1 \input texinfo @c -*- mode: texinfo -*-
3 @setfilename ../../info/epa.info
4 @settitle EasyPG Assistant User's Manual
5 @documentencoding UTF-8
11 This file describes EasyPG Assistant @value{VERSION}.
13 Copyright @copyright{} 2007--2014 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
16 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
17 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.3 or
18 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no
19 Invariant Sections, with the Front-Cover Texts being ``A GNU Manual,''
20 and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the license
21 is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation License''.
23 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have the freedom to copy and
24 modify this GNU manual.''
28 @dircategory Emacs misc features
30 * EasyPG Assistant: (epa). An Emacs user interface to GNU Privacy Guard.
34 @title EasyPG Assistant
39 @vskip 0pt plus 1filll
46 @top EasyPG Assistant user's manual
48 EasyPG Assistant is an Emacs user interface to GNU Privacy Guard
49 (GnuPG, @pxref{Top, , Top, gnupg, Using the GNU Privacy Guard}).
51 EasyPG Assistant is a part of the package called EasyPG, an all-in-one
52 GnuPG interface for Emacs. EasyPG also contains the library interface
53 called EasyPG Library.
63 * Caching Passphrases::
65 * GNU Free Documentation License:: The license for this documentation.
74 EasyPG Assistant provides the following features.
78 @item Cryptographic operations on regions.
79 @item Cryptographic operations on files.
80 @item Dired integration.
81 @item Mail-mode integration.
82 @item Automatic encryption/decryption of *.gpg files.
88 EasyPG Assistant commands are prefixed by @samp{epa-}. For example,
91 @item To browse your keyring, type @kbd{M-x epa-list-keys}
93 @item To create a cleartext signature of the region, type @kbd{M-x epa-sign-region}
95 @item To encrypt a file, type @kbd{M-x epa-encrypt-file}
98 EasyPG Assistant provides several cryptographic features which can be
99 integrated into other Emacs functionalities. For example, automatic
100 encryption/decryption of @file{*.gpg} files.
105 This chapter introduces various commands for typical use cases.
109 * Cryptographic operations on regions::
110 * Cryptographic operations on files::
111 * Dired integration::
112 * Mail-mode integration::
113 * Encrypting/decrypting gpg files::
117 @section Key management
118 Probably the first step of using EasyPG Assistant is to browse your
119 keyring. @kbd{M-x epa-list-keys} is corresponding to @samp{gpg
120 --list-keys} from the command line.
122 @deffn Command epa-list-keys name mode
123 Show all keys matched with @var{name} from the public keyring.
127 The output looks as follows.
130 u A5B6B2D4B15813FE Daiki Ueno <ueno@@unixuser.org>
134 A character on the leftmost column indicates the trust level of the
135 key. If it is @samp{u}, the key is marked as ultimately trusted. The
136 second column is the key ID, and the rest is the user ID.
138 You can move over entries by @key{TAB}. If you type @key{RET} or
139 click button1 on an entry, you will see more detailed information
140 about the key you selected.
143 u Daiki Ueno <ueno@@unixuser.org>
144 u A5B6B2D4B15813FE 1024bits DSA
147 Capabilities: sign certify
148 Fingerprint: 8003 7CD0 0F1A 9400 03CA 50AA A5B6 B2D4 B158 13FE
149 u 4447461B2A9BEA2D 2048bits ELGAMAL_E
152 Capabilities: encrypt
153 Fingerprint: 9003 D76B 73B7 4A8A E588 10AF 4447 461B 2A9B EA2D
157 To browse your private keyring, use @kbd{M-x epa-list-secret-keys}.
159 @deffn Command epa-list-secret-keys name
160 Show all keys matched with @var{name} from the private keyring.
164 In @file{*Keys*} buffer, several commands are available. The common
165 use case is to export some keys to a file. To do that, type @kbd{m}
166 to select keys, type @kbd{o}, and then supply the filename.
