🔑 → GPGQR → 🏞 → 🖨

gpgqr helps to back up secret GPG keys as QR codes that may be printed

Requirements

• https://github.com/google/zx
• split or gsplit for MacOS
• paperkey
• qrencode
• zbarimg

Creating backup

1. ☝️ Install all the dependencies above.

2. 🔑 Check if you have your secret keys on your machine:

$ gpg -K
/var/folders/jx/5ll9xg7166945zr_jrzh423m0000gn/T/gnupg_202204132230_XXX.6TZDeVqr/pubring.kbx
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
sec   rsa4096 2022-04-13 [SC]
      5E4A60CDCE1374ADE9D4B42E311366FBF780DB86
uid           [ultimate] Eugene Dzhumak <eugene@example.com>
ssb   rsa4096 2022-04-13 [E]

If you see a hash symbol near the key type (sec#), it means your key is not on your machine. Did you store it offline on a USB drive?

3. 🏞 Run backup script providing your key identifier:

$ ./backup.mjs 5E4A60CDCE1374ADE9D4B42E311366FBF780DB86
rm -f generated/*
cp index.html generated/
gpg --export-secret-key 5E4A60CDCE1374ADE9D4B42E311366FBF780DB86 | paperkey --output-type raw | base64 | gsplit -C 1500 -d -a 2 - generated/temp-chunk-
cat generated/temp-chunk-00
qrencode -l L -o generated/qr-1.png
cat generated/temp-chunk-01
qrencode -l L -o generated/qr-2.png
cat generated/temp-chunk-02
qrencode -l L -o generated/qr-3.png

4. 🖨 Open ./generated/index.html in your browser and print the page or save it as PDF ( see example)
5. ✨ You are awesome ✨

Restoring

To restore secret keys you need to have your public key, what usually is not a problem.

1. 🏞 Place QR images inside /generated folder naming them with number suffix for proper sorting (like qr-1.png)
2. 🔐 Run the script providing a path to your public key file (binary, not armored)

$ ./restore.mjs ~/pubkey.gpg
zbarimg -q --raw ./generated/*.png | base64 -d | paperkey --pubring /Users/eugenedzhumak/pubkey.gpg | gpg --import
gpg: key 311366FBF780DB86: public key "Eugene Dzhumak <eugene@example.com>" imported
gpg: key 311366FBF780DB86: secret key imported
gpg: Total number processed: 1
gpg:               imported: 1
gpg:       secret keys read: 1
gpg:   secret keys imported: 1

3. ✅ Done. Check your GPG keys, they were restored:

$ gpg --list-secret-keys
/var/folders/jx/5ll9xg7166945zr_jrzh423m0000gn/T/gnupg_202204132230_XXX.6TZDeVqr/pubring.kbx
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
sec   rsa4096 2022-04-13 [SC]
      5E4A60CDCE1374ADE9D4B42E311366FBF780DB86
uid           [ unknown] Eugene Dzhumak <eugene@example.com>
ssb   rsa4096 2022-04-13 [E]

$ gpg --list-public-keys
/var/folders/jx/5ll9xg7166945zr_jrzh423m0000gn/T/gnupg_202204132230_XXX.6TZDeVqr/pubring.kbx
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
pub   rsa4096 2022-04-13 [SC]
      5E4A60CDCE1374ADE9D4B42E311366FBF780DB86
uid           [ unknown] Eugene Dzhumak <eugene@example.com>
sub   rsa4096 2022-04-13 [E]

Links and credits

• Paperkey - an OpenPGP key archiver
• Paperkey ArchWiki
• Create a paper backup of your GPG key
• Producing printable QR codes for persistent storage of GPG private keys
• https://github.com/balos1/easy-gpg-to-paper