Age File Encryption Tool

Age (Actually Good Encryption) is a simple, modern, and secure file encryption tool, format, and library designed to be a better alternative to GPG for encrypting files. Created by Filippo Valsorda (former cryptography lead at Cloudflare) in 2019, with over 18,000 stars as of 2026, Age provides a minimal, auditable, and easy-to-use encryption solution. Key features include: X25519 key pairs (SSH-style key pairs using X25519 elliptic curve Diffie-Hellman for recipient-based encryption, with keys stored in small text files), passphrase encryption (encrypt files with a passphrase using scrypt key derivation, no key files needed), SSH key support (encrypt to existing SSH public keys and decrypt with SSH private keys, enabling integration with existing key infrastructure), armored output (ASCII-armored PEM-like output for embedding in text channels, email, and chat), binary and text mode (binary mode preserves file structure for all data types, text mode normalizes line endings for cross-platform text files), streaming encryption (encrypt and decrypt streams without buffering entire files, enabling pipes and large file handling), multiple recipients (encrypt to multiple recipients in a single operation, any recipient can decrypt), password-protected key files (optional passphrase on key files for additional security), no configuration (single static binary with no config files, key servers, or web of trust), deterministic output (identical input with same keys produces different ciphertext due to random ephemeral keys), Rust implementation (rage client in Rust providing identical functionality with better cross-platform support and GUI), and plugin support (custom identity types and plugins for hardware tokens and custom key formats via the age-plugin protocol).