GPGTAR(1)

📦
version 2.4.9 · 18 versions
, in alpine 3.22, alpine 3.23

💅 GPGTAR(1) — the gpgtar glow-up 🎀

okay so bestie, welcome to gpgtar, a real one from the GNU Privacy Guard 2.4 fam. this page is gonna walk you through it, no gatekeeping, i promise 🫶

✨ NAME ✨

gpgtar — encrypt or sign files into an archive. literally what it says on the tin 💅

🌸 SYNOPSIS 🌸

gpgtar [options] filename1 [ filename2, ... ] directory1 [ directory2, ... ]

so yeah, options first, then a whole parade of files and directories. bring the whole group chat, it's fine 💖

🦋 DESCRIPTION 🦋

okay so gpgtar encrypts or signs files into an archive. it's an gpg-ized tar — like tar but it went to the crypto gym — and it uses the exact same format as PGP's PGP Zip. iykyk ✨

🎀 OPTIONS 🎀

gpgtar understands these options, and by "understands" i mean it's fluent, bestie:

  • --create — puts the files and directories you hand it into a vanilla ``ustar'' archive. plain, classic, iconic.
  • --extract — extracts all the files out of a vanilla ``ustar'' archive. if you don't give a file name (or you just pass -), the archive gets read from stdin. sneaky but valid 💅
  • --encrypt, -e — encrypts the given files and directories into an archive 🔥 and here's the slay: you can combine this with --symmetric and get an archive that can be decrypted either via a secret key or via a passphrase. flexible queen.
  • --decrypt, -d — extracts all the files from an encrypted archive. same deal: no file name (or -) means it comes from stdin.
  • --sign, -s — makes a signed archive from the files and directories you give it. and yeah, you can stack this with --encrypt to get a signed-then-encrypted archive. layers, bestie.
  • --list-archive, -t — lists the contents of the archive you specified. no file name (or -) → stdin. it's giving "just let me peek" 👀
  • --symmetric, -c — encrypt with a symmetric cipher using a passphrase. the default symmetric cipher is AES-128, but you can pick another one with the --cipher-algo option to gpg. options within options, very meta 💅
  • --recipient user, -r user — encrypt for user id user. for the deets, go see gpg. 🫶
  • --local-user user, -u user — use user as the key to sign with. again, details live in gpg.
  • --output file, -o file — writes the archive to the file file. 📁
  • --verbose, -v — turns on extra informational output. she's chatty and we love that 🗣️
  • --quiet, -q — tries to be as quiet as possible 🤫
  • --skip-crypto — skips every crypto operation and just creates or extracts vanilla ``ustar'' archives. sometimes you just want the plain version, no makeup.
  • --dry-run — doesn't actually output the extracted files. it's the rehearsal, not the show 🎭
  • --directory dir, -C dir — extracts the files into the directory dir. the default is to take the directory name from the input filename; if no input filename is known, it uses a directory named GPGARCH. and for tarball creation it switches to directory dir before doing any operations. multitasking icon.
  • --files-from file, -T file — takes the file names to work on from file, one file per line. 📝
  • --null — modifies --files-from so it uses a binary nul instead of a linefeed to separate the file names. spicy separator.
  • --utf8-strings — assumes the file names read by --files-from are UTF-8 encoded. heads up though: this only does anything on Windows, where otherwise the active code page is assumed. windows-only behavior, ngl.
  • --openpgp — does absolutely nothing, bestie, because OpenPGP encryption and signing is the default anyway. it's just there vibing 💀
  • --cms — this one is reserved and shall not be used 🚫 eventually it'll encrypt or sign using the CMS protocol, but that is not yet implemented. respect the reservation.
  • --batch — use batch mode: never ask, just use the default action. this option is passed directly to gpg.
  • --yes — assumes "yes" on most questions. often used together with --batch to overwrite existing files. also passed directly to gpg. consent, but make it automated ✨
  • --no — assumes "no" on most questions. passed directly to gpg. the boundaries option 🫶
  • --require-compliance — passed directly to gpg. no notes.
  • --status-fd n — writes special status strings to the file descriptor n. check the file DETAILS in the documentation for a list of them 👑
  • --with-log — when extracting an encrypted tarball, it also writes a log file with the gpg output to a file named after the extraction directory with the suffix .log. receipts.
  • --set-filename file — uses the last component of file as the output directory. default is to take the directory name from the input filename, and if there's no input filename it uses a directory named GPGARCH. ⚠️ heads up: this option is deprecated in favor of --directory. we've moved on, bestie.
  • --no-compress — tells gpg to disable compression (i.e. it uses option -z0). super useful for archiving only large files that are already compressed (like a set of videos 🎥). no need to squeeze a squeezed thing.
  • --gpg gpgcmd — uses the command gpgcmd instead of gpg. you can swap in your fave ✨
  • --gpg-args args — passes the extra options args to gpg.
  • --tar-args args — assumes args are standard options of the tar command and parses them. the only supported tar options are --directory, --files-from, and --null. this is an obsolete option, because those supported tar options can also be given directly. history, but make it legacy 💀
  • --tar command — a dummy option for backward compatibility. it's there for the old heads 🫶
  • --version — prints the version of the program and exits.
  • --help — displays a brief help page and exits. the classic 🙈

🌈 EXAMPLES 🌈

encrypt the contents of directory mydocs for user Bob into the file test1 — iconic request, honestly:

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

now list the contents of that archive test1:

gpgtar --list-archive test1

see? slayed. ✨

🔥 DIAGNOSTICS 🔥

the program returns 0 if everything was fine, and 1 otherwise. binary queen. no gray areas.

💜 SEE ALSO 💜

and also: the full documentation for this tool is maintained as a Texinfo manual. if GnuPG and the info program are properly installed at your site, this command:

info gnupg

should give you access to the complete manual, including a menu structure and an index. go read it, it's giving library energy 📚

okay that's the whole page bestie, you're basically a gpgtar expert now 💅✨ this was GnuPG 2.4.9, dated 2025-02-19 — mwah, go encrypt something 🎀🦋💖

📦 where this page comes from