SYMCRYPTRUN(1) GNU Privacy Guard 2.2 SYMCRYPTRUN(1)
NAME
symcryptrun - Call a simple symmetric encryption tool
SYNOPSIS
symcryptrun --class class --program program --keyfile keyfile [--de-
crypt|--encrypt] [inputfile]
DESCRIPTION
Sometimes simple encryption tools are already in use for a long time
and there might be a desire to integrate them into the GnuPG framework.
The protocols and encryption methods might be non-standard or not even
properly documented, so that a full-fledged encryption tool with an in-
terface like gpg is not doable. symcryptrun provides a solution: It
operates by calling the external encryption/decryption module and pro-
vides a passphrase for a key using the standard pinentry based mecha-
nism through gpg-agent.
Note, that symcryptrun is only available if GnuPG has been configured
with '--enable-symcryptrun' at build time.
For encryption, the plain text must be provided on STDIN or as the ar-
gument inputfile, and the ciphertext will be output to STDOUT. For de-
cryption vice versa.
CLASS describes the calling conventions of the external tool. Cur-
rently it must be given as 'confucius'. PROGRAM is the full filename
of that external tool.
For the class 'confucius' the option --keyfile is required; keyfile is
the name of a file containing the secret key, which may be protected by
a passphrase. For detailed calling conventions, see the source code.
Note, that gpg-agent must be running before starting symcryptrun.
The following additional options may be used:
-v
--verbose
Output additional information while running.
-q
--quiet
Try to be as quiet as possible.
--homedir dir
Set the name of the home directory to dir. If this option is not
used, the home directory defaults to '~/.gnupg'. It is only
recognized when given on the command line. It also overrides
any home directory stated through the environment variable
'GNUPGHOME' or (on Windows systems) by means of the Registry en-
try HKCU\Software\GNU\GnuPG:HomeDir.
On Windows systems it is possible to install GnuPG as a portable
application. In this case only this command line option is con-
sidered, all other ways to set a home directory are ignored.
To install GnuPG as a portable application under Windows, create
an empty file named 'gpgconf.ctl' in the same directory as the
tool 'gpgconf.exe'. The root of the installation is then that
directory; or, if 'gpgconf.exe' has been installed directly be-
low a directory named 'bin', its parent directory. You also
need to make sure that the following directories exist and are
writable: 'ROOT/home' for the GnuPG home and
'ROOT/var/cache/gnupg' for internal cache files.
--log-file file
Append all logging output to file. Use 'socket://' to log to
socket. Default is to write logging information to STDERR.
The possible exit status codes of symcryptrun are:
0
Success.
1
Some error occurred.
2
No valid passphrase was provided.
3
The operation was canceled by the user.
SEE ALSO
gpg(1), gpgsm(1), gpg-agent(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 struc-
ture and an index.
GnuPG 2.2.20 2020-03-18 SYMCRYPTRUN(1)