Cannot decrypt GPG file after installing GPG Suite from GPG Tools

I have installed GPG Suite by GPG Tools on my Mac. I sent my public key to my associate, who encrypted a file and sent it to me. The file, myfile.gpg is now sitting on my desktop and I'm told by my associate that I just have to double-click on it, enter my private key, and the file will be decrypted. Sounds reasonable, but it doesn't work.

I double-click on myfile.gpg and OS X reports there is no application to open the file. I restarted my Mac and the problem still exists.

Do I need to manually setup a file association?

What am I doing wrong?

Thank you.

Solution 1:

Assigning Files

Your Mac should have an association with a *.gpg file. The appropiate service is named GPGServices.service and can be found in /Library/Services/. To manually assign the file extension to a application or service click on the myfile.gpg and then CMD+I.

Now you can chose a application with which the file should be open with.

If you click and hold the drop down menu, chose "Other ..." and a dialog will open. Click CMD+Shift+G and type /Library/Services. Chose GPGServices.service, change for all and close the Info window. If you can't find GPGServices you may have a corrupted or old installation. In this case install the GPG Suite again.

Decrypting with a terminal

To decrypt the file you can also use a Terminal.

Open Spotlight and type "Terminal.app"(or open a Finder > Applications > Utilities > Terminal.app) and click on it. You will see the command line. Type gpg -d(mind the space after -d) and drag the file into the terminal. Hit enter and you will be asked for you password.

Example

gpg -d myfile.gpg