Pkeygen

%echo Generating a default key Key-Type: RSA Key-Length: 3072 Subkey-Type: RSA Subkey-Length: 3072 Name-Real: Joe Tester Name-Comment: Automation Name-Email: joe@example.com Expire-Date: 0 %commit

I’d love to hear about your workflows. Drop a comment below or ping me on the OpenPGP mailing list. Want to dive deeper? Check out the official RNP documentation or explore the pkeygen man page ( man pkeygen ). pkeygen

pkeygen --config key-config.json --output my-private-key.gpg To generate a public key only (for distribution): %echo Generating a default key Key-Type: RSA Key-Length:

The key takeaway: pkeygen is for automation, CI/CD pipelines, and anyone who hates answering “Real name:” and “Email:” a hundred times. GnuPG does have a batch mode, but its configuration syntax is arcane. Compare this: Check out the official RNP documentation or explore

rnpkeys --export --armor --output my-pubkey.asc The real power of pkeygen is defining multiple subkeys for different purposes (authentication, encryption, signing). Here’s a production-ready config:

Enter — a utility often bundled with OpenPGP implementations like rnp (RNC’s OpenPGP implementation) and sometimes found in gpg as an undocumented subcommand. While it’s not as famous as its gpg cousin, pkeygen offers a refreshing, JSON-driven approach to key creation.