a colon character (for obvious reasons). No de-escaping
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or other formatting is required to use the field content. This is for
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easy parsing of the output, when it is known that the content can
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never contain any special characters.
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@item percent-escaped
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Some fields contain strings that are described to be
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@emph{percent-escaped}. Such strings need to be de-escaped before
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their content can be presented to the user. A percent-escaped string
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is de-escaped by replacing all occurences of @code{%XY} by the byte
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that has the hexadecimal value @code{XY}. @code{X} and @code{Y} are
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from the set @code{0-9a-f}.
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Some fields contain strings that are described to be @emph{localised}.
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Such strings are translated to the active language and formatted in
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the active character set.
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@item @w{unsigned number}
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Some fields contain an @emph{unsigned number}. This number will
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always fit into a 32-bit unsigned integer variable. The number may be
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followed by a space, followed by a human readable description of that
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value (if the verbose option is used). You should ignore everything
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in the field that follows the number.
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@item @w{signed number}
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Some fields contain a @emph{signed number}. This number will always
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fit into a 32-bit signed integer variable. The number may be followed
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by a space, followed by a human readable description of that value (if
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the verbose option is used). You should ignore everything in the
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field that follows the number.
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Some fields contain an @emph{option} argument. The format of an
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option argument depends on the type of the option and on some flags:
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The simplest case is that the option does not take an argument at all
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(@var{type} @code{0}). Then the option argument is an unsigned number
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that specifies how often the option occurs. If the @code{list} flag
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is not set, then the only valid number is @code{1}. Options that do
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not take an argument never have the @code{default} or @code{optional
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If the option takes a number argument (@var{alt-type} is @code{2} or
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@code{3}), and it can only occur once (@code{list} flag is not set),
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then the option argument is either empty (only allowed if the argument
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is optional), or it is a number. A number is a string that begins
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with an optional minus character, followed by one or more digits. The
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number must fit into an integer variable (unsigned or signed,
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depending on @var{alt-type}).
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If the option takes a number argument and it can occur more than once,
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then the option argument is either empty, or it is a comma-separated
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list of numbers as described above.
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If the option takes a string argument (@var{alt-type} is 1), and it
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can only occur once (@code{list} flag is not set) then the option
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argument is either empty (only allowed if the argument is optional),
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or it starts with a double quote character (@code{"}) followed by a
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percent-escaped string that is the argument value. Note that there is
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only a leading double quote character, no trailing one. The double
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quote character is only needed to be able to differentiate between no
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value and the empty string as value.
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If the option takes a number argument and it can occur more than once,
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then the option argument is either empty, or it is a comma-separated
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list of string arguments as described above.
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The active language and character set are currently determined from
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the locale environment of the @command{gpgconf} program.
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@c FIXME: Document the active language and active character set. Allow
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@c to change it via the command line?
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@node Listing components
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@subsection Listing components
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The command @code{--list-components} will list all components that can
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be configured with @command{gpgconf}. Usually, one component will
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correspond to one GnuPG-related program and contain the options of
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that programs configuration file that can be modified using
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@command{gpgconf}. However, this is not necessarily the case. A
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component might also be a group of selected options from several
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programs, or contain entirely virtual options that have a special
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effect rather than changing exactly one option in one configuration
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A component is a set of configuration options that semantically belong
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together. Furthermore, several changes to a component can be made in
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an atomic way with a single operation. The GUI could for example
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provide a menu with one entry for each component, or a window with one
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tabulator sheet per component.
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The command argument @code{--list-components} lists all available
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components, one per line. The format of each line is:
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@code{@var{name}:@var{description}}
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This field contains a name tag of the component. The name tag is used
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to specify the component in all communication with @command{gpgconf}.
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The name tag is to be used @emph{verbatim}. It is thus not in any
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The @emph{string} in this field contains a human-readable description
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of the component. It can be displayed to the user of the GUI for
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informational purposes. It is @emph{percent-escaped} and
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$ gpgconf --list-components
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scdaemon:Smartcard Daemon
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dirmngr:Directory Manager
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@node Listing options
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@subsection Listing options
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Every component contains one or more options. Options may be gathered
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into option groups to allow the GUI to give visual hints to the user
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about which options are related.
