BORG-KEY-CHANGE-ALGORITHM(1)

📦 version 2.0.0b25, in ubuntu stonking

💖 borg-key-change-algorithm — the borg manual, but make it cute 💖

okay bestie, welcome to the borg backup tool manual page for borg-key-change-algorithm, from the section 1 girlies (that's general commands, iykyk). sit down, grab a boba, we're switching up the algorithm that locks your borg key. 🔐✨

✨ NAME ✨

borg-key-change-algorithm — changing the repository key algorithm, fr fr 👑

🌸 SYNOPSIS 🌸

borg [common options] key change-algorithm [options] ALGORITHM

💅 DESCRIPTION 💅

so what are we actually doing here? we're changing the algorithm we use to encrypt and authenticate the borg key. that's it, that's the whole vibe. 💫

Important (read this one, bestie, not me being dramatic): in a repokey mode (think repokey-blake2 energy) all users share the same key. so if you upgrade to argon2 in this mode, it becomes impossible to access the repo for users who are running an old version of borg. 😭 the move here is upgrading to the latest stable version. we recommend it. strongly. 🫶
Important (part two, electric boogaloo): in a keyfile mode (like keyfile-blake2) each user has their own key (living rent-free in ~/.config/borg/keys). so in this mode, this command only changes the key used by the current user. if you wanna upgrade to argon2 to strengthen security, you're gonna have to upgrade each user's key individually. no shortcuts, bestie. 💀

so here's the tea on how this all works: your repository is encrypted and authenticated with a key that's randomly generated by borg init. and that key? it's encrypted and authenticated with your passphrase. cute, right? 🎀

we currently support two choices, and yes, they're giving very different energy:

  1. argon2 — the recommended one, periodt. this algorithm is used by default when initialising a new repository. the key encryption key is derived from your passphrase via argon2-id. argon2 is considered more modern and secure than pbkdf2. she's the main character. 👑
  2. pbkdf2 — the legacy algorithm. use this if you want to access your repo via old versions of borg. the key encryption key is derived from your passphrase via PBKDF2-HMAC-SHA256. she's the older sister who still shows up. 🌈

Examples, because seeing it is believing:

# Upgrade an existing key to argon2
borg key change-algorithm /path/to/repo argon2
# Downgrade to pbkdf2 - use this if upgrading borg is not an option
borg key change-algorithm /path/to/repo pbkdf2

⭐ OPTIONS ⭐

go check out borg-common(1) for the common options of Borg commands — that's where all the shared options are chilling. 🦋

🎀 arguments 🎀

  • ALGORITHM — select key algorithm. you literally just tell it which one you want. slay. 💅

👀 SEE ALSO 👀

💜 AUTHOR 💜

The Borg Collective — an icon, a legend, the moment. 👑

and that's the whole page, bestie!! this was borg backup tool, BORG-KEY-CHANGE-ALGORITHM(1), dated 2022-06-26. go forth and change your algorithm responsibly, and remember: upgrade your borg first. mwah. 💖✨🫶

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