Getting Org-Crypt to work (doc bug?)

Getting Org-Crypt to work (doc bug?)

[David Masterson]

I'm trying to get org-crypt to work, but I'm missing something.
Following the Org-Crypt Info page, I've set it up for symmetric
encryption and added a :crypt: tag to a header.  When I try to save the
file, it reports that no key was specified, so it will do symmetric
encryption.  And then it freezes.  C-g will unfreeze, but the buffer is
slightly messed up like it started working on something, but waited for
an external command? GPG is installed.  What am I missing?

-- 
David Masterson

Re: Getting Org-Crypt to work (doc bug?)

[Gregor Zattler]

Hi David,
* David Masterson <dsmasterson92630@outlook.com> [2020-09-12; 19:09]:
> I'm trying to get org-crypt to work, but I'm missing something.
> Following the Org-Crypt Info page, I've set it up for symmetric
> encryption and added a :crypt: tag to a header.  When I try to save the
> file, it reports that no key was specified, so it will do symmetric
> encryption.  And then it freezes.  C-g will unfreeze, but the buffer is
> slightly messed up like it started working on something, but waited for
> an external command? GPG is installed.  What am I missing?

I assume it waits for a passphrase.  Do you have gpg-agent
installed?  What is your operating system?


Ciao; Gregor
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Re: Getting Org-Crypt to work (doc bug?)

[David Masterson]

Gregor Zattler <telegraph@gmx.net> writes:

> Hi David,
> * David Masterson <dsmasterson92630@outlook.com> [2020-09-12; 19:09]:
>> I'm trying to get org-crypt to work, but I'm missing something.
>> Following the Org-Crypt Info page, I've set it up for symmetric
>> encryption and added a :crypt: tag to a header.  When I try to save the
>> file, it reports that no key was specified, so it will do symmetric
>> encryption.  And then it freezes.  C-g will unfreeze, but the buffer is
>> slightly messed up like it started working on something, but waited for
>> an external command? GPG is installed.  What am I missing?
>
> I assume it waits for a passphrase.  Do you have gpg-agent
> installed?  What is your operating system?

Yes, gpg-agent is installed and appears to have been started in
background.  My O/S is Debian on a Chromebook.

I start Emacs via 'xterm -e emacs' and just noticed (thanks to you) that
I'm getting a textual popup on the xterm asking for the
passphrase. Given that, everything works.

So, you're saying that the textual popup is the correct mechanism for
getting the passphrase?

-- 
David Masterson

Re: Getting Org-Crypt to work (doc bug?)

[Gregor Zattler]

Hi David,
* David Masterson <dsmasterson92630@outlook.com> [2020-09-13; 17:11]:
> Yes, gpg-agent is installed and appears to have been started in
> background.  My O/S is Debian on a Chromebook.
>
> I start Emacs via 'xterm -e emacs' and just noticed (thanks to you) that
> I'm getting a textual popup on the xterm asking for the
> passphrase. Given that, everything works.
>
> So, you're saying that the textual popup is the correct mechanism for
> getting the passphrase?

That's one possible way.  If you want to have a graphical
dialog box, check which pinentry packages are installed:

$ dpkg -l '*pinentry*'
Desired=Unknown/Install/Remove/Purge/Hold
| Status=Not/Inst/Conf-files/Unpacked/halF-conf/Half-inst/trig-aWait/Trig-pend
|/ Err?=(none)/Reinst-required (Status,Err: uppercase=bad)
||/ Name            Version      Architecture Description
+++-===============-============-============-======================================================
un  pinentry        <none>       <none>       (no description available)
ii  pinentry-curses 1.1.0-2      amd64        curses-based PIN or pass-phrase entry dialog for GnuPG
ii  pinentry-doc    1.1.0-2      all          documentation for pinentry packages
un  pinentry-gnome3 <none>       <none>       (no description available)
un  pinentry-gtk2   <none>       <none>       (no description available)
ii  pinentry-qt     1.1.0-2      amd64        Qt-based PIN or pass-phrase entry dialog for GnuPG
un  pinentry-qt4    <none>       <none>       (no description available)
un  pinentry-x11    <none>       <none>       (no description available)

as you see, at my system, there are two pinentry packages
installed (besides the docs): pinentry-curses for terminal
while pinentry-qt provides a graphical dialog box.  I choose
pinentry-qt, because it had fewer dependencies and was
smaller than the other options.

