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Configure Commit Signing on Windows with GPG ​

Overview ​

This article explains how to configure your Windows machine to sign Git commits with a GPG key.

All commits must be signed using either a CAC or a GPG key. Developers who do not use a CAC can configure Git to sign commits using a GPG key.

For projects operating in IL4 and IL5 environments, CAC signing is required. If you have a CAC, follow the Configure Commit Signing on Windows with Your CAC Guide instead.

WARNING

Store your GPG private key securely. Anyone with access to your private key can create signed commits that appear to come from you.

WARNING

Party Bus does not support commit signing through IDE integrations. If you create commits in an IDE, use the command line to sign them. Do not submit Party Bus support requests for IDE-specific commit signing issues.

Prerequisites ​

Before you begin:

  1. Install Git.

  2. Install Gpg4win.

    powershell
    winget install GnuPG.Gpg4win

    Alternatively, download the installer from Gpg4win.

  3. Verify the installation.

    powershell
    gpg --version
git --version

Generate a GPG Key ​

  1. Generate a new GPG key.

    powershell
    gpg --full-gen-key

  2. When prompted:

  • Select RSA and RSA.
  • Choose an appropriate key size (4096 bits recommended).
  • Specify an expiration date if required.
  • Enter your name and Git email address.
  • Protect the key with a strong passphrase.

Identify Your GPG Signing Key ​

  1. List your secret keys.

    powershell
    gpg --list-secret-keys --keyid-format LONG

    Example:

    text
    rsa4096/3AA5C34371567BD2 2026-07-10 [SC]

    Record the long key ID (3AA5C34371567BD2). You'll use this value when configuring Git.

Add Your Public GPG Key to GitLab ​

  1. Export your public key.

    powershell
    gpg --armor --export <KEY_ID>

  2. Copy the entire output, including:

    text
    -----BEGIN PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK-----

 ...

-----END PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK-----

  3. In GitLab, open User Settings > GPG Keys.

  4. Paste the public key and select Add key.

Configure Git ​

Configure Git to sign commits using your GPG key.

  1. Configure your Git identity.

    powershell
    git config --global user.email "<GITLAB_EMAIL_ADDRESS>"
git config --global user.name "<FIRSTNAME LASTNAME>"

    Ensure this email address matches a verified email address on your GitLab account. Otherwise, GitLab cannot verify your signed commits.

  2. Configure Git for commit signing.

    powershell
    git config --global user.signingkey <KEY_ID>
git config --global commit.gpgsign true
git config --global gpg.program gpg

  3. Verify the configuration.

    powershell
    git config --list | Select-String -Pattern "user|gpg|commit"

    Confirm the output includes:

    • Your GitLab email address.
    • Your GPG signing key.
    • gpg for gpg.program.
    • true for commit.gpgsign.

Verify Git Commit Signing ​

  1. Create a test commit.

    powershell
    git commit --allow-empty -m "test commit signing"

  2. Enter your GPG passphrase when prompted.

  3. Verify the commit signature.

    powershell
    git log --show-signature -1

    The commit should appear as Verified in GitLab.

Troubleshooting ​

GPG fails to sign the commit ​

If Git returns:

text
error: gpg failed to sign the data
fatal: failed to write commit object

Run:

powershell
echo "test" | gpg --clear-sign

If signing succeeds, GPG is functioning correctly.

If you receive a timeout error, restart the GPG agent:

powershell
gpgconf --kill gpg-agent

Then retry the commit.

Git cannot find the signing key ​

If Git returns:

text
could not find identity matching specified user-id
error: gpg failed to sign the data
fatal: failed to write commit object

Verify that gpg.format is not configured.

powershell
git config --get gpg.format

If a value is returned, remove it.

powershell
git config --unset gpg.format

If the setting persists, remove the gpg.format entry manually from your ~/.gitconfig file, then retry the commit.

Enable Git trace logging ​

For additional troubleshooting, enable Git trace output.

powershell
$env:GIT_TRACE=1
git commit -S -m "test commit"

Related Content/References ​

Submit Requests to the Help Desk ​

Install Required Software ​

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