If you find errors, problems or want to contribute please add a comment.

1. Install GPG

   • from source

     wget ftp://ftp.gnupg.org/gcrypt/gnupg/gnupg-1.4.19.tar.gz
     tar -xjvf gnupg-1.4.19.tar.bz2 
     cd gnupg-1.4.19
     ./configure
     make
     make install

   • using apt

     apt-get install gnupg

   • using urpmi on Mandrake

     urpmi gnupg

   Check it's installed:

   $ gpg --version
   gpg (GnuPG) 1.4.19
   Copyright (C) 2015 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
   License GPLv3+: GNU GPL version 3 or later 
   This is free software: you are free to change and redistribute it.
   There is NO WARRANTY, to the extent permitted by law.
   
   Home: ~/.gnupg
   Supported algorithms:
   Pubkey: RSA, RSA-E, RSA-S, ELG-E, DSA
   Cipher: IDEA, 3DES, CAST5, BLOWFISH, AES, AES192, AES256, TWOFISH,
           CAMELLIA128, CAMELLIA192, CAMELLIA256
   Hash: MD5, SHA1, RIPEMD160, SHA256, SHA384, SHA512, SHA224
   Compression: Uncompressed, ZIP, ZLIB, BZIP2

2. Create your pair of keys

   You should check the GnuPG documentation for more information on the process.

   gpg --gen-key

   When asked what keys to create, select RSA and RSA (default) and choose 4096 bits as a key length.

3. Install TclGPG

   • from source

     To install TclGPG from its source you'll have to install fossil first. In Debian it's as easy as apt-get install fossil. Then type

     fossil clone https://chiselapp.com/user/sgolovan/repository/tclgpg tclgpg.fossil
     mkdir tclgpg
     cd tclgpg
     fossil open ../tclgpg.fossil
     ./configure
     make
     make install

   • using apt

     TclGPG is not shipped with Debian officially. Though you can add the following line to your /etc/apt/sources.list:

     deb https://people.debian.org/~sgolovan/debian/ jessie main

     and then

     apt-get install tcl-gpg

   Check it's installed:

   $ tclsh
   % package require gpg
   1.1
   % exit

4. Install Tcl development files

   Note that building TclGPG from source requires some files from the Tcl development package.

   • using apt

     apt-get install tcl-dev

   • using urpmi on Mandrake

     urpmi tcl tcllib
     sudo ln -s /usr/lib/tclConfig.sh /usr/lib/tcl8.4
     sudo ln -s /usr/include/tcl8.4.5/generic/tcl.h /usr/include/tcl8.4.5/

5. Configure Tkabber

   If you want Tkabber to only ask the passphrase the first time it's needed, activate this option on config.tcl:

   set ssj::options(one-passphrase)  1

   If you want Tkabber to sign presence since its start, set this option:

   set ssj::options(sign-traffic)    1

   If you want Tkabber to try to encrypt since its start, set this option:

   set ssj::options(encrypt-traffic) 1

6. Usage

   

   If you have correctly installed the required packages you will see new information:

   • Button (1) on the toolbar to sign your presence and messages.
   • Button (2) on the toolbar to encrypt the conversations when possible.
   • Button (3) on every chat window to send your messages encrypted if possible.
   • Icon (4) indicates the message is signed.
   • Icon (5) indicates the message is encrypted.
   • Text (6) appears when a contact is signing its presence but you can't verify it.
   • Text (7) appears when you have verified its presence.

   The first time Tkabber tries to use GPG it will ask you for the key to use and the passphrase.

   When a contact in your roster signs its presence, you will see some info on his tooltip on the roster (6). To verify your contacts signatures (7) you need to add his public key to your ring.

7. GPG keyring administration

   You have to publish your public key so other people can grab it. The recommended way of doing that is to use keyservers:

   gpg --keyserver pgp.mit.edu --send-keys 

   You can add public keys from your contacts the same way:

   gpg --keyserver pgp.mit.edu --recv-keys 

Links

• GnuPG: The GNU Privacy Guard Official site with source code download and documentation in multiple languages.