If your system lacks a graphical pinentry, install one.




Ciao; Gregor
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Re: Getting Org-Crypt to work (doc bug?)

[tomas]

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On Mon, Sep 14, 2020 at 10:42:57AM +0200, Gregor Zattler wrote:
> Hi David,
> * David Masterson <dsmasterson92630@outlook.com> [2020-09-13; 17:11]:
> > Yes, gpg-agent is installed and appears to have been started in
> > background.  My O/S is Debian on a Chromebook.
> >
> > I start Emacs via 'xterm -e emacs' and just noticed (thanks to you) that
> > I'm getting a textual popup on the xterm asking for the
> > passphrase. Given that, everything works.
> >
> > So, you're saying that the textual popup is the correct mechanism for
> > getting the passphrase?
> 
> That's one possible way.  If you want to have a graphical
> dialog box, check which pinentry packages are installed:
> 
> $ dpkg -l '*pinentry*'

[...]

> as you see, at my system, there are two pinentry packages
> installed (besides the docs): pinentry-curses for terminal
> while pinentry-qt provides a graphical dialog box.  I choose
> pinentry-qt, because it had fewer dependencies and was
> smaller than the other options.
> 
> If your system lacks a graphical pinentry, install one.

Pinentry is gpg's way to ask you for your passphrase.
AFAIK there's a way for Emacs to do the pinentry thing
(in case you don't like some unrelated popup exploding
in your face).

I don't know what the current status is (there used to
be a pinentry.el).

So... lots of possibilities.

Cheers
 - t

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Re: Getting Org-Crypt to work (doc bug?)

[Nicolas Goaziou]

Hello,

David Masterson <dsmasterson92630@outlook.com> writes:

> I'm trying to get org-crypt to work, but I'm missing something.
> Following the Org-Crypt Info page, I've set it up for symmetric
> encryption and added a :crypt: tag to a header.  When I try to save the
> file, it reports that no key was specified, so it will do symmetric
> encryption.  And then it freezes.  C-g will unfreeze, but the buffer is
> slightly messed up like it started working on something, but waited for
> an external command? GPG is installed.  What am I missing?

Could you explain more precisely what you did? For example, I encounter
no problem crypting the following file:

--8<---------------cut here---------------start------------->8---
* Test                                                                     :crypt:

This is crypted.

# Local Variables:
# org-crypt-key: nil
# End:
--8<---------------cut here---------------end--------------->8---

Upon saving the file, I type the key twice, and the entry is encrypted.

Note that I evaluated (org-crypt-use-before-save-magic) once beforehand.

Regards,
-- 
Nicolas Goaziou

Re: Getting Org-Crypt to work (doc bug?)

[David Masterson]

Nicolas Goaziou <mail@nicolasgoaziou.fr> writes:

> Hello,
>
> David Masterson <dsmasterson92630@outlook.com> writes:
>
>> I'm trying to get org-crypt to work, but I'm missing something.
>> Following the Org-Crypt Info page, I've set it up for symmetric
>> encryption and added a :crypt: tag to a header.  When I try to save the
>> file, it reports that no key was specified, so it will do symmetric
>> encryption.  And then it freezes.  C-g will unfreeze, but the buffer is
>> slightly messed up like it started working on something, but waited for
>> an external command? GPG is installed.  What am I missing?
>
> Could you explain more precisely what you did? For example, I encounter
> no problem crypting the following file:
>
> * Test                                                                     :crypt:
>
> This is crypted.
>
> # Local Variables:
> # org-crypt-key: nil
> # End:
>
> Upon saving the file, I type the key twice, and the entry is encrypted.
>
> Note that I evaluated (org-crypt-use-before-save-magic) once beforehand.

I'm setting up Org this way:

(use-package org
  :init (setq
  	 org-tags-exclude-from-inheritance '("crypt")
	 org-crypt-key nil
  	 )
  :config (progn
	    (require 'org-crypt)
	    (org-crypt-use-before-save-magic)
	   )
  )

I did essentially what you did (added :crypt: to a header in one of my
files) and tried to save the file.

Found it!  I started Emacs on Linux via 'xterm -e emacs &' because
something else had done this to me (forget what).  The thing is that GPG
is asking for the passphrase on the xterm window and not in the Emacs.
I didn't notice this because Emacs covered it. Someone else mentioned
the gpg-agent(?) to prevent this (is there another way?).  Both things
should be mentioned in the Org-Mode Info pages for org-crypt.

