Skip to content

Instantly share code, notes, and snippets.

@krisleech
Last active May 12, 2024 16:55
Show Gist options
  • Save krisleech/760213ed287ea9da85521c7c9aac1df0 to your computer and use it in GitHub Desktop.
Save krisleech/760213ed287ea9da85521c7c9aac1df0 to your computer and use it in GitHub Desktop.
Renew Expired GPG key

Renew GPG key

Given that your key has expired.

$ gpg --list-keys
$ gpg --edit-key KEYID

Use the expire command to set a new expire date:

gpg> expire

When prompted type 1y or however long you want the key to last for.

Select all the subkeys (the primary key, which we just set the expires date for, is key 0):

gpg> key 1
gpg> key 2
gpg> expire

A star will sppear before all selected keys.

Since the key has changed we now need to trust it, otherwise we get the error "There is no assurance this key belongs to the named user" when using they key:

gpg> trust

Test it out, do a round trip:

gpg -ea > secret.out
gpg -d secret.out

Backup the key:

gpg -a --export KEYID > kris.leech.gpg.public
gpg -a --export-secret-keys KEYID > kris.leech.gpg.private

Move the keys on to something like a USB drive and store it safely in another location.

Publish the public key:

gpg --keyserver keyserver.ubuntu.com --send-keys KEYID
gpg --keyserver pgp.mit.edu --send-keys KEYID

If you need to copy/paste the public key to a key server:

xclip -i kris.leech.gpgp.public -selection clipboard
@Torxed
Copy link

Torxed commented Jan 30, 2023

I'd like to chip in the use of keys.openpgp.org as well. It's been somewhat reliable. I keep striking out on pgp.mit.edu from time to time. Something worth noting on openpgp.org's key server tho is that it more or less needs email verification.

@jahway603
Copy link

Also found this short tutorial on how to renew your own GPG keys before they expire, which some might find helpful
https://filipe.kiss.ink/renew-expired-gpg-key/

Sign up for free to join this conversation on GitHub. Already have an account? Sign in to comment