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--yes (--expert) --sign-key wants to interact with the user
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Description

See http://bugs.debian.org/427403. The issue can be reduced to a simple example:

gpg --expert --batch --sign-key 'XXXXXXXX'

Now if the UID for example has an expiration date, gnupg asks the user, if he
really wants to sign the key. Now the OP wants to use this in a script and
expected, that the --expert switch will turn of this question (like a force-yes).

Can/should --expert turn off such questions? Might it be worth to implement some
kind of --force-yes option, if the --expert switch is not the right one to
suppress enquiry calls?

Details

External Link
http://bugs.debian.org/427403

Event Timeline

• dleidert added projects: Feature Request, Debian.May 5 2009, 4:45 PM
• dleidert added a subscriber: • dleidert.
• dleidert added a comment.May 5 2009, 8:32 PM

When I checked for a force-yes switch, I grepped for "force" and missed the
--yes switch. But also using this switch results in a prompt, so the main issue
persists.

• dleidert renamed this task from --expert --sign-key wants to interact with the user to --yes (--expert) --sign-key wants to interact with the user.May 5 2009, 8:32 PM
• werner added projects: Won't Fix, gnupg.May 6 2009, 11:54 AM
• werner set External Link to http://bugs.debian.org/427403.
• werner added a subscriber: • werner.

This has been discussed several times on the mailing lists. You can't do that
because gpg needs to ask several questions. There are too many choices for a
command line mode. --sign-key makes it only easier in the most common cases. A
--force option won't help because you don't know which user ID you are going to
sign.

See the code in GPA on how to write a proper interactor for signing keys.

• werner closed this task as Resolved.Sep 3 2009, 7:26 PM
• werner claimed this task.