Getting Started with gCrypt

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gCrypt is a utility to encrypt and decrypt the sensitive data stored in git repository. it’s wrapper on top of git-crypt tool. it allow you to configure git-crypt, manage users, trust level, encrypt and decrypt files easily.

Helpful Links to know more about git-crypt

• Git-Crypt docs

gCrypt Version

Version : v0.1.3
Release Date : 02-Sep-23

What is Git-Crypt ?

git-crypt is an open-source tool that allows you to encrypt and decrypt specific files or directories within a Git repository. It provides a way to protect sensitive data, such as configuration files or credentials, while still keeping them under version control. git-crypt works by encrypting the files with GPG (GNU Privacy Guard) and then storing them in the Git repository.

Here’s how to install and configure git-crypt for a Git repository:

Installation

sudo apt-get install git-crypt
sudo curl -sL "https://github.com/HarryTheDevOpsGuy/gcrypt/raw/master/$(uname -p)/gcrypt" -o /usr/bin/gcrypt
chmod +x /usr/bin/gcrypt

1. Install GPG: Before using git-crypt, you need to have GPG installed on your system. You can download and install GPG from the official GnuPG website (https://gnupg.org/download/).

2. Install git-crypt: You can install git-crypt using a package manager or by building it from source. Here’s how to install it using common package managers:

   • Debian/Ubuntu:

     sudo apt-get install git-crypt
     

   • Fedora/RHEL:

     sudo dnf install git-crypt
     

   • macOS (Homebrew):

     brew install git-crypt
     

   • Windows (Cygwin): You can use Cygwin to install git-crypt on Windows. Follow the Cygwin installation instructions, and then install git-crypt within the Cygwin environment using its package manager.

Once you have installed git-crypt, gnupg then you have install gcrypt by following commands.

sudo curl -sL "https://github.com/HarryTheDevOpsGuy/gcrypt/raw/master/$(uname -p)/gcrypt" -o /usr/bin/gcrypt
chmod +x /usr/bin/gcrypt

Configuration:

1. Initialize gcrypt for the Repository: In your Git repository, run the following command to initialize gcrypt:

   gcrypt init
   

   This creates a .gitattributes file and a .git-crypt directory in the repository.

2. Edit .gitattributes: Open the .gitattributes file that was created in your repository. You can specify which files or directories should be encrypted by adding patterns to the file. For example:

   sensitive-file.txt filter=git-crypt diff=git-crypt
   sensitive-directory/** filter=git-crypt diff=git-crypt
   

   This example specifies that the sensitive-file.txt and the contents of the sensitive-directory/ should be encrypted.

3. Add GPG Keys: To encrypt and decrypt files, you need to have GPG keys configured. Ensure that you have a GPG key pair (public and private keys) set up on your system.

   gpg --gen-key  # To generate new gpg private and public key.
   gpg --list-keys  # To list all gpg keys in your system
   

4. Share the Public Key: If you are collaborating with others, you need to share your GPG public key with them. They will use your public key to encrypt files that you can decrypt with your private key.

   If you are using any centralized gpg key server you have to set variable KEY_SERVER.

     export KEY_SERVER="https://keyserver.ubuntu.com"
     gcrypt trust gitusersemail@domain.com
   

Usage:

• After configuring gcrypt, simply commit the changes to the .gitattributes file and any files or directories you specified to be encrypted.

• When collaborators clone the repository, they need to have access to your GPG public key to decrypt the encrypted files. They can then use their own GPG keys to encrypt files for you.

• Remember to commit changes to the .git-crypt/ directory and .gitattributes file whenever you make changes to the encryption configuration.

With git-crypt, you can selectively encrypt and decrypt sensitive data in your Git repository, providing an added layer of security for your version-controlled files.