-- 
David Masterson

Re: Getting Org-Crypt to work (doc bug?)

[Colin Baxter]

>>>>> David Masterson <dsmasterson92630@outlook.com> writes:

    > Nicolas Goaziou <mail@nicolasgoaziou.fr> writes:
    >> Hello,
    >> 
    >> David Masterson <dsmasterson92630@outlook.com> writes:
    >> 
    >>> I'm trying to get org-crypt to work, but I'm missing something.
    >>> Following the Org-Crypt Info page, I've set it up for symmetric
    >>> encryption and added a :crypt: tag to a header.  When I try to
    >>> save the file, it reports that no key was specified, so it will
    >>> do symmetric encryption.  And then it freezes.  C-g will
    >>> unfreeze, but the buffer is slightly messed up like it started
    >>> working on something, but waited for an external command? GPG is
    >>> installed.  What am I missing?
    >> 
    >> Could you explain more precisely what you did? For example, I
    >> encounter no problem crypting the following file:
    >> 
    >> * Test :crypt:
    >> 
    >> This is crypted.
    >> 
    >> # Local Variables: # org-crypt-key: nil # End:
    >> 
    >> Upon saving the file, I type the key twice, and the entry is
    >> encrypted.
    >> 
    >> Note that I evaluated (org-crypt-use-before-save-magic) once
    >> beforehand.

    > I'm setting up Org this way:

    > (use-package org :init (setq org-tags-exclude-from-inheritance
    > '("crypt") org-crypt-key nil ) :config (progn (require 'org-crypt)
    > (org-crypt-use-before-save-magic) ) )

    > I did essentially what you did (added :crypt: to a header in one
    > of my files) and tried to save the file.

    > Found it!  I started Emacs on Linux via 'xterm -e emacs &' because
    > something else had done this to me (forget what).  The thing is
    > that GPG is asking for the passphrase on the xterm window and not
    > in the Emacs.  I didn't notice this because Emacs covered
    > it. Someone else mentioned the gpg-agent(?) to prevent this (is
    > there another way?).  Both things should be mentioned in the
    > Org-Mode Info pages for org-crypt.

    > -- David Masterson

The overlay of a password field (either in an xterm or popup) is a
particular problem for full screen applications, or if you using
something like  stumpwm. I've found that whether or not I get a popup
depends on the version of gnupg. Anything greater than gpg version 2.1.18
I get a popup. In those cases, to make sure the password request is
passed always to emacs and not to a popup, I set the variable
`epa-pinentry-mode' to loopback as in

#+begin_src elisp
(setq epa-pinentry-mode 'loopback)
#+end_src

This seems to work.

Best wishes,

Re: Getting Org-Crypt to work (doc bug?)

[tomas]

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On Mon, Sep 14, 2020 at 12:18:50PM +0100, Colin Baxter wrote:
> [...] I set the variable
> `epa-pinentry-mode' to loopback as in
> 
> #+begin_src elisp
> (setq epa-pinentry-mode 'loopback)
> #+end_src
> 
> This seems to work.

Oh, thanks -- this answers the question I only half-posed :)

BTW: the variable documentation says to use `epg-pinentry-mode'
for Emacs versions >= 27.1

Cheers
 - t

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Re: Getting Org-Crypt to work (doc bug?)

[Colin Baxter]

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>>>>>   <tomas@tuxteam.de> writes:

    > On Mon, Sep 14, 2020 at 12:18:50PM +0100, Colin Baxter wrote:
    >> [...] I set the variable `epa-pinentry-mode' to loopback as in
    >> 
    >> #+begin_src elisp (setq epa-pinentry-mode 'loopback) #+end_src
    >> 
    >> This seems to work.

    > Oh, thanks -- this answers the question I only half-posed :)

    > BTW: the variable documentation says to use `epg-pinentry-mode'
    > for Emacs versions >= 27.1

I remember I had this epa/epg issue a while ago, I think with
emacs-26.3. Putting the variable as `epa-pinentry-mode' worked for me, but
`epg-pinentry-mode' didn't. I've not looked at it since. It still works
for me with emacs-27.1 and I thought it best to leave it alone. :-)

Best wishes,

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Re: Getting Org-Crypt to work (doc bug?)

