etcgnupggpgagentconf

etcgnupggpgagentconf refers to the configuration file for the GnuPG agent, gpg-agent. This daemon handles private-key operations, caches passphrase data, and interfaces with pinentry to prompt for passphrases. The configuration is typically stored in gpg-agent.conf, with a system-wide version at /etc/gnupg/gpg-agent.conf and a per-user version at ~/.gnupg/gpg-agent.conf. If both exist, the user file takes precedence.

The file uses simple option lines, often with optional values, and supports comments that begin with #. Common options include pinentry-program, which sets the path to the pinentry program used for passphrase prompts; enable-ssh-support, which enables the SSH authentication agent functionality provided by gpg-agent; default-cache-ttl and max-cache-ttl, which control how long a cache of passphrases remains valid in seconds; and allow-loopback-pinentry, which permits pinentry to be accessed over a loopback connection in certain environments.

A typical minimal gpg-agent.conf might look like:

pinentry-program /usr/bin/pinentry

enable-ssh-support

default-cache-ttl 600

max-cache-ttl 7200

allow-loopback-pinentry

To apply changes, reload the agent configuration with a command such as gpg-connect-agent 'reloadagent' /bye or by restarting gpg-agent. Proper permissions are important: the file should be readable by the appropriate user, and for system-wide configurations, restricted access (for example, 600) helps protect sensitive settings. Changes to this file influence how the agent handles key operations, prompts, and caching, and should be coordinated with any security and workflow considerations in the GnuPG setup.