locksmith

GPG key lifecycle manager with encrypted vault storage and YubiKey support.

gpgsmith automates the routine of generating, rotating, provisioning, and revoking GPG subkeys across multiple YubiKeys. Keys live in append-only encrypted snapshots so every change is recoverable, and the whole vault syncs via any file-sync service (Dropbox, Syncthing, etc.) with no special tooling.

The Problem

Managing GPG keys with YubiKeys is a manual, error-prone process:

Decrypt a LUKS volume (requires root, specific OS, specific hardware)
Set GNUPGHOME, run a dozen gpg commands in the right order
Remember which subkeys are on which YubiKey
Re-encrypt, hope you didn't forget a step
No audit trail, no inventory, no easy recovery

gpgsmith replaces this with a single tool that handles encryption, key operations, YubiKey provisioning, publishing, and record-keeping automatically.

Use Cases

First-time setup (existing keys) -- migrate keys from a LUKS vault or ~/.gnupg into gpgsmith's encrypted vault.

First-time setup (new keys) -- gpgsmith setup wizard creates a vault, generates a master key + S/E/A subkeys, and opens a session where you can provision a YubiKey.

Routine subkey rotation -- revoke expiring subkeys, generate new ones, provision to YubiKey, publish, and export SSH key with card rotate.

Provision a second YubiKey -- restore a pre-card snapshot and provision a spare YubiKey with the same or unique subkeys.

Lost YubiKey -- revoke all subkeys associated with a card and publish revocations with card revoke.

New workstation -- open the vault (synced via Dropbox), export SSH public key, done.

Scripted automation -- start the daemon once (gpgsmith daemon start), open the vault (gpgsmith vault open work), then run any number of gpgsmith <noun> <verb> commands against the daemon-held session.

Prerequisites

devbox -- portable dev environment (provides Go, golangci-lint, just, goreleaser)
direnv -- auto-loads the devbox environment on cd
gpg -- GnuPG 2.x must be installed and on PATH

Optional dependencies

ykman (yubikey-manager) -- enables specific YubiKey model detection (e.g., "YubiKey 5 NFC" instead of generic "Yubico YubiKey"). Install via pip install yubikey-manager or your package manager.
gh -- GitHub CLI, enables publishing GPG and SSH keys to GitHub via server publish github. Requires admin:gpg_key and admin:public_key OAuth scopes.

Installation

From source (recommended during development)

cd locksmith
direnv allow
just build          # builds bin/gpgsmith

Go install

go install github.com/excavador/locksmith/cmd/gpgsmith@latest

GitHub releases

Pre-built binaries for Linux and macOS (amd64/arm64) are published on GitHub Releases via goreleaser on every tagged version.

Quick Start

gpgsmith runs as a background daemon that holds open vaults in memory. Every CLI command talks to the daemon over a per-user Unix socket, so commands that follow a vault open are sub-millisecond RPCs.

Each open vault is a session identified by an opaque token. The CLI binds your terminal to a session by spawning a subshell with GPGSMITH_SESSION=<token> set in its environment; the web UI binds a browser tab to a session via an HttpOnly cookie. A daemon may hold many sessions at once; each auto-seals after 5 minutes of idle time.

1. First-time setup (new keys) -- recommended

# All-in-one wizard: creates registry entry, writes vault, generates keys.
gpgsmith setup --name "Your Name" --email "you@example.com"

gpgsmith keys status                            # verify your new keys
gpgsmith card provision green --description "on keychain"  # optional
gpgsmith vault seal --message "initial setup"   # save the new snapshot

2. Open and work with a vault

$ gpgsmith vault open work                        # prompts for passphrase
Vault passphrase:
opened work as session 7f3a... (5 min idle timeout)
[gpgsmith:work] $ gpgsmith keys list              # subshell has GPGSMITH_SESSION set
[gpgsmith:work] $ gpgsmith card provision green
[gpgsmith:work] $ gpgsmith vault seal --message "provisioned green"
[gpgsmith:work] $ exit                            # back to your normal shell

gpgsmith vault open spawns a child $SHELL (bash, zsh — fish falls back to sh) with the session token in its environment. Inside the subshell every gpgsmith invocation automatically targets the bound session. Exiting the subshell returns to your parent shell; the daemon keeps the session in memory until its 5-minute idle timer fires.