168 Below are other commands related to key management. Some of them take
169 a file as input/output, and others take the current region.
171 @deffn Command epa-insert-keys keys
172 Insert selected @var{keys} after the point. It will let you select
173 keys before insertion. By default, it will encode keys in the OpenPGP
177 @deffn Command epa-import-keys file
178 Import keys from @var{file} to your keyring.
181 @deffn Command epa-import-keys-region start end
182 Import keys from the current region between @var{start} and @var{end}
186 @deffn Command epa-import-armor-in-region start end
187 Import keys in the OpenPGP armor format in the current region between
188 @var{start} and @var{end}. The difference from
189 @code{epa-import-keys-region} is that
190 @code{epa-import-armor-in-region} searches armors in the region and
191 applies @code{epa-import-keys-region} to each of them.
194 @deffn Command epa-delete-keys allow-secret
195 Delete selected keys. If @var{allow-secret} is non-@code{nil}, it
196 also delete the secret keys.
199 @node Cryptographic operations on regions
200 @section Cryptographic operations on regions
202 @deffn Command epa-decrypt-region start end
203 Decrypt the current region between @var{start} and @var{end}. It
204 replaces the region with the decrypted text.
207 @deffn Command epa-decrypt-armor-in-region start end
208 Decrypt OpenPGP armors in the current region between @var{start} and
209 @var{end}. The difference from @code{epa-decrypt-region} is that
210 @code{epa-decrypt-armor-in-region} searches armors in the region
211 and applies @code{epa-decrypt-region} to each of them. That is, this
212 command does not alter the original text around armors.
215 @deffn Command epa-verify-region start end
216 Verify the current region between @var{start} and @var{end}. It sends
217 the verification result to the minibuffer or a popup window. It
218 replaces the region with the signed text.
221 @deffn Command epa-verify-cleartext-in-region
222 Verify OpenPGP cleartext blocks in the current region between
223 @var{start} and @var{end}. The difference from
224 @code{epa-verify-region} is that @code{epa-verify-cleartext-in-region}
225 searches OpenPGP cleartext blocks in the region and applies
226 @code{epa-verify-region} to each of them. That is, this command does
227 not alter the original text around OpenPGP cleartext blocks.
230 @deffn Command epa-sign-region start end signers type
231 Sign the current region between @var{start} and @var{end}. By
232 default, it creates a cleartext signature. If a prefix argument is
233 given, it will let you select signing keys, and then a signature
237 @deffn Command epa-encrypt-region start end recipients sign signers
238 Encrypt the current region between @var{start} and @var{end}. It will
239 let you select recipients. If a prefix argument is given, it will
240 also ask you whether or not to sign the text before encryption and if
241 you answered yes, it will let you select the signing keys.
244 @node Cryptographic operations on files
245 @section Cryptographic operations on files
247 @deffn Command epa-decrypt-file file &optional output
248 Decrypt @var{file}. If you do not specify the name @var{output} to
249 use for the decrypted file, this function prompts for the value to use.
252 @deffn Command epa-verify-file file
256 @deffn Command epa-sign-file file signers type
257 Sign @var{file}. If a prefix argument is given, it will let you
258 select signing keys, and then a signature type.
261 @deffn Command epa-encrypt-file file recipients
262 Encrypt @var{file}. It will let you select recipients.
265 @node Dired integration
266 @section Dired integration
268 EasyPG Assistant extends Dired Mode for GNU Emacs to allow users to
269 easily do cryptographic operations on files. For example,
274 : e (or M-x epa-dired-do-encrypt)
275 (select recipients by 'm' and click [OK])
279 The following keys are assigned.
284 @findex epa-dired-do-decrypt
285 Decrypt marked files.
289 @findex epa-dired-do-verify
294 @findex epa-dired-do-sign
299 @findex epa-dired-do-encrypt
300 Encrypt marked files.
304 @node Mail-mode integration
305 @section Mail-mode integration
307 EasyPG Assistant provides a minor mode @code{epa-mail-mode} to help
308 user compose inline OpenPGP messages. Inline OpenPGP is a traditional
309 style of sending signed/encrypted emails by embedding raw OpenPGP
310 blobs inside a message body, not using modern MIME format.