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The command argument @code{@w{--list-options @var{component}}} lists
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all options (and the groups they belong to) in the component
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@var{component}, one per line. @var{component} must be the string in
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the field @var{name} in the output of the @code{--list-components}
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There is one line for each option and each group. First come all
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options that are not in any group. Then comes a line describing a
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group. Then come all options that belong into each group. Then comes
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the next group and so on. There does not need to be any group (and in
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this case the output will stop after the last non-grouped option).
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The format of each line is:
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@code{@var{name}:@var{flags}:@var{level}:@var{description}:@var{type}:@var{alt-type}:@var{argname}:@var{default}:@var{argdef}:@var{value}}
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This field contains a name tag for the group or option. The name tag
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is used to specify the group or option in all communication with
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@command{gpgconf}. The name tag is to be used @emph{verbatim}. It is
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thus not in any escaped format.
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The flags field contains an @emph{unsigned number}. Its value is the
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OR-wise combination of the following flag values:
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If this flag is set, this is a line describing a group and not an
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The following flag values are only defined for options (that is, if
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the @code{group} flag is not used).
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@item optional arg (2)
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If this flag is set, the argument is optional. This is never set for
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@var{type} @code{0} (none) options.
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If this flag is set, the option can be given multiple times.
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If this flag is set, the option can be changed at runtime.
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If this flag is set, a default value is available.
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@item default desc (32)
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If this flag is set, a (runtime) default is available. This and the
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@code{default} flag are mutually exclusive.
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@item no arg desc (64)
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If this flag is set, and the @code{optional arg} flag is set, then the
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option has a special meaning if no argument is given.
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This field is defined for options and for groups. It contains an
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@emph{unsigned number} that specifies the expert level under which
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this group or option should be displayed. The following expert levels
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are defined for options (they have analogous meaning for groups):
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This option should always be offered to the user.
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This option may be offered to advanced users.
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This option should only be offered to expert users.
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This option should normally never be displayed, not even to expert
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This option is for internal use only. Ignore it.
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The level of a group will always be the lowest level of all options it
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This field is defined for options and groups. The @emph{string} in
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this field contains a human-readable description of the option or
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group. It can be displayed to the user of the GUI for informational
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purposes. It is @emph{percent-escaped} and @emph{localized}.
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This field is only defined for options. It contains an @emph{unsigned
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number} that specifies the type of the option's argument, if any. The
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following types are defined:
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An @emph{unformatted string}.
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A @emph{signed number}.
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An @emph{unsigned number}.
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A @emph{string} that describes the pathname of a file. The file does
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not necessarily need to exist.
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@item ldap server (33)
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A @emph{string} that describes an LDAP server in the format:
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@code{@var{hostname}:@var{port}:@var{username}:@var{password}:@var{base_dn}}
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More types will be added in the future. Please see the @var{alt-type}
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field for information on how to cope with unknown types.
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This field is identical to @var{type}, except that only the types
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@code{0} to @code{31} are allowed. The GUI is expected to present the
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user the option in the format specified by @var{type}. But if the
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argument type @var{type} is not supported by the GUI, it can still
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display the option in the more generic basic type @var{alt-type}. The
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GUI must support all the defined basic types to be able to display all
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options. More basic types may be added in future versions. If the
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GUI encounters a basic type it doesn't support, it should report an
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error and abort the operation.
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This field is only defined for options with an argument type
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@var{type} that is not @code{0}. In this case it may contain a
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@emph{percent-escaped} and @emph{localised string} that gives a short
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name for the argument. The field may also be empty, though, in which
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case a short name is not known.