For scripted use: eval "$(gpgsmith vault open --no-shell work)" prints export GPGSMITH_SESSION=... to stdout instead of spawning a subshell.

3. Import an existing GNUPGHOME

gpgsmith vault create work                      # creates registry entry + empty vault
gpgsmith vault import ~/.gnupg --name work      # seals ~/.gnupg as a snapshot

All examples below assume you've already run gpgsmith vault open work and are inside the resulting [gpgsmith:work] $ subshell.

4. Discover existing YubiKeys

[gpgsmith:work] $ gpgsmith card discover         # detect connected YubiKey
[gpgsmith:work] $ gpgsmith vault seal --message "added card to inventory"

5. Rotate subkeys

[gpgsmith:work] $ gpgsmith card rotate green     # revoke old + new + to-card + publish + ssh
[gpgsmith:work] $ gpgsmith vault seal --message "rotated subkeys 2026"

6. Manage identities (add/revoke email, change primary)

[gpgsmith:work] $ gpgsmith keys identity list
[gpgsmith:work] $ gpgsmith keys identity add "Your Name <new@example.com>"
[gpgsmith:work] $ gpgsmith keys identity primary 2     # 1-based index
[gpgsmith:work] $ gpgsmith keys identity revoke "Your Name <old@example.com>"
[gpgsmith:work] $ gpgsmith vault seal --message "identity changes"

Every mutation is captured in the audit log and auto-republished to enabled servers. keys uid is kept as an alias for users who prefer GPG's terminology.

7. Check inventory, audit log, and daemon state

gpgsmith vault status                           # which vaults does the daemon hold?
[gpgsmith:work] $ gpgsmith card inventory
[gpgsmith:work] $ gpgsmith audit show --last 10
[gpgsmith:work] $ gpgsmith vault discard        # end session without sealing

8. Browse the vault from a web browser

gpgsmith webui                                  # auto-spawns daemon, opens browser
# logs: gpgsmith web UI: http://127.0.0.1:41753/?t=<startup-token>

gpgsmith webui starts a loopback-only HTTP server (random port), prints a single-use URL containing a startup token, and (with --open) launches your default browser. The startup token is exchanged for an HttpOnly, SameSite=Strict cookie scoped to the loopback host; each browser tab is its own independent session. Pages: vault dashboard (open / discard), keys, identities, cards, servers, audit log. Read-only for the v0.5.0 MVP.

9. Controlling the daemon explicitly

gpgsmith daemon status                          # is it running?
gpgsmith daemon start                           # or let auto-spawn handle it
gpgsmith daemon stop
gpgsmith daemon restart

CLI Reference

gpgsmith
├── daemon                          manage the gpgsmith background daemon
│   ├── start [--foreground]
│   ├── stop [--timeout]
│   ├── status
│   └── restart
├── setup                           first-time wizard: vault create + keys create
├── vault                           manage encrypted vaults
│   ├── list                        list all configured vaults from the registry
│   ├── status                      show which sessions are open (+ recoverable ephemerals)
│   ├── create <name>               create a new vault entry + empty initial snapshot
│   ├── open <name> [--no-shell]    open a vault and spawn a bound subshell
│   ├── seal                        seal the bound session
│   ├── discard                     discard the bound session without sealing
│   ├── snapshots <name>            list canonical snapshots of a vault
│   ├── import <path>               encrypt an existing GNUPGHOME as a new snapshot
│   ├── export <name> <target>      decrypt the latest snapshot to a target dir
│   └── trust <name> <fp>           update the TOFU trust anchor after a rotation
├── keys                            GPG key operations (against the bound session)
│   ├── create                      generate new master key and subkeys
│   ├── generate                    add new S/E/A subkeys
│   ├── list                        list keys and subkeys
│   ├── revoke <key-id>             revoke a specific subkey
│   ├── export                      export public key to ~/.gnupg
│   ├── ssh-pubkey                  export auth subkey as SSH public key
│   ├── status                      show key and card info
│   └── identity                    manage identities on the master key
│       ├── list
│       ├── add <id>
│       ├── revoke <id-or-index>
│       └── primary <id-or-index>
├── card                            high-level YubiKey workflows
│   ├── provision <label>           generate subkeys + to-card + publish + ssh-pubkey
│   ├── rotate <label>              revoke old + generate new + to-card + publish + ssh
│   ├── revoke <label>              revoke all subkeys for a card
│   ├── inventory
│   └── discover
├── server                          manage publish targets
│   ├── list, add, remove, enable, disable
│   ├── publish [alias...]
│   └── lookup
├── audit
│   └── show [--last N]
├── webui [--bind] [--open]         start the loopback-only web UI
└── version                         show version information

<label> accepts a card label (e.g., "green") or serial number.

keys commands are low-level building blocks. card commands are high-level workflows that compose keys operations internally.

