cryptsetup-token(8) — Linux manual page

NAME | SYNOPSIS | DESCRIPTION | OPTIONS | REPORTING BUGS | SEE ALSO