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This field is defined only for options. Its format is that of an
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@emph{option argument} (@xref{Format conventions}, for details). If
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the default value is empty, then no default is known. Otherwise, the
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value specifies the default value for this option. Note that this
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field is also meaningful if the option itself does not take a real
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This field is defined only for options for which the @code{optional
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arg} flag is set. If the @code{no arg desc} flag is not set, its
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format is that of an @emph{option argument} (@xref{Format
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conventions}, for details). If the default value is empty, then no
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default is known. Otherwise, the value specifies the default value
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for this option. If the @code{no arg desc} flag is set, the field is
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either empty or contains a description of the effect of this option if
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no argument is given. Note that this field is also meaningful if the
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option itself does not take a real argument.
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This field is defined only for options. Its format is that of an
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@emph{option argument}. If it is empty, then the option is not
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explicitely set in the current configuration, and the default applies
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(if any). Otherwise, it contains the current value of the option.
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Note that this field is also meaningful if the option itself does not
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take a real argument.
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@node Changing options
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@subsection Changing options
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The command @w{@code{--change-options @var{component}}} will attempt
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to change the options of the component @var{component} to the
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specified values. @var{component} must be the string in the field
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@var{name} in the output of the @code{--list-components} command. You
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have to provide the options that shall be changed in the following
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format on standard input:
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@code{@var{name}:@var{flags}:@var{new-value}}
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This is the name of the option to change. @var{name} must be the
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string in the field @var{name} in the output of the
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@code{--list-options} command.
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The flags field contains an @emph{unsigned number}. Its value is the
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OR-wise combination of the following flag values:
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If this flag is set, the option is deleted and the default value is
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used instead (if applicable).
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The new value for the option. This field is only defined if the
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@code{default} flag is not set. The format is that of an @emph{option
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argument}. If it is empty (or the field is omitted), the default
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argument is used (only allowed if the argument is optional for this
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option). Otherwise, the option will be set to the specified value.
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To set the force option, which is of basic type @code{none (0)}:
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$ echo 'force:0:1' | gpgconf --change-options dirmngr
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To delete the force option:
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$ echo 'force:16:' | gpgconf --change-options dirmngr
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The @code{--runtime} option can influence when the changes take
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@node gpgsm-gencert.sh
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@section Generate an X.509 certificate request
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This is a simple tool to interactivly generate a certificate request
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whicl will be printed to stdout.
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@command{gpgsm-gencert.sh} is invoked as:
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@samp{gpgsm-cencert.sh}
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@c GPG-PRESET-PASSPHRASE
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@node gpg-preset-passphrase
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@section Put a passphrase into the cache.
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The @command{gpg-preset-passphrase} is a utility to seed the internal
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cache of a running @command{gpg-agent} with passphrases. It is mainly
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useful for unattended machines, where the usual @command{pinentry} tool
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may not be used and the passphrases for the to be used keys are given at
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Passphrases set with this utility don't expire unless the
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@option{--forget} option is used to explicitly clear them from the cache
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--- or @command{gpg-agent} is either restarted or reloaded (by sending a
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SIGHUP to it). It is necessary to allow this passphrase presetting by
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starting @command{gpg-agent} with the
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@option{--allow-preset-passphrase}.
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* Invoking gpg-preset-passphrase:: List of all commands and options.
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@node Invoking gpg-preset-passphrase
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@subsection List of all commands and options.
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@command{gpg-preset-passphrase} is invoked this way:
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gpg-preset-passphrase [options] [command] @var{keygrip}
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@var{keygrip} is a 40 character string of hexadecimal characters
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identifying the key for which the passphrase should be set or cleared.
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This keygrip is listed along with the key when running the command:
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@code{gpgsm --dump-secret-keys}. One of the following command options
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Preset a passphrase. This is what you usually will
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use. @command{gpg-preset-passphrase} will then read the passphrase from
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Flush the passphrase for the given keygrip from the cache.
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The following additional options may be used:
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Output additional information while running.
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@item -P @var{string}
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@itemx --passphrase @var{string}
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Instead of reading the passphrase from @code{stdin}, use the supplied
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@var{string} as passphrase. Note that this makes the passphrase visible
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doc/tools.texi
