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gpg:tldr:d7e0d
The command gpg --symmetric ${doc-txt}
is used for encrypting a file using symmetric encryption with GnuPG (GPG).
Here is a breakdown of each component:
-
gpg
: This is the command for GnuPG, a free and open-source encryption program commonly used for encryption and decryption tasks. -
--symmetric
: This option instructs GPG to use symmetric encryption. Symmetric encryption uses the same key for both encryption and decryption, unlike asymmetric encryption that uses different keys for each process. -
${doc-txt}
: This is a placeholder for the name or location of the file you want to encrypt. You need to provide the actual path and name of the file in place of${doc-txt}
. For example, if the file you want to encrypt is nameddocument.txt
and is located in the current working directory, you would replace${doc-txt}
withdocument.txt
.
When you run this command after replacing the placeholder, GPG will encrypt the specified file using symmetric encryption and prompt you to enter a passphrase. The passphrase is used to protect the encrypted file, so make sure to choose a strong and memorable one. Once the encryption process is complete, you will have a file with the same name as the original but with the .gpg
extension.