How to Use the Command 'rage' (with Examples)

‘rage’ is a simple, secure, and modern file encryption tool written in Rust. It provides easy-to-use encryption capabilities with explicit keys, no configuration options, and seamless integration with UNIX-style commands. This tool is particularly effective for users who need dependable security without the complexity of additional steps or configurations. It serves as a simplified implementation of the ‘age’ file encryption format, desirable for its robustness and user-friendliness.

Use Case 1: Encrypting a File for a User and Saving It as ‘message.age’

Code:

echo "Your secret message" | rage --encrypt --recipient user --output path/to/message.age

Motivation:

In today’s digital age, protecting sensitive information sent over networks or shared between users is crucial. This example illustrates how you can encrypt a file with ‘rage’ for a specific recipient, ensuring that only the intended individual can decrypt the message. It’s particularly useful in scenarios where sensitive data needs to be transmitted securely over potentially insecure channels, like email or cloud storage. By encrypting the message, any unauthorized access is thwarted, maintaining confidentiality.

Explanation:

• echo "Your secret message": This part of the command creates a stream of text containing the secret message you want to encrypt. The use of echo indicates the data is immediately provided for encryption.

• |: This pipe ("|") feeds the output from the echo command directly into the rage command, thus integrating the two operations seamlessly.

• rage --encrypt: This is the core command to encrypt data using ‘rage’. The --encrypt flag specifies that the action to be performed is encryption.

• --recipient user: This argument indicates the public key of the intended recipient who will be able to decrypt and access the message. Replace ‘user’ with the actual recipient identifier.

• --output path/to/message.age: This specifies the output file path where the encrypted data will be saved. The convention is to save encrypted files with a ‘.age’ extension to signify their encrypted status.

Example Output:

While this command does not produce output in the terminal, it creates a file named ‘message.age’ at the specified path, containing the encrypted text. If you later inspect ‘message.age’, it will appear as a series of garbled characters unreadable without decryption.

Use Case 2: Decrypting a File Using ‘identity_file’ and Saving It as ‘message’

Code:

rage --decrypt --identity path/to/identity_file --output message

Motivation:

Decrypting a previously encrypted file is just as vital as encrypting it. This step is necessary for the recipient to view the original content after receiving an encrypted message. When you receive a file encrypted specifically for you, possessing the right identity file (private key) means you can decrypt and access the message. This use case showcases how ‘rage’ complements encryption by securely reversing the process so the intended message can be understood.

Explanation:

• rage --decrypt: This initializes ‘rage’ in decryption mode. By specifying --decrypt, you confirm the intention is to convert secured data back to its readable format.

• --identity path/to/identity_file: This argument specifies the identity (or private key) file which is used to decrypt the file. The identity file corresponds to the recipient’s key, providing necessary credentials to access the encrypted content.

• --output message: This specifies where the decrypted content will be saved. ‘message’ in this context is the filename which will house the now-readable content after decryption.

Example Output:

Once executed, this command generates a file named ‘message’ in which the original content (the secret message) is restored. The output could read similar to “Your secret message” if you open ‘message’.

Conclusion:

The ‘rage’ command serves as a robust, user-friendly solution for secure file encryption and decryption, ideal for preserving privacy and confidentiality. Its simplicity hides a powerful capability to protect information seamlessly, suitable even for those new to data encryption. By demonstrating its utility in encrypting for a specific recipient and decrypting using an identity file, users can appreciate ‘rage’ as an invaluable tool in the modern security toolkit.