Search code examples
gnupgpgp

Which private key file in private-keys-v1.d directory belongs to which key?

Since GnuPG 2.1 (https://www.gnupg.org/faq/whats-new-in-2.1.html), private keys of GnuPG are stored in the private-keys-v1.d subdirectory. After experimenting with key creation etc., I found that I have several *.key files in this directory:

$ ls .gnupg/private-keys-v1.d
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx.key
yyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy.key
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.key
...

The file names (x+, y+ and z+) looks like fingerprints etc., but are not equal to any of my existing public keys. How can I find which key file in this directory belongs to which key visible with gpg --list-keys?

Solution

  • Use --with-keygrip option when listing your keys.

    gpg --list-secret-keys --with-keygrip
gpg --list-keys --with-keygrip

    You can compare than the output with the content of the private-keys-v1.d subdirectory, where the keys are named like <keygrip>.key.