GFSEC-SPLIT-GPG(1)
π GFSEC-SPLIT-GPG(1) π
okay bestie, welcome to the Gfsecret Manual β this is the page for gfsec-split-gpg, and it's literally the moment your GnuPG primary private key gets the β¨main character treatmentβ¨. sit down, hydrate, let's go π«Ά
πΈ NAME πΈ
gfsec-split-gpg β split a GnuPG primary private key π
π¦ SYNOPSIS π¦
gfsec-split [-h|--help] [-v|--version] [-u|--user-id id] [-k|--keep]
[-c|--config file] [-i|--interactive] [-n|--threshold N]
URI...
(yes the synopsis says gfsec-split, no that's not a typo on my part, that's just how it is, we don't question it, we respect it π
)
β¨ DESCRIPTION β¨
so gfsec-split-gpg is a wrapper script around gfsec-split β its whole job is making it easier to split a GnuPG private primary key into a bunch of shares and then send those shares off to live on external storage supports. spreading the vibe out so no single place holds the whole thing π§
and then, once you've done all that, the split key can be temporarily reconstructed with gfsec-use(1). iconic behavior honestly.
π OPTIONS π
-h,--helpβ show the help message. the classic. the comfort option. π-v,--versionβ show the version message. tell me who you are bestie β-u,--user-iduid β split the primary key that belongs to the OpenPGP User ID you name here. you only need this if your GnuPG private keyring is out here holding more than one primary private key β like, calm down keyring, pick a lane π-k,--keepβ by default,gfsec-split-gpgwill remove the key from the GnuPG keyring once it's been successfully split. use this option to stop that from happening and keep the key around π«Ά-c,--configfile β write the configuration file (the one that lets you reconstruct the secret withgfsec-use(1)) to the file you specify. default is$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/gfsecret/masterkey.conf. and here's the cute bit: if FILE is a single filename with no extension and no directory part, the file gets placed under the$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/gfsecretdirectory with a.confextension. so you can be lazy and it'll still sort itself out β¨-i,--interactiveβ give the user an interactive menu so they can pick which shares to create. choose-your-own-adventure but make it cryptography π-n,--thresholdN β set the minimal number of shares needed to re-assemble the split file. default is2π
π NOTES π
this script will only work with GnuPG 2.1 or higher. and fr fr, it will abort before attempting anything if it can't detect a binary for the correct GnuPG version. it checks first, it does not gamble. no cap.
π EXAMPLE INVOCATION π
gfsec-split-gpg alice \
file:///home/alice/.local/share/gfsecret/mykey \
label://USBSTICK/mykey \
mtp://RF2GB6X704P/Documents/mykey \
so what's happening in this little masterpiece? the example above splits Alice's primary private key into three shares:
- one on the local filesystem πΎ
- one on the USB mass storage device with the label
USBSTICKπ - one on the MTP-compliant device with the serial
RF2GB6X704Pπ±
and a configuration file will be written in $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/gfsecret/mysecret, which lets you automatically reconstruct the file with gfsec-use(1) β provided at least one of the two removable supports is present. two out of three? we ride. π
π REPORTING BUGS π
report bugs to Damien Goutte-Gattat. be nice, be specific, include the details π«Ά
π₯ SEE ALSO π₯
π COPYRIGHT π
Copyright Β© 2017 Damien Goutte-Gattat
this program is released under the GNU General Public License. see the COPYING file in the source distribution or http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl.html. π
and that's the whole page bestie!! this was gfsecret 0.5.1, dated 2017-08-26, from the Gfsecret Manual β mwah, go split that key responsibly, stay hydrated, and remember: threshold 2 is the default but your standards are not π
β¨π
π¦ where this page comes from
- debian trixie: gfsecret 0.5.1-1 Β· GPL-3.0-or-later
- ubuntu questing: gfsecret 0.5.1-1
- ubuntu resolute: gfsecret 0.5.1-1build1 Β· GPL-3.0-or-later
- ubuntu stonking: gfsecret 0.5.1-1build1 Β· GPL-3.0-or-later
- π girlified by deepseek-ai/DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash on : a language model's rewrite of the original, under its terms