age_passphrase: Encrypt and decrypt with a passphrase

In agecrypt: File Encryption with the 'age' Format

Encrypt and decrypt with a passphrase

Description

Passphrase-based (scrypt) encryption, a separate mode from the recipient-based age_encrypt_raw() family. A file encrypted this way is decrypted with the matching ⁠age_decrypt_*_passphrase()⁠ function and the same passphrase — no key pair is involved.

Usage

age_encrypt_raw_passphrase(x, passphrase = NULL, armor = FALSE, log_n = 18)

age_decrypt_raw_passphrase(x, passphrase = NULL)

age_encrypt_file_passphrase(
  input,
  output = NULL,
  passphrase = NULL,
  armor = FALSE,
  overwrite = FALSE,
  log_n = 18
)

age_decrypt_file_passphrase(
  input,
  output = NULL,
  passphrase = NULL,
  overwrite = FALSE
)

Arguments

x	For age_encrypt_raw_passphrase(), a raw vector of plaintext. For age_decrypt_raw_passphrase(), a raw vector of ciphertext or a length-1 armored string.
passphrase	A length-1 character string. If NULL (the default) and the session is interactive, it is prompted for securely via askpass::askpass() (the suggested askpass package must be installed). Avoid hard-coding passphrases in scripts.
armor	If TRUE, produce ASCII-armored output.
log_n	scrypt work factor, as the base-2 logarithm of the parameter N. Higher is slower and more brute-force resistant. Defaults to 18; values above 22 are rejected (also on decrypt) to bound work.
input, output	File paths. output = NULL appends/strips .age as in age_encrypt_file().
overwrite	If FALSE (default), error when output already exists.

Value

The raw functions return a raw vector; the file functions return the output path invisibly.

Examples

ct <- age_encrypt_raw_passphrase(
  charToRaw("secret"),
  passphrase = "hunter2",
  log_n = 8
)
rawToChar(age_decrypt_raw_passphrase(ct, passphrase = "hunter2"))

agecrypt documentation built on Aug. 5, 2026, 9:08 a.m.