Every session-bearing command (keys, card, server, audit, vault seal, vault discard) targets the session identified by GPGSMITH_SESSION in your environment. gpgsmith vault open sets that variable for you by spawning a subshell. If you invoke a session-bearing command from a terminal where GPGSMITH_SESSION is unset and the daemon has exactly one open session, the CLI auto-binds to it.

Global flags

Flag	Default	Description
`--vault-dir`	(unset)	Override vault directory (ignores the registry; useful for tests)
`--verbose`	`false`	Debug logging to stderr
`--dry-run`	`false`	Print commands without executing

Architecture

locksmith is structured as two independent layers:

Layer 1: Vault (age + tar)

Manages encrypted, append-only snapshots. Shared and reusable -- future tools like pkismith (PKI CA management) will use the same vault layer.

Each snapshot is a self-contained .tar.age file (encrypted tarball)
Append-only: new snapshot per operation, old ones never modified
Encryption via filippo.io/age -- passphrase-based (scrypt) or key file
Filename format: <ISO8601>_<slugified-message>.tar.age

Layer 2: GPG + YubiKey

Operates on a GNUPGHOME directory. Shells out to the gpg binary with --homedir. Stateless -- takes a directory, performs operations, done. Doesn't know or care about encryption or storage.

Workflow

vault open  ->  find latest .tar.age -> decrypt -> untar -> tmpdir
                   |
                daemon holds session (GNUPGHOME = tmpdir, in-memory)
                   |
                CLI RPCs -> daemon -> gpg --homedir tmpdir ...
                   |
vault seal  ->  tar tmpdir -> encrypt -> write new .tar.age -> cleanup

Vault directory structure

~/Dropbox/Private/vault/
├── 2026-01-01T000000Z_initial-import.tar.age
├── 2026-03-15T103000Z_rotate-subkeys.tar.age
├── 2026-04-01T153000Z_new-yubikey-2.tar.age
└── ...

GNUPGHOME contents (inside each tarball)

GNUPGHOME/
├── pubring.kbx
├── trustdb.gpg
├── gpg.conf                   # pinentry-mode loopback (set by gpgsmith)
├── gpg-agent.conf             # allow-loopback-pinentry + cache TTLs (set by gpgsmith)
├── private-keys-v1.d/
├── gpgsmith.yaml              # GPG config (master_fp, algo, expiry)
├── gpgsmith-servers.yaml      # publish target registry (keyservers, GitHub)
├── gpgsmith-inventory.yaml    # YubiKey inventory
└── gpgsmith-audit.yaml        # audit log

Pinentry: loopback, always

Every gpgsmith vault is configured for loopback pinentry mode. gpgsmith writes gpg.conf and gpg-agent.conf into the ephemeral GNUPGHOME with:

# gpg.conf
pinentry-mode loopback

# gpg-agent.conf
allow-loopback-pinentry
default-cache-ttl 3600
max-cache-ttl 28800

This means:

No GUI pinentry popup, ever — works identically on desktops, headless servers, containers, and CI runners.
No dependency on pinentry-tty / pinentry-curses being installed.
The master-key passphrase is identical to the vault passphrase. gpgsmith passes it to gpg over a private OS pipe (fd 3 via ExtraFiles), never via argv (--passphrase), environment, or disk file.
gpg-agent's cache (1 hour default, 8 hours max) covers a typical interactive session so the user isn't re-prompted.
The passphrase stays inside the daemon process for the lifetime of the session and is never exported into any client shell.

Encryption

gpgsmith uses age for vault encryption, not GPG. This avoids a circular dependency (needing GPG keys to decrypt GPG keys).

Two modes:

Passphrase (default): prompted from terminal, scrypt-derived key. No key file to manage.
Key file: set identity in vault config to an age key file path. Useful for scripted/automated workflows.

