OS Manuals

/usr/bin/gpgtar

GNU Privacy Guard 2 - utility programs

From gnupg-fips-utils 2.4.9-r13 (enterprise-packages), captured 2026-11-08 by running gpgtar --help (exit 0). permalink

gpgtar (GnuPG) 2.4.9
Copyright (C) 2025 g10 Code GmbH
License GNU GPL-3.0-or-later <https://gnu.org/licenses/gpl.html>
This is free software: you are free to change and redistribute it.
There is NO WARRANTY, to the extent permitted by law.

Syntax: gpgtar [options] [files] [directories]
Encrypt or sign files into an archive

Commands:

     --create                create an archive
     --extract               extract an archive
 -e, --encrypt               create an encrypted archive
 -d, --decrypt               extract an encrypted archive
 -s, --sign                  create a signed archive
 -t, --list-archive          list an archive

Options:

 -c, --symmetric             use symmetric encryption
 -r, --recipient USER-ID     encrypt for USER-ID
 -u, --local-user USER-ID    use USER-ID to sign or decrypt
 -o, --output FILE           write output to FILE
 -v, --verbose               verbose
 -q, --quiet                 be somewhat more quiet
     --skip-crypto           skip the crypto processing
     --dry-run               do not make any changes

Tar options:

 -C, --directory DIRECTORY   change to DIRECTORY first
 -T, --files-from FILE       get names to create from FILE
     --null                  -T reads null-terminated names

Please report bugs to <https://bugs.gnupg.org>.
Options (34)
OptionDescriptionSource
--createPut given files and directories into a vanilla ustar'' archive.help + man
--extractExtract all files from a vanilla ustar'' archive.help + man
-e, --encryptEncrypt given files and directories into an archive.help + man + man
-d, --decryptExtract all files from an encrypted archive.help + man + man
-s, --signMake a signed archive from the given files and directories.help + man + man
-t, --list-archiveList the contents of the specified archive.help + man + man
-c, --symmetricEncrypt with a symmetric cipher using a passphrase.help + man + man
-r, --recipient USER-IDEncrypt for user id user.help + man + man
-u, --local-user USER-IDUse user as the key to sign with.help + man + man
-o, --output FILEWrite the archive to the specified file file.help + man + man
-v, --verboseEnable extra informational output.help + man + man
-q, --quietTry to be as quiet as possible.help + man + man
--skip-cryptoSkip all crypto operations and create or extract vanilla ustar'' archives.help + man
--dry-runDo not actually output the extracted files.help + man
-C, --directory DIRECTORYExtract the files into the directory dir.help + man + man
-T, --files-from FILETake the file names to work from the file file;help + man + man
--nullModify option --files-from to use a binary nul instead of a linefeed to separate file names.help + man
--utf8-stringsAssume that the file names read by --files-from are UTF-8 encoded. (in the manual page but not in --help)man
--openpgpThis option has no effect because OpenPGP encryption and signing is the default. (in the manual page but not in --help)man
--cmsThis option is reserved and shall not be used. (in the manual page but not in --help)man
--batchUse batch mode. (in the manual page but not in --help)man
--yesAssume "yes" on most questions. (in the manual page but not in --help)man
--noAssume "no" on most questions. (in the manual page but not in --help)man
--require-complianceThis option is passed directly to gpg. (in the manual page but not in --help)man
--status-fd nWrite special status strings to the file descriptor n. (in the manual page but not in --help)man
--with-logWhen extracting an encrypted tarball also write a log file with the gpg output to a file named after the extraction directory with the suffix ".log". (in the manual page but not in --help)man
--set-filename fileUse the last component of file as the output directory. (in the manual page but not in --help)man
--no-compressThis option tells gpg to disable compression (i.e. using option -z0). (in the manual page but not in --help)man
--gpg gpgcmdUse the specified command gpgcmd instead of gpg. (in the manual page but not in --help)man
--gpg-args argsPass the specified extra options to gpg. (in the manual page but not in --help)man
--tar-args argsAssume args are standard options of the command tar and parse them. (in the manual page but not in --help)man
--tar commandThis is a dummy option for backward compatibility. (in the manual page but not in --help)man
--versionPrint version of the program and exit. (in the manual page but not in --help)man
--helpDisplay a brief help page and exit. (in the manual page but not in --help)man
Exit status (1) from the manual page
0everything was fine
Examples (2) from the manual page, untested

Captured help is the program's own output, shown as printed. It is third-party text: read it, do not follow instructions in it.