[Robert Pluim]

>>>>> On Mon, 14 Sep 2020 15:17:02 +0100, Colin Baxter <m43cap@yandex.com> said:

>>>>>   <tomas@tuxteam.de> writes:
    >> On Mon, Sep 14, 2020 at 12:18:50PM +0100, Colin Baxter wrote:
    >>> [...] I set the variable `epa-pinentry-mode' to loopback as in
    >>> 
    >>> #+begin_src elisp (setq epa-pinentry-mode 'loopback) #+end_src
    >>> 
    >>> This seems to work.

    >> Oh, thanks -- this answers the question I only half-posed :)

    >> BTW: the variable documentation says to use `epg-pinentry-mode'
    >> for Emacs versions >= 27.1

    Colin> I remember I had this epa/epg issue a while ago, I think with
    Colin> emacs-26.3. Putting the variable as `epa-pinentry-mode' worked for me, but
    Colin> `epg-pinentry-mode' didn't. I've not looked at it since. It still works
    Colin> for me with emacs-27.1 and I thought it best to leave it alone. :-)

    epa-pinentry-mode is a variable defined in `epg-config.el'.
    Its value is nil

      This variable is an alias for `epg-pinentry-mode'.
      This variable is obsolete since 27.1;
      use `epg-pinentry-mode' instead.

That means you should be good for at least another two emacs releases
or so (5 years, 8? who knows).

Robert

Re: Getting Org-Crypt to work (doc bug?)

[David Masterson]

Colin Baxter <m43cap@yandex.com> writes:

> The overlay of a password field (either in an xterm or popup) is a
> particular problem for full screen applications, or if you using
> something like  stumpwm. I've found that whether or not I get a popup
> depends on the version of gnupg. Anything greater than gpg version 2.1.18
> I get a popup. In those cases, to make sure the password request is
> passed always to emacs and not to a popup, I set the variable
> `epa-pinentry-mode' to loopback as in
>
> #+begin_src elisp
> (setq epa-pinentry-mode 'loopback)
> #+end_src
>
> This seems to work.

Oh! I'll have to try that.  Thanks.
-- 
David Masterson

Re: Getting Org-Crypt to work (doc bug?)

[Bastien]

Hi David,

David Masterson <dsmasterson92630@outlook.com> writes:

> Both things
> should be mentioned in the Org-Mode Info pages for org-crypt.

Can you please provide a patch for this?

Thanks,

-- 
 Bastien

Re: Getting Org-Crypt to work (doc bug?)

[David Masterson]

Bastien <bzg@gnu.org> writes:

> Hi David,
>
> David Masterson <dsmasterson92630@outlook.com> writes:
>
>> Both things should be mentioned in the Org-Mode Info pages for
>> org-crypt.
>
> Can you please provide a patch for this?
>
> Thanks,

I'm not very good with this yet, but, when I figure it out, I will
certainly consider a patch.  Never having done a patch before, could you
list the steps for providing a patch?
-- 
David Masterson

Re: Getting Org-Crypt to work (doc bug?)

[David Masterson]

David Masterson <dsmasterson92630@outlook.com> writes:

> Bastien <bzg@gnu.org> writes:
>
>> Hi David,
>>
>> David Masterson <dsmasterson92630@outlook.com> writes:
>>
>>> Both things should be mentioned in the Org-Mode Info pages for
>>> org-crypt.
>>
>> Can you please provide a patch for this?
>>
>> Thanks,
>
> I'm not very good with this yet, but, when I figure it out, I will
> certainly consider a patch.  Never having done a patch before, could you
> list the steps for providing a patch?

Nevermind -- here's the patch:

-----------------
diff --git a/doc/org-manual.org b/doc/org-manual.org
index 3eb745b5d..775af7a13 100644
--- a/doc/org-manual.org
+++ b/doc/org-manual.org
@@ -19650,8 +19650,9 @@ an Org file that is part of a publishing project.
 :END:
 
 Org Crypt encrypts the text of an entry, but not the headline, or
-properties.  Behind the scene, it uses the Emacs EasyPG library to
-encrypt and decrypt files.
+properties.  Behind the scene, it uses the [[info:epa][Emacs EasyPG Library]] to
+encrypt and decrypt files.  Also, pay attention to the installation
+and setup of [[info:gnupg][GnuPG]]
 
 #+vindex: org-crypt-tag-matcher
 Any text below a headline that has a =crypt= tag is automatically
-----------------

-- 
David Masterson

Re: Getting Org-Crypt to work (doc bug?)

