pinentrygtk

pinentrygtk is a GTK+-based pinentry frontend used by the GnuPG suite to securely collect passphrases and PINs for OpenPGP keys. It provides a graphical dialog that conforms to the common pinentry interface, allowing users to enter secrets in a way designed to minimize exposure to input loggers and other software.

As part of the Pinentry collection, pinentrygtk communicates with GnuPG through the pinentry protocol. When a passphrase or PIN is required, GnuPG invokes pinentrygtk to display a prompt and return the entered value, after which GnuPG uses it to unlock keys or perform operations.

The frontend is designed to support secure, straightforward interaction in graphical environments. It emphasizes a simple user experience and integrates with GTK-based desktop environments to present a native-looking prompt for entering sensitive data. The input is supplied to GnuPG solely through the pinentry interface; no secrets are stored by the frontend itself.

Availability and packaging: pinentrygtk is packaged with many Linux distributions and is commonly installed as part of the Pinentry or GnuPG packages. It is one of several available frontends, alongside pinentry-qt, pinentry-curses, and other GTK-based variants such as pinentry-gtk2. Users can select the preferred frontend through environment variables or configuration in their GnuPG/desktop setup.

License and development: The pinentry project is released under the GNU General Public License and is maintained in coordination with the GnuPG project.

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