---
title: "age"
category: "Backup, files and security"
tagline: "Simple, modern file encryption with small keys and no configuration."
source: "pacman"
package: "age"
command: "age"
website: "https://age-encryption.org/"
code: "https://github.com/FiloSottile/age"
---

## What it is

age encrypts files. You encrypt to someone's short public key, or to a passphrase, and only the matching private key or passphrase can decrypt the result. It does one job, has no settings to get wrong, and is a simpler alternative to GPG for sending or storing a file safely. `age-keygen` makes a key pair, and age can also encrypt to SSH public keys.

```
age -p -o notes.txt.age notes.txt
```

## Why it's here

- **Hard to misuse.** There are no ciphers or options to pick.
- **Small keys.** A public key fits on one line, so it's easy to share.
- **Works with SSH keys.** Encrypt a file to a colleague's existing `ssh-ed25519` key.

## On CoreDesktop

age is installed from pacman, with nothing extra configured. Run `age` in a terminal. `update` keeps it current with the rest of the Arch packages.