age File Encryption

age is a minimal, modern encryption tool. It replaces GPG for most file encryption needs with a much simpler design: small explicit keys, no config files, and clean composability with UNIX pipes.

When to Use This Skill

• Encrypting files or directories before storing or sharing them
• Securely sending files to specific recipients by public key
• Encrypting secrets with a passphrase for backup or storage
• Encrypting to existing SSH public keys (ed25519 or RSA)
• Encrypting to multiple recipients at once
• Encrypting to a GitHub user's SSH keys
• Automating encryption/decryption in scripts

Installation

# macOS / Linux (Homebrew)
brew install age