Secure temporary directory

On Linux, decrypted vaults are stored in /dev/shm (RAM-backed tmpfs), so private keys never touch disk. On macOS, os.TempDir() is used (per-user /var/folders/...). Permissions are set to 0700. Signal handlers clean up on interrupt.

Sessions, terminals, and tabs

gpgsmith follows the gpg-agent / ssh-agent pattern: a long-running daemon owns the decrypted vaults; thin clients (CLI, web UI, future TUI) attach to a session via an opaque token.

Sessions are token-bound

Every gpgsmith vault open creates an independent session: the daemon decrypts the latest snapshot into /dev/shm (Linux) or the temp dir (macOS), spawns its own gpg-agent + scdaemon pair, mints a 64-character hex token, and returns it to the client. Two gpgsmith vault open work calls in two terminals produce two separate sessions with two separate workdirs and two separate tokens — they do not share state.

CLI: subshell binding

$ gpgsmith vault open work
Vault passphrase:
opened work as session 7f3a... (5 min idle timeout)
[gpgsmith:work] $ gpgsmith keys list      # GPGSMITH_SESSION is set in this subshell
[gpgsmith:work] $ exit                    # back to the parent shell

The subshell is $SHELL (bash, zsh — fish falls back to sh) with a small generated rc file that prepends [gpgsmith:<vault>] to your prompt. Inside the subshell every gpgsmith invocation reads GPGSMITH_SESSION from the environment and sends it to the daemon as the Gpgsmith-Session HTTP header. Exit the subshell to release the binding from your terminal; the daemon keeps the session open until its 5-minute idle timer fires.

For scripted use, gpgsmith vault open --no-shell work prints export GPGSMITH_SESSION=... to stdout for eval $(...).

Web UI: cookie binding

gpgsmith webui starts a loopback-only HTTP server that binds each browser tab to a session via an HttpOnly + SameSite=Strict cookie. The URL printed at startup carries a one-shot startup token; visiting it exchanges the token for a per-tab cookie and redirects to the bare URL. A tab opens its own session (with passphrase) from the dashboard; closing the tab releases the binding (the daemon's idle timer eventually sweeps the session). Multi-tab is supported — each tab is independent.

Auto-bind fallback

When you invoke a session-bearing CLI command without GPGSMITH_SESSION set and the daemon has exactly one open session, the CLI auto-binds to that session. With zero or two-plus open sessions, the CLI errors and asks you to either gpgsmith vault open <name> or set the env var explicitly.

Idle auto-seal

Each session has its own 5-minute idle timer. After expiry the daemon flushes the workdir to an encrypted .session-<host> file pair on disk and drops the in-memory state. The next vault open for the same vault detects the ephemeral and offers to resume or discard.

Daemon auto-spawn

If the daemon is not running, any CLI command (or gpgsmith webui) auto-spawns it as a detached child. Explicit gpgsmith daemon start is optional.

Configuration

Vault config: `~/.config/locksmith/config.yaml`

Machine-local, always available. Needed before decryption.

vault_dir: ~/Dropbox/Private/vault
identity: ~/.config/locksmith/age-key.txt   # optional; prompts passphrase if absent
gpg_binary: gpg

GPG config: `GNUPGHOME/gpgsmith.yaml`

Lives inside the encrypted tarball, travels with the keys. Available after vault open.

master_fp: 6E1FD854CD2D225DDAED8EB7822B3952F976544E
subkey_algo: rsa4096
subkey_expiry: 2y

Server registry: `GNUPGHOME/gpgsmith-servers.yaml`

Publish targets (keyservers and GitHub) with aliases and enable/disable. Managed via server commands. Initialized with built-in defaults on first use.

servers:
  - alias: openpgp
    type: keyserver
    url: hkps://keys.openpgp.org
    enabled: true
  - alias: ubuntu
    type: keyserver
    url: hkps://keyserver.ubuntu.com
    enabled: true
  - alias: github
    type: github
    enabled: false
  - alias: mailvelope
    type: keyserver
    url: hkps://keys.mailvelope.com
    enabled: false
  - alias: mit
    type: keyserver
    url: hkps://pgp.mit.edu
    enabled: false
  - alias: gnupg
    type: keyserver
    url: hkps://keys.gnupg.net
    enabled: false

Resolution order (lowest to highest priority)

Hardcoded defaults
Config files (vault config + GPG config after open)
CLI flags

No environment variables for configuration itself. Session state (decrypted GNUPGHOME path, vault passphrase) lives entirely in the daemon process. The CLI uses one environment variable — GPGSMITH_SESSION — as a per-terminal selector pointing at one of the daemon's open sessions; it carries an opaque token, never the passphrase. The web UI uses an HttpOnly cookie for the equivalent per-tab selector. Both are set automatically by gpgsmith vault open and gpgsmith webui.

