This page covers GPG key switching — what gitswitch sets, how to find your key ID, and how to verify it works.

What it sets

When you switch to a profile with a GPG key, gitswitch runs:

git config --global user.signingkey ABCD1234EF567890

Git uses this key when signing commits (git commit -S) or when commit.gpgsign true is set.

Add a profile with a GPG key

gitswitch add work "Alice Smith" alice@company.com \
  --sign-key ABCD1234EF567890

The value passed to --sign-key is a GPG key ID — the 16-character hex string after the / in gpg --list-secret-keys.

Find your GPG key ID

gpg --list-secret-keys --keyid-format LONG

sec   rsa4096/ABCD1234EF567890 2023-01-15 [SC]
      ABCD1234EF5678901234567890ABCDEF12345678
uid                 [ultimate] Alice Smith <alice@company.com>

Use the 16-character ID: ABCD1234EF567890.

Generate a new GPG key

gpg --gen-key
# Follow the prompts; use the same email as your git profile

After generating, find the ID with gpg --list-secret-keys --keyid-format LONG.

Add the public key to GitHub:

gpg --armor --export ABCD1234EF567890
# Paste the output into GitHub → Settings → SSH and GPG keys → New GPG key

Sign commits

After switching to a profile with a signing key:

# Sign a single commit
git commit -S -m "Signed commit"

# Or always sign automatically
git config --global commit.gpgsign true

Verify a signed commit

git verify-commit HEAD

gpg: Signature made Mon 15 Jan 2024
gpg:                using RSA key ABCD1234EF567890
gpg: Good signature from "Alice Smith <alice@company.com>"

Or view signatures in the log:

git log --show-signature -1

Multiple profiles, multiple keys

gitswitch add personal "Alice" alice@gmail.com \
  --sign-key PERSONAL_KEY_ID

gitswitch add work "Alice Smith" alice@company.com \
  --sign-key WORK_KEY_ID

Switching profiles switches user.signingkey automatically.

Troubleshooting

error: key "KEYID" does not contain a secret key

The key is not in your keyring:

gpg --list-secret-keys --keyid-format LONG
# Check if the key ID appears

gpg --import ~/path/to/backup.gpg
# Import if needed

GPG hangs asking for passphrase repeatedly

Configure gpg-agent to cache the passphrase:

# ~/.gnupg/gpg-agent.conf
default-cache-ttl 3600
max-cache-ttl 7200

Restart the agent:

gpgconf --kill gpg-agent

Commits show "Unverified" on GitHub

GitHub requires:

The public key is added to your GitHub account (Settings → SSH and GPG keys)
The email on the key matches your git user.email

Check both and ensure the email in your gitswitch profile matches the GPG key's UID email.

GPG Signing