Krypter Command Line: Essential Commands for Beginners

Krypter Command Line Reference: Flags, Syntax, and ExamplesKrypter is a fictional (or unspecified) command-line encryption tool in this reference. This guide covers typical command-line options, common syntax patterns, practical examples, and recommended workflows. If you’re using a real product named Krypter, commands and flags may differ — consult that product’s official docs for exact behavior. Below, “krypter” is used as the command name.

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Overview

Krypter is designed to encrypt and decrypt files, manage keys, sign and verify data, and integrate with scripts for automation. Typical features include symmetric and asymmetric encryption, password-based encryption, key generation and storage, streaming support for large files, and options for output formatting (binary, base64, armored).

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General syntax

Basic structure:

krypter [global options] <command> [command options] [arguments] 

• Global options apply to all commands (verbosity, config file, profile).
• Commands are primary actions like encrypt, decrypt, gen-key, sign, verify, inspect.
• Command options adjust the behavior of a specific command.
• Arguments are files, directories, or identifiers (key IDs, recipients).

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Common global options

--help, -h            Show help and exit --version             Show version and exit --config <file>       Use specified config file --profile <name>      Use a named profile from config --verbose, -v         Increase verbosity (repeat for more verbose) --quiet, -q           Suppress non-error output --no-color            Disable colored output 

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Key management commands

gen-key

krypter gen-key [--type rsa|ed25519|x25519|aes] [--size <bits>] [--name <keyname>] [--passphrase] [--output <file>] 

• –type: choose asymmetric algorithm (rsa, ed25519, x25519) or symmetric (aes).
• –size: key size for RSA (2048, 4096).
• –name: human-friendly name or identifier for the key.
• –passphrase: prompt to protect private key with passphrase.
• –output: write key to file (default: keystore).

import-key

krypter import-key --file <path> [--name <keyname>] [--format pem|pkcs12|kry] [--passphrase <pass>] 

export-key

krypter export-key --id <key-id|name> [--public|--private] [--output <file>] [--format pem|kry] [--no-passphrase] 

list-keys

krypter list-keys [--all] [--type public|private|symmetric] 

delete-key

krypter delete-key --id <key-id|name> [--force] 

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Encrypt / Decrypt

encrypt (asymmetric, for recipients)

krypter encrypt --recipient <id|pubkey-file> [--armor] [--output <file>] [--encrypt-algo aes-256-gcm] <input-file> 

• –recipient: one or multiple recipients; can be repeated.
• –armor: output ASCII-armored (base64) instead of binary.
• –encrypt-algo: choose symmetric cipher used for data (default: AES-256-GCM).
• If input is omitted or - is used, reads from stdin.

Example:

krypter encrypt --recipient [email protected] --armor -o secret.txt.kry secret.txt 

encrypt (password-based)

krypter encrypt --passphrase [--armor] [--output <file>] <input-file> 

• Prompts for passphrase if none provided; supports env var or stdin passphrase via --passphrase-file.

decrypt

krypter decrypt [--passphrase] [--output <file>] <input-file> 

• Automatically selects correct private key if available. Use --key <id> to specify.
• Example:

  
  krypter decrypt -o secret.txt secret.txt.kry 

Streaming example (stdin/stdout)

cat secret.txt | krypter encrypt --recipient bob | krypter decrypt --key mykey > secret_out.txt 

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Signing and verification

sign

krypter sign --key <id|name> [--detached] [--output <file>] <input-file> 

• –detached: create a detached signature file.
• –output: signature filename (default: append .sig).

verify

krypter verify --signature <sig-file> [--key <pubkey-file|id>] <input-file> 

• Returns exit code 0 for valid signature, non-zero otherwise. Use --verbose to see signer info.

Example (detached)

krypter sign --key alice@me --detached -o secret.txt.sig secret.txt krypter verify --signature secret.txt.sig --key alice.pub secret.txt 

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Inspecting files and metadata

info

krypter info <encrypted-file> 

Shows metadata: recipients, cipher, key IDs, creation time, compression used, whether armored, etc.

headers

krypter headers <file>        # show low-level packet/header info 

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Advanced options

–compress
–armor-level
–chunk-size # for streaming large files –pad # padding for block ciphers –aad # additional authenticated data for AEAD ciphers –mtime # fix modification time to enable reproducible outputs –deterministic # avoid non-deterministic metadata for reproducible outputs

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Exit codes and error semantics

• 0 — success
• 1 — general error (invalid args, missing files)
• 2 — key not found
• 3 — decryption failed (bad key/passphrase/auth tag)
• 4 — verification failed (signature invalid)
• >128 — fatal internal error / crash

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Examples and use cases

1. Encrypt a file for multiple recipients (binary output)

   krypter encrypt --recipient alice --recipient bob -o project.enc project.tar.gz 

2. Encrypt with a passphrase and ASCII armor (share via email)

   krypter encrypt --passphrase --armor -o note.asc note.txt 

3. Generate an RSA 4096 key and export public key

   krypter gen-key --type rsa --size 4096 --name "work-key" krypter export-key --id "work-key" --public --output work-key.pub.pem 

4. Sign a release tarball with detached signature

   krypter sign --key release-key --detached -o release.tar.gz.sig release.tar.gz 

5. Decrypt streaming data from stdin

   curl -s https://example.com/secret.kry | krypter decrypt --key mykey > secret 

6. Reproducible encrypted output (useful for build systems)

   krypter encrypt --recipient ci --mtime 0 --deterministic -o artifact.kry artifact.bin 

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Scripting tips

• Use exit codes in scripts to branch on success/failure.
• For automation, store private keys in a secure keystore and protect with passphrases or agent-based unlocking.
• Avoid passing passphrases on the command line; use passphrase files with strict permissions or an agent.
• Use --armor when sending over text-only channels; prefer binary for local storage to save size.
• Combine --info with jq-like parsers if Krypter can emit JSON metadata (krypter info --json file).

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Security considerations

• Prefer authenticated encryption modes (AES-GCM, ChaCha20-Poly1305).
• Ensure private keys and passphrase files have restrictive file permissions (chmod 600).
• Use strong, unique passphrases and consider a hardware security module (HSM) or OS keychain for private keys.
• Validate recipient public keys’ fingerprints out of band before trusting them.
• Be cautious with deterministic mode — while useful for reproducibility, it can leak metadata patterns.

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Troubleshooting

• “Decryption failed”: check correct private key, passphrase, and whether file is corrupted. Use krypter info to inspect.
• “Key not found”: run krypter list-keys --all and krypter import-key.
• “Signature invalid”: verify you used the right public key and that the signature file matches the data (no transfer corruption).
• Permission errors: ensure files (key files, output) are writable and accessible.

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Comparison with similar tools

Feature	Krypter (this guide)	OpenSSL	GPG / OpenPGP
Symmetric & asymmetric	Yes	Yes	Yes
Easy recipient model	Yes	No (manual)	Yes
ASCII armor	Yes	Yes	Yes
Reproducible encryption	Yes (deterministic)	Limited	No (by default)
Key management built-in	Yes	Minimal	Complex/robust

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Concluding notes

This reference provides a comprehensive, practical overview of a command-line tool named krypter. Adapt flags and workflows to the real implementation you use. If you want, I can convert these examples into a manpage-style document, generate bash/zsh autocompletion snippets, or produce PowerShell equivalents.