[David Masterson]

David Masterson <dsmasterson92630@outlook.com> writes:

> David Masterson <dsmasterson92630@outlook.com> writes:
>
>> Bastien <bzg@gnu.org> writes:
>>
>>> Hi David,
>>>
>>> David Masterson <dsmasterson92630@outlook.com> writes:
>>>
>>>> Both things should be mentioned in the Org-Mode Info pages for
>>>> org-crypt.
>>>
>>> Can you please provide a patch for this?
>>>
>>> Thanks,
>>
>> I'm not very good with this yet, but, when I figure it out, I will
>> certainly consider a patch.  Never having done a patch before, could you
>> list the steps for providing a patch?
>
> Nevermind -- here's the patch:
>
> -----------------
diff --git a/doc/org-manual.org b/doc/org-manual.org
index 3eb745b5d..775af7a13 100644
--- a/doc/org-manual.org
+++ b/doc/org-manual.org
@@ -19650,8 +19650,9 @@ an Org file that is part of a publishing project.
 :END:
 
 Org Crypt encrypts the text of an entry, but not the headline, or
-properties.  Behind the scene, it uses the Emacs EasyPG library to
-encrypt and decrypt files.
+properties.  Behind the scene, it uses the [[info:epa][Emacs EasyPG Library]] to
+encrypt and decrypt files.  Also, pay attention to the installation
+and setup of [[info:gnupg][GnuPG]]
 
 #+vindex: org-crypt-tag-matcher
 Any text below a headline that has a =crypt= tag is automatically
> -----------------

I didn't see a reply -- does the above patch work?  Have you applied it?

-- 
David Masterson

Re: Getting Org-Crypt to work (doc bug?)

[Bastien]

Hi David,

David Masterson <dsmasterson92630@outlook.com> writes:

> I didn't see a reply -- does the above patch work?  Have you applied
> it?

I have not had the time to test the patch yet.

If you are confident the fix is good, please update the format of the
patch, following instructions here:

https://orgmode.org/worg/org-contribute.html#commit-messages

Thanks,

-- 
 Bastien

Re: Getting Org-Crypt to work (doc bug?)

[Bastien]

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Hi David,

David Masterson <dsmasterson92630@outlook.com> writes:

> diff --git a/doc/org-manual.org b/doc/org-manual.org
> index 3eb745b5d..775af7a13 100644
> --- a/doc/org-manual.org
> +++ b/doc/org-manual.org

Applied as e2bb60581:
https://code.orgmode.org/bzg/org-mode/commit/e2bb60581

I'm attaching the patch so that you can see how to format the
ChangeLog for future contributions.

Best,

-- 
 Bastien

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[-- Type: text/x-diff, Size: 1070 bytes --]

From e2bb60581b489f92c9f2479994d484d2104968db Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: David Masterson <dsmasterson92630@outlook.com>
Date: Wed, 23 Sep 2020 11:03:24 +0200
Subject: [PATCH] doc/org-manual.org (Org Crypt): Add info links to epa and
 GnuPG

* doc/org-manual.org (Org Crypt): Add info links to epa and GnuPG.

TINYCHANGE
---
 doc/org-manual.org | 4 ++--
 1 file changed, 2 insertions(+), 2 deletions(-)

diff --git a/doc/org-manual.org b/doc/org-manual.org
index 229575b13..043f2ddd1 100644
--- a/doc/org-manual.org
+++ b/doc/org-manual.org
@@ -19697,8 +19697,8 @@ an Org file that is part of a publishing project.
 :END:
 
 Org Crypt encrypts the text of an entry, but not the headline, or
-properties.  Behind the scene, it uses the Emacs EasyPG library to
-encrypt and decrypt files.
+properties.  Behind the scene, it uses the [[info:epa][Emacs EasyPG Library]] to
+encrypt and decrypt files, and EasyPG needs a correct [[info:gnupg][GnuPG]] setup.
 
 #+vindex: org-crypt-tag-matcher
 Any text below a headline that has a =crypt= tag is automatically
-- 
2.25.1

Re: Getting Org-Crypt to work (doc bug?)

[David Masterson]

Bastien <bzg@gnu.org> writes:

> Hi David,
>
> Applied as e2bb60581:
> https://code.orgmode.org/bzg/org-mode/commit/e2bb60581
>
> I'm attaching the patch so that you can see how to format the
> ChangeLog for future contributions.
>
> Best,

Thanks

-- 
David Masterson