emacs EasyPG asks what key to use although epa-file-encrypt-to already specified

Question

Scenario: I use emacs with EasyPG to automate encryption and decryption of files. I open an empty file called test.gpg. I then paste the following text into the file

;; -*- epa-file-encrypt-to: ("[e-mail]") -*-
this-is-a-test, any text will do for this test

I then proceed to save the file. Emacs will respond by opening a buffer called *Keys* where I am supposed to select what key to use for the encryption. But as you see above, I already inserted the key spec ("[e-mail]") into the buffer using the syntax prescribed in the manual. And manually having to search in the other buffer to find and select the intended key is a chore.

Why does not EasyPG check for the key specification upon save? Is there a simple workaround?

Answer 1

Run M-x normal-mode which will parse and set the local variables in the file-local-variable-prop-line immediately before attempting to save the file. It is equivalent but less convenient to run (setq-local epa-file-encrypt-to '("[e-mail]"))

Once that is done, you should be able to save without being prompted to select a key.

Answer 2

Workaround as follows:

1. Save the file with a non-gpg extension (or no filename extension at all).

2. Do a "gpg -e filename" in a console window. You have to enter the the key spec (email address) once. This should create "filename.gpg". Don't forget to remove the unencrypted file.

After that, you can open the encrypted file in Emacs. It will prompt for the passphrase. And when saving changes, "epa-file-encrypt-to" will be considered.