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After learning through the GnuPG, you probably going to land into the same problem: duplicated identities. Fear not, it is fixable from this scenario. Let's look into my cases. This section guides you on how to handle duplicated identities situation.
Make A Decision
Make A Decision
Now, you need to make a decision whether to keep both or one:
- Consider re-use cases in the future
- Cold storage
- Possible merging disruption. Can all the recipients for both keys reachable and understandable?
If your decision is to keep one instead of two, you should consider revoking the one least reachable.
Maintain the One Well-Known Version
Maintain the One Well-Known Version
Now that you had made your decision, it's time to handle duplicated identities.
Merge User ID
Merge User ID
First and foremost, edit the most well-known key and merge all the user ID in it. Make sure you merge all the user ID into this key.
Distribute the Updated Public Key
Distribute the Updated Public Key
With the merged and updated key in place, you can export the new public key and send it to all your recipient or update the key-server.
Dispose the Duplicated Version
Dispose the Duplicated Version
Now that you have one primary key published and maintained, it's time to dispose the duplicated version.
Revoke The Duplicant
Revoke The Duplicant
When I mention dispose, I mean revoke that key and then backup the revoked secret key. Keep the revoked key in your vault. You'll still need it just in case your outdated recipients use the key. However, it should be cold-storage and never be used again.
That's all about it. Don't worry. You can move on with the newly merged key.
That's all about handling duplicated identities in GnuPG.
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