📥 How to import GPG keys

📆 2026-10-06 08:05

Keeping a backup of your GPG key is important, especially if you use it for signing files, emails, or encrypting data. Losing your private key can mean losing access to encrypted files that only that key can decrypt. If you haven't already create a backup for your key you can read:

📤 How to export GPG keys

If you already have your backup then it's time to move on.

Restore an encrypted backup

gpg --decrypt private.asc.gpg | gpg --import

GPG will ask for the passphrase you used when creating the encrypted backup. After importing the key, check that it is present:

gpg --list-secret-keys --keyid-format LONG

You should see your primary key and encryption subkey.

Restore an unencrypted backup

If your backup is an unencrypted private.asc file, simply run:

gpg --import private.asc

Then check the keyring again:

gpg --list-secret-keys

Test the restored key

You can make sure the restored signing key works by signing a small test file:

echo "GPG test" > test.txt
gpg --sign --armor test.txt

This creates test.txt.asc. Verify the signature with:

gpg --verify test.txt.asc

If GPG reports a Good signature, your key has been successfully restored.

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