GnuPG, the GNU Privacy Guard, is a comprehensive suite for encrypting and signing data and communications. Its best-known component is gpg, which implements the OpenPGP protocol and provides public-key and symmetric encryption together with digital signatures.
The suite also supplies key-management services and supporting daemons rather than being limited to a single encryption command. It is widely integrated into mail clients, package-management infrastructure, development tools and automated workflows.
This is free and open source software.
Key Features
- Encrypt and decrypt files, messages and streams using the OpenPGP format.
- Create digital signatures and verify the authenticity and integrity of signed data.
- Supports detached signatures, cleartext signatures and combined signing and encryption workflows.
- Comprehensive public and secret key management, including expiration, revocation and subkeys.
- Supports RSA, DSA, ElGamal, Ed25519, Curve25519 and other elliptic-curve algorithms.
- Modern authenticated encryption is available using OCB where recipient capabilities permit it.
- gpg-agent manages private-key operations and can cache passphrases.
- scdaemon provides support for OpenPGP smartcards and other supported cryptographic hardware.
- dirmngr handles network access for certificate and key retrieval.
- gpgsm provides S/MIME and X.509 certificate support alongside OpenPGP.
- Can use keyservers and Web Key Directory infrastructure to locate public keys.
- Designed for scripting and integration, with machine-readable output and batch operation.
- Supports symmetric encryption when public-key cryptography is not required.
- Includes tools for verifying signatures without exposing secret-key functionality.
Website: www.gnupg.org
Support:
Developer: Werner Koch and numerous developers
License: GNU General Public License v3.0
GnuPG is written in C. Learn C with our recommended free books and free tutorials.
Related Software
| Email Encryption Tools | |
|---|---|
| GnuPG | Encrypt and sign data and communication |
| OpenPGP | Authenticating or encrypting data, using public key cryptography |
| Mailvelope | Extension for Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox |
| Enigmail | OpenPGP Email Security for Mozilla Applications |
| LibrePGP | Updated specification of the OpenPGP encryption standard |
| Sequoia PGP | Modern OpenPGP implementation with libraries and command-line tools |
Read our verdict in the software roundup.
| Disk Encryption Tools | |
|---|---|
| VeraCrypt | Strong disk encryption software |
| loop-AES | Encrypt disk partitions, removable media, swap space and other devices |
| dm-crypt | Transparent disk encryption subsystem |
| cryptsetup | Configures encrypted block devices |
| GnuPG | GNU Privacy Guard - implementation of the OpenPGP standard |
| gocryptfs | Encrypted overlay filesystem written in Go |
| Tomb | System for file encryption |
| Shufflecake | Create multiple hidden volumes |
| zuluCrypt | Feature rich solution for hard drive encryption |
| cryptmount | Managing encrypted file systems |
| disk-encryption-tool | Encrypt existing Linux storage without reinstalling the system |
Read our verdict in the software roundup.
| CLI File Encryption Tools | |
|---|---|
| SOPS | Editor of encrypted files |
| age | Simple file encryption tool |
| GnuPG | Implementation of the OpenPGP standard |
| Sequoia PGP | Comprehensive OpenPGP implementation |
| horcrux | File splitter with encryption and redundancy |
| rage | Simple encryption tool using the age format |
| Kryptor | Simple, modern, and secure file encryption and signing tool |
| transcrypt | Transparently encrypt sensitive files stored in Git repositories |
| Picocrypt | Very small (hence Pico), very simple, yet very secure encryption tool |
| enc | Designed as a modern, approachable alternative to GnuPG |
| ccrypt | Tool for encrypting and decrypting files and streams |
| Encpipe | Billed as the simplest encryption tool in the world |
| Volaris | Encryption tool designed to prioritize privacy and security |
| sigtool | Sign, verify, encrypt and decrypt files from the command line |
| eddy | Simple and fast CLI file encryption |
| Xecrets Cli | AxCrypt compatible encryption tool |
| nacrypt | Simple and easy-to-use file encryption utility |
| agevault | Encrypt and decrypt directories securely using age |
| v02enc | Symmetric encryption for multiple recipients |
| PurrCrypt | Fur-ociously secure encryption tool |
Read our verdict in the software roundup.
 LinuxLinks helps you discover the best free and open source software for Linux. Explore our extensive collection of recommended applications, including alternatives to popular proprietary software.We also publish software reviews, Linux tutorials, hardware reviews, free programming books and articles covering the wider open source community. Browse our Linux resources to discover more. Know a useful free and open source Linux application we haven't covered? Suggest a program for inclusion. Has your software been featured on LinuxLinks? Display one of our Featured on LinuxLinks badges on your website or GitHub README. |
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.