pinentry-mac
pinentry-mac is a macOS passphrase prompt used by GnuPG tools to securely ask for and optionally store encryption key passwords.
What is pinentry-mac?
pinentry-mac is a native macOS utility that works with GnuPG and related tools to prompt for the passphrase needed to unlock OpenPGP keys. It is commonly used by developers, security-conscious users, and anyone who signs commits, decrypts files, or uses GPG-backed authentication on a Mac. The app provides a graphical password entry dialog instead of relying on a Terminal prompt, which makes key use easier in desktop workflows. It is also used in setups that integrate GPG with email encryption, Git signing, SSH authentication, and password-management tools built around GPG. pinentry-mac is published by GPGTools and is typically installed as a supporting component rather than as a standalone everyday app.
Key features
- Show a native macOS dialog to enter GPG key passphrases
- Work with GnuPG for signing, decrypting, and authentication tasks
- Support desktop workflows for Git commit signing and encrypted email use
- Integrate with gpg-agent as the passphrase entry program
- Optionally store passphrases in the macOS Keychain in supported setups
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Safety overview
Status: Mostly safe
This is a legitimate helper for GPG workflows on macOS. It may request access needed to show passphrase prompts and, in some configurations, to save a passphrase in Keychain for convenience. That behavior is normal for its purpose, but you should only allow passphrase storage on a Mac you trust and use a strong account password to protect local secrets.
Recommendation: Keep pinentry-mac if you use GPG for email encryption, Git signing, SSH, or password-management tools that depend on GnuPG. If you no longer use those workflows, you can remove it, but passphrase prompts for those tools may stop working until another pinentry program is configured.
Common paths
/usr/local/bin/pinentry-mac/opt/homebrew/bin/pinentry-mac/usr/local/MacGPG2/libexec/pinentry-mac.app/usr/local/MacGPG2/libexec/pinentry-mac.app/Contents/MacOS/pinentry-mac
Preference paths
~/Library/Preferences/org.gpgtools.pinentry-mac.plist~/Library/Preferences/org.gpgtools.common.plist
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