312 NOTE: Inline OpenPGP is not recommended and you should consider to use
314 @uref{http://josefsson.org/inline-openpgp-considered-harmful.html,
315 Inline OpenPGP in E-mail is bad@comma{} Mm'kay?}.
318 Once @code{epa-mail-mode} is enabled, the following keys are assigned.
319 You can do it by @kbd{C-u 1 M-x epa-mail-mode} or through the Customize
320 interface. Try @kbd{M-x customize-variable epa-global-mail-mode}.
323 @item C-c C-e C-d and C-c C-e d
324 @kindex @kbd{C-c C-e C-d}
325 @kindex @kbd{C-c C-e d}
326 @findex epa-mail-decrypt
327 Decrypt OpenPGP armors in the current buffer.
329 @item C-c C-e C-v and C-c C-e v
330 @kindex @kbd{C-c C-e C-v}
331 @kindex @kbd{C-c C-e v}
332 @findex epa-mail-verify
333 Verify OpenPGP cleartext signed messages in the current buffer.
335 @item C-c C-e C-s and C-c C-e s
336 @kindex @kbd{C-c C-e C-s}
337 @kindex @kbd{C-c C-e s}
338 @findex epa-mail-sign
339 Compose a signed message from the current buffer.
341 @item C-c C-e C-e and C-c C-e e
342 @kindex @kbd{C-c C-e C-e}
343 @kindex @kbd{C-c C-e e}
344 @findex epa-mail-encrypt
345 @vindex epa-mail-aliases
346 Compose an encrypted message from the current buffer.
347 By default it tries to build the recipient list from @samp{to},
348 @samp{cc}, and @samp{bcc} fields of the mail header. To include your
349 key in the recipient list, use @samp{encrypt-to} option in
350 @file{~/.gnupg/gpg.conf}. This function translates recipient
351 addresses using the @code{epa-mail-aliases} list. You can also
352 use that option to ignore specific recipients for encryption purposes.
356 @node Encrypting/decrypting gpg files
357 @section Encrypting/decrypting gpg files
358 By default, every file whose name ends with @file{.gpg} will be
359 treated as encrypted. That is, when you open such a file, the
360 decrypted text is inserted in the buffer rather than encrypted one.
361 Similarly, when you save the buffer to a @file{foo.gpg} file,
362 encrypted data is written.
364 The file name pattern for encrypted files can be controlled by
365 @var{epa-file-name-regexp}.
367 @defvar epa-file-name-regexp
368 Regexp which matches filenames treated as encrypted.
371 You can disable this behavior with @kbd{M-x epa-file-disable}, and
372 then get it back with @kbd{M-x epa-file-enable}.
374 @deffn Command epa-file-disable
375 Disable automatic encryption/decryption of *.gpg files.
378 @deffn Command epa-file-enable
379 Enable automatic encryption/decryption of *.gpg files.
383 By default, @code{epa-file} will try to use symmetric encryption, aka
384 password-based encryption. If you want to use public key encryption
385 instead, do @kbd{M-x epa-file-select-keys}, which will pops up the key
388 @deffn Command epa-file-select-keys
389 Select recipient keys to encrypt the currently visiting file with
390 public key encryption.
393 You can also change the default behavior with the variable
394 @var{epa-file-select-keys}.
