Troubleshooting

The errors gpg, git and Ghost produce when signing is not quite set up, and what each one means.

`gpg failed to sign the data`

The commit was refused because gpg could not produce a signature. Run gpg on its own to see the real error, which git tends to swallow:

echo test | gpg --clearsign

`No secret key`

user.signingkey names a key whose private half is not in this keyring — a typo, or a key that lives on another machine. Compare against:

gpg --list-secret-keys --keyid-format=long

Note --list-secret-keys: a key that shows up under --list-keys may be a public key you imported, which cannot sign.

`Inappropriate ioctl for device`

gpg wants a passphrase but has no terminal to ask on. Tell it which one to use:

export GPG_TTY=$(tty)

Put that line in ~/.zshrc or ~/.bashrc. For a headless or scripted context, add pinentry-mode loopback to ~/.gnupg/gpg.conf.

`No pinentry` or no passphrase prompt on macOS

Install and register the graphical prompt:

brew install pinentry-mac
echo "pinentry-program $(brew --prefix)/bin/pinentry-mac" >> ~/.gnupg/gpg-agent.conf
gpgconf --kill gpg-agent

`No agent running`

Start it, then retry:

gpgconf --launch gpg-agent

If that fails with File name too long, GNUPGHOME is set to a deeply nested path. The agent's socket path has a hard length limit; move GNUPGHOME somewhere short, or set %Assuan% socket redirection in gpg-agent.conf.

`secret key not available` inside an editor or IDE

The editor's environment differs from your shell's — usually a missing GPG_TTY or a different PATH that finds another gpg. Launch the editor from the shell where signing works, or set gpg.program to an absolute path.

The commit is signed but Ghost says Unverified

Hover the badge; the reason names the failure.

Reason	Cause	Fix
Signed with a key no Ghost account has uploaded	The public key is not on any account on this instance	Add the key
The signing key is not linked to address	The commit's author address is not verified for the key's owner	Verify the address, then set `user.email` to it
Signature does not match the commit	The commit was rewritten after signing, or the signature is for other content	Re-sign: `git commit --amend --no-edit -S`

Check which key actually signed, and which address the commit claims:

git log --pretty="%h %an <%ae> %GK" -5

%GK is the key the signature names. It must be a key on your account, and %ae must be one of your verified addresses.

No badge at all on a commit I signed

You signed with SSH. Check git config gpg.format. If it says ssh, Ghost reads nothing: only OpenPGP signatures are verified. Unset it to go back to gpg:
```
git config --global --unset gpg.format
```
The commit was rewritten after you signed it. A rebase, squash merge or --amend by any tool drops the old signature.
It is a merge commit Ghost made. Pull requests merged from the web are merged on the server, which has no key.

Ghost refuses my key

Message	Cause
That is not a usable public key	The armor is malformed, truncated, or is a private key block
the key is revoked / the key has expired	Extend or replace the key first — see Expiration and revocation
Verify one of the key's addresses on this account first	None of the key's user ids is a verified address of yours
The key carries no email address	The key has no user id with an address; add one with `gpg --edit-key` then `adduid`
That key is already on an account	The key id is in use — remove it from the account that holds it, or use a different key

Everything works locally but not in CI

CI runs as a different user with a different keyring. Either do not sign there, or import a key made specifically for CI, keep its passphrase in a secret, and use pinentry-mode loopback. Never reuse the key from your laptop.

On this page