Donate Coffee

⭕With Commandline

Instructions on importing your gpg keys from your device to your yubikey.

Certain instructions on this page may vary slightly for you. It depends on which version of GPG you have installed.

DANGER: Exporting keys to Yubikey will destroy the local key. Ensure a backup has been made before doing this (so original state can be restored). See Backup GPG Keys and Restore Original GPG State respectively.

Plug your yubikey into a usb slot on your device and run the command:

gpg --card-status

Once you've confirmed that your Yubikey data is being read, type:

gpg --list-secret-keys --keyid-format=short

This will print a list of your current keys.

sec   rsa4096/531AF8AA 2022-11-14 [C]
      516755A58447F4FE8D2AE8A3A6EFD06F531AF8AA
uid         [ultimate] Aetherinox <johndoe@email.com>
ssb   rsa4096/1705A11E 2022-11-14 [S]
ssb   rsa4096/8E7130EA 2022-11-14 [E]
ssb   rsa4096/2D4537E9 2022-11-14 [A]

Note the ID 531AF8AA at the top of the list under sec. You will need to copy your own key ID and use it with the following command:

Console will now print out the keys associated to that master key id:

To move a key to your Yubikey; you need to select it and then transfer.

To select, we use the key command followed by the key number which is 1 2 or 3.

For example: type key 1 to select first subkey.

The console will place a * next to ssb. Typing key 1 again will deselect that key.

After you select the subkey and it shows a * to the right of the word ssb, type:

Since we're moving our signature subkey, we will select (1) Signature Key from the options:

You will be prompted for your passphrase.

Once that key is moved, type key 1 again to deselect the first key and remove the * asterisk from the front.

We will now execute:

List of keys will appear with the selection:

Transfer the subkey to your card:

Select the slot Encryption Key:

Deselect key 2 to remove the asterisk:

Select key 3:

List of keys will appear with the selection:

Start the transfer with:

Select the Authentication Key option:

After you've entered the requested passphrase, we will save all changes with:

You now have your subkeys transferred to your Yubikey.

To confirm all the keys are on your Yubikey, unplug your Yubikey for a few seconds, and then plug it back in. Open your Command Prompt / Powershell, and type:

You should see a list of information about your GPG interface of your Yubikey, and toward the bottom, you should also see a list of keys imported onto your Yubikey.

PreviousWith KleopatraNextWith Kleopatra

Last updated

Was this helpful?