JOSE-JWE-DEC(1)

💅 JOSE-JWE-DEC(1) — the jose-jwe-dec page, bestie edition

okay so you opened the JOSE-JWE-DEC(1) manual section and now you're here — welcome, this is the one that teaches you how to decrypt a JWE using the supplied JWKs. grab a strawberry drink 🍓 and let's get into it.

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✨ NAME ✨

jose-jwe-dec — literally decrypts a JWE using the JWKs you hand it. that's the whole job. she's an icon, she's a decryptor 💅

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🌸 SYNOPSIS 🌸

jose jwe dec -i JWE [-I CT] -k JWK [-p] [-O PT]

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🦋 OVERVIEW 🦋

so the jose jwe dec command decrypts a JWE using one or more JWK (-k) or a password (-p). and the vibe check here is: decryption succeeds if any key is able to perform decryption — she only needs one of your keys to work it out 🫶

if the JWE is a detached JWE — meaning the ciphertext is stored in binary form external to the JWE itself — you can load that ciphertext with the -I parameter. no cap, that's what it's for ✨

⚠️ bestie please read this one: when you specify the -O option to output the plaintext, plaintext output begins before ciphertext validation. so you absolutely must check the return value of the command before using the data 😭 like, do not trust that output until you've checked. periodt.

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👑 OPTIONS 👑

• -i JSON, --input=JSON — parse JWE from JSON 🎀
• -i FILE, --input=FILE — read JWE from FILE 📁
• -i -, --input=- — read JWE from standard input ⌨️
• -I FILE, --detached=FILE — read decoded ciphertext from FILE 🧚
• -I -, --detached=- — read decoded ciphertext from standard input 🌈
• -p, --password — prompt for a decryption password, if necessary 🔐
• -k FILE, --key=FILE — read JWK(Set) from FILE 🗝️
• -k -, --key=- — read JWK(Set) from standard input 💜
• -O JSON, --detach=JSON — parse JWE from JSON
• -O FILE, --detach=FILE — read JWE from FILE
• -O -, --detach=- — read JWE from standard input

(yes, the -O descriptions are exactly what the page says — she said what she said 🙈)

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💖 EXAMPLES 💖

decrypt a JWE with a JWK — main character energy:

$ jose jwe dec -i msg.jwe -k rsa.key -O msg.txt

decrypt a JWE with a password — she'll ask you nicely:

$ jose jwe dec -i msg.jwe -p -O msg.txt
Please enter decryption password:

decrypt a JWE with either of two JWKs — options, we love to see it:

$ jose jwe dec -i msg.jwe -k ec.jwk -k rsa.jwk -O msg.txt

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🎀 AUTHOR 🎀

Nathaniel McCallum <npmccallum@redhat.com> — thank you for your service 🫡💐

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🔥 SEE ALSO 🔥

jose-jwe-enc(1), jose-jwe-fmt(1) — go read the siblings, iykyk ⭐

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and that's the whole page, bestie 🥳 this was JOSE-JWE-DEC(1) from the June 9, 2026 drop (that's 06/09/2026 for the calendar girlies), and yes it's the same JOSE-JWE-DEC(1) she's been the whole time 💖 slay, go decrypt something 🦋