Project Structure

locksmith/
├── cmd/gpgsmith/          binary entrypoint (ldflags for version info)
├── pkg/
│   ├── vault/             encrypted snapshot storage (age + tar), shared
│   ├── audit/             audit logging, shared
│   ├── gpg/               GPG operations, inventory, card management
│   ├── gpgsmith/          session type, TOFU trust, process hardening
│   ├── daemon/            long-running daemon: token-keyed session map, idle auto-seal
│   ├── wire/              ConnectRPC adapter (server + client over UDS/h2c, session header)
│   ├── gen/               buf-generated protobuf + ConnectRPC stubs
│   ├── cli/gpgsmith/      CLI wiring (urfave/cli/v3), thin daemon client + subshell wrapping
│   └── webui/gpgsmith/    loopback-only HTTP frontend (html/template + HTMX, embedded assets)
├── proto/                 protobuf schema (buf-managed)
├── testdata/              fixtures for GPG output parsing
├── Justfile               build/test/lint commands
├── devbox.json            dev environment (Go, golangci-lint, just, goreleaser, buf, protoc-gen-*)
└── .goreleaser.yaml       release configuration

Development

just build    # build binary to bin/gpgsmith
just test     # run all tests
just lint     # run golangci-lint
just check    # lint + test
just fmt      # format code

Contributing

Fork the repository
Create a feature branch
Ensure just check passes (lint + tests)
Open a pull request

The project uses strict golangci-lint configuration. CI runs lint and tests on every push and pull request.

Name		Name	Last commit message	Last commit date
Latest commit History 46 Commits
.claude		.claude
.github/workflows		.github/workflows
cmd/gpgsmith		cmd/gpgsmith
pkg		pkg
proto		proto
testdata		testdata
.envrc		.envrc
.gitignore		.gitignore
.golangci.yaml		.golangci.yaml
.goreleaser.yaml		.goreleaser.yaml
CHANGELOG.md		CHANGELOG.md
Justfile		Justfile
LICENSE		LICENSE
PLAN.md		PLAN.md
README.md		README.md
TASKS.md		TASKS.md
TEST_PLAN.md		TEST_PLAN.md
devbox.json		devbox.json
devbox.lock		devbox.lock
go.mod		go.mod
go.sum		go.sum

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locksmith

The Problem

Use Cases

Prerequisites

Optional dependencies

Installation

From source (recommended during development)

Go install

GitHub releases

Quick Start

1. First-time setup (new keys) -- recommended

2. Open and work with a vault

3. Import an existing GNUPGHOME

4. Discover existing YubiKeys

5. Rotate subkeys

6. Manage identities (add/revoke email, change primary)

7. Check inventory, audit log, and daemon state

8. Browse the vault from a web browser

9. Controlling the daemon explicitly

CLI Reference

Global flags

Architecture

Layer 1: Vault (age + tar)

Layer 2: GPG + YubiKey

Workflow

Vault directory structure

GNUPGHOME contents (inside each tarball)

Pinentry: loopback, always

Encryption

Secure temporary directory

Sessions, terminals, and tabs

Sessions are token-bound

CLI: subshell binding

Web UI: cookie binding

Auto-bind fallback

Idle auto-seal

Daemon auto-spawn

Configuration

Vault config: ~/.config/locksmith/config.yaml

GPG config: GNUPGHOME/gpgsmith.yaml

Server registry: GNUPGHOME/gpgsmith-servers.yaml

Resolution order (lowest to highest priority)

Project Structure

Development

Contributing

License

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Vault config: `~/.config/locksmith/config.yaml`

GPG config: `GNUPGHOME/gpgsmith.yaml`

Server registry: `GNUPGHOME/gpgsmith-servers.yaml`

Packages