Technical Notes

Manpages - gpgtar.1

NAME

gpgtar - Encrypt or sign files into an archive

SYNOPSIS

gpgtar [/options/] filename1 [ filename2, … ] directory1 [ directory2, … ]

DESCRIPTION

gpgtar encrypts or signs files into an archive. It is an gpg-ized tar using the same format as used by PGP's PGP Zip.

OPTIONS

gpgtar understands these options:

–create
Put given files and directories into a vanilla ``ustar'' archive.
–extract
Extract all files from a vanilla ``ustar'' archive. If no file name is given (or it is "-") the archive is taken from stdin.
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–encrypt
-e :: Encrypt given files and directories into an archive. This option may be combined with option –symmetric for an archive that may be decrypted via a secret key or a passphrase.
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–decrypt
-d :: Extract all files from an encrypted archive. If no file name is given (or it is "-") the archive is taken from stdin.
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–sign
-s :: Make a signed archive from the given files and directories. This can be combined with option –encrypt to create a signed and then encrypted archive.
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–list-archive
-t :: List the contents of the specified archive. If no file name is given (or it is "-") the archive is taken from stdin.
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–symmetric
-c :: Encrypt with a symmetric cipher using a passphrase. The default symmetric cipher used is AES-128, but may be chosen with the –cipher-algo option to gpg.
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–recipient user
-r user :: Encrypt for user id user. For details see gpg.
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–local-user user
-u user :: Use user as the key to sign with. For details see gpg.
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–output file
-o file :: Write the archive to the specified file file.
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–verbose
-v :: Enable extra informational output.
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–quiet
-q :: Try to be as quiet as possible.
–skip-crypto
Skip all crypto operations and create or extract vanilla ``ustar'' archives.
–dry-run
Do not actually output the extracted files.
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–directory dir
-C dir :: Extract the files into the directory dir. The default is to take the directory name from the input filename. If no input filename is known a directory named ‘/GPGARCH/' is used. For tarball creation, switch to directory dir before performing any operations.
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–files-from file
-T file :: Take the file names to work from the file file; one file per line.
–null
Modify option –files-from to use a binary nul instead of a linefeed to separate file names.
–utf8-strings
Assume that the file names read by –files-from are UTF-8 encoded. This option has an effect only on Windows where the active code page is otherwise assumed.
–openpgp
This option has no effect because OpenPGP encryption and signing is the default.
–cms
This option is reserved and shall not be used. It will eventually be used to encrypt or sign using the CMS protocol; but that is not yet implemented.
–batch
Use batch mode. Never ask but use the default action. This option is passed directly to gpg.
–yes
Assume "yes" on most questions. Often used together with –batch to overwrite existing files. This option is passed directly to gpg.
–no
Assume "no" on most questions. This option is passed directly to gpg.
–require-compliance
This option is passed directly to gpg.
–status-fd n
Write special status strings to the file descriptor n. See the file DETAILS in the documentation for a listing of them.
–with-log
When extracting an encrypted tarball also write a log file with the gpg output to a file named after the extraction directory with the suffix ".log".
–set-filename file
Use the last component of file as the output directory. The default is to take the directory name from the input filename. If no input filename is known a directory named ‘/GPGARCH/' is used. This option is deprecated in favor of option –directory.
–no-compress
This option tells gpg to disable compression (i.e. using option -z0). It is useful for archiving only large files which are are already compressed (e.g. a set of videos).
–gpg gpgcmd
Use the specified command gpgcmd instead of gpg.
–gpg-args args
Pass the specified extra options to gpg.
–tar-args args
Assume args are standard options of the command tar and parse them. The only supported tar options are "–directory", "–files-from", and "–null" This is an obsolete options because those supported tar options can also be given directly.
–tar command
This is a dummy option for backward compatibility.
–version
Print version of the program and exit.
–help
Display a brief help page and exit.

EXAMPLES

Encrypt the contents of directory ‘/mydocs/' for user Bob to file ‘/test1/':

gpgtar --encrypt --output test1 -r Bob mydocs

List the contents of archive ‘/test1/':

gpgtar --list-archive test1

DIAGNOSTICS

The program returns 0 if everything was fine, 1 otherwise.

SEE ALSO

*gpg*(1), *tar*(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.