Managing multiple GPG keyring

By default GPG command use the default keyring, pubring.kbx, to store/retrieve your gpg keys in the  system. Though, there can be multiple reasons why you want to manage multiple keyrings for your system, some of them are as below - 

 

Segregation of Keys:
You might want to segregate keys for different projects, purposes, or contexts to keep them organized and to limit access. For example, you could have separate keyrings for work-related keys and personal keys.

Temporary Key Storage:
If you receive a temporary key, such as a one-time-use key or a key for a single transaction, you might store it in a separate keyring to avoid cluttering your main keyring.

Testing and Development:
When developing applications that use GPG, you might want to use separate keyrings to avoid using production keys.

 

Creating New Keyring:
To create a new keyring is same as creating a new file. You can create them as below -

touch /path/to/your-keyring.gpg 
# or
gpg --no-default-keyring --keyring /path/to/your-keyring.gpg --fingerprint

Managing Multiple Keyrings
You can specify additional keyrings in GPG using command-line options. Here’s how you can work with them:

Listing Keys in a Specific Keyring
To list keys in a specific keyring, use the --keyring option followed by the name of the keyring file.

gpg --keyring /path/to/your-keyring.gpg --list-keys

Importing Keys into a Specific Keyring
To import keys into a specific keyring, again use the --keyring option.

gpg --no-default-keyring --keyring /path/to/your-keyring.gpg --import keyfile.asc

Exporting Keys from a Specific Keyring
To export keys from a specific keyring, specify the keyring with the --keyring option.

gpg --no-default-keyring --keyring /path/to/your-keyring.gpg --export -a > exported-keys.asc