Comprehensive OpenPGP Smart Card Management

The Smart Card Controller in GpgFrontend provides a comprehensive interface for managing your OpenPGP smart cards (such as YubiKey, Nitrokey, or other compatible devices). It allows you to view detailed card information, perform essential operations, and manage keys directly on your smart card.

Key Sections and Features

Smart Card(s) Selection: At the top, you can select from multiple detected smart cards (if more than one is connected) using the dropdown menu.

OpenPGP Card Information

• Basic Information: Displays card reader type, serial number, card type, firmware and app versions, manufacturer, cardholder name, language, and gender.
• Status: Displays the status of important card features, such as Signature Counter, PIN cache status (CHV1 Cached), PIN length limits, remaining PIN attempts (CHV Retry Left), KDF (key derivation function) status, UIF (touch-to-sign) status, and whether signing, encryption, and authentication are enabled.
• Key Information: Lists all cryptographic keys stored on the card, showing their type (sign, encrypt, authenticate), user identity (email), and Key ID.

Operations Panel

On the right, the Operations panel allows you to perform key management and card administration tasks:

• Change Name / Language / Gender: Personalize cardholder info stored on the card.
• Change Login Data / Public Key URL: Update login data or set a public key publication URL.
• Change PIN / Admin PIN / Reset Code: Change user or admin PIN, or reset the card if needed.
• Generate Card Keys: Directly generate new keys on the smart card, ensuring keys never leave the hardware.
• Fetch: Retrieve updated information from the card.
• Restart All Gpg-Agents: Restarts the background GnuPG agents. This is especially helpful if the card is not being recognized or after making major changes.
• Refresh: Reloads the interface and card information.

Key Stub(s) in Key Database(s)

• Shows the corresponding key stubs in your GnuPG keyring that are associated with the card.
• You can select keys, view their type, associated identity, and key ID.

Typical Usage Scenarios

• View and audit your card’s current status and configuration
• Change PINs or reset the card if you forget your credentials
• Generate new signing/encryption keys directly on the smart card for maximum security
• Update user information stored on the card
• Sync card keys with your GnuPG keyring

Security Note

All sensitive operations (such as PIN change or key generation) are performed directly on the smart card hardware, ensuring private keys never leave the device.