396 @defvar epa-file-select-keys
397 Control whether or not to pop up the key selection dialog.
400 For frequently visited files, it might be a good idea to tell Emacs
401 which encryption method should be used through @xref{File Variables, ,
402 , emacs, the Emacs Manual}. Use the @code{epa-file-encrypt-to} local
404 @vindex epa-file-encrypt-to
406 For example, if you want an Elisp file to be encrypted with a
407 public key associated with an email address @samp{ueno@@unixuser.org},
408 add the following line to the beginning of the file.
412 ;; -*- epa-file-encrypt-to: ("ueno@@unixuser.org") -*-
416 Instead, if you want the file always (regardless of the value of the
417 @code{epa-file-select-keys} variable) encrypted with symmetric
418 encryption, change the line as follows.
422 ;; -*- epa-file-encrypt-to: nil -*-
426 Other variables which control the automatic encryption/decryption
429 @defvar epa-file-cache-passphrase-for-symmetric-encryption
430 If non-@code{nil}, cache passphrase for symmetric encryption. The
431 default value is @code{nil}.
434 @defvar epa-file-inhibit-auto-save
435 If non-@code{nil}, disable auto-saving when opening an encrypted file.
436 The default value is @code{t}.
439 @node Caching Passphrases
440 @chapter Caching Passphrases
442 Typing passphrases is an irritating task if you frequently open and
443 close the same file. GnuPG and EasyPG Assistant provide mechanisms to
444 remember your passphrases. However, the configuration is a bit
445 confusing since it depends on your GnuPG installation (GnuPG version 1 or
446 GnuPG version 2), encryption method (symmetric or public key), and whether or
447 not you want to use gpg-agent. Here are some questions:
450 @item Do you use GnuPG version 2 instead of GnuPG version 1?
451 @item Do you use symmetric encryption rather than public key encryption?
452 @item Do you want to use gpg-agent?
455 Here are configurations depending on your answers:
457 @multitable {111} {222} {333} {configuration configuration configuration}
458 @item @b{1} @tab @b{2} @tab @b{3} @tab Configuration
459 @item Yes @tab Yes @tab Yes @tab Set up gpg-agent.
460 @item Yes @tab Yes @tab No @tab You can't, without gpg-agent.
461 @item Yes @tab No @tab Yes @tab Set up gpg-agent.
462 @item Yes @tab No @tab No @tab You can't, without gpg-agent.
463 @item No @tab Yes @tab Yes @tab Set up elisp passphrase cache.
464 @item No @tab Yes @tab No @tab Set up elisp passphrase cache.
465 @item No @tab No @tab Yes @tab Set up gpg-agent.
466 @item No @tab No @tab No @tab You can't, without gpg-agent.
469 To set up gpg-agent, follow the instruction in GnuPG manual.
470 @pxref{Invoking GPG-AGENT, , Invoking GPG-AGENT, gnupg}.
472 To set up elisp passphrase cache, set
473 @code{epa-file-cache-passphrase-for-symmetric-encryption}.
474 @xref{Encrypting/decrypting gpg files}.
479 Bugs and problems with EasyPG Assistant are actively worked on by the
480 Emacs development team. Feature requests and suggestions are also
481 more than welcome. Use @kbd{M-x report-emacs-bug}, @pxref{Bugs, ,
482 Bugs, emacs, Reporting Bugs}.
484 When submitting a bug report, please try to describe in excruciating
485 detail the steps required to reproduce the problem. Also try to
486 collect necessary information to fix the bug, such as:
489 @item the GnuPG version. Send the output of @samp{gpg --version}.
490 @item the GnuPG configuration. Send the contents of @file{~/.gnupg/gpg.conf}.
493 Before reporting the bug, you should set @code{epg-debug} in the
494 @file{~/.emacs} file and repeat the bug. Then, include the contents
495 of the @file{ *epg-debug*} buffer. Note that the first letter of the
496 buffer name is a whitespace.
498 @node GNU Free Documentation License
499 @appendix GNU Free Documentation License
500 @include doclicense.texi
503 @unnumbered Key Index
507 @unnumbered Function Index
511 @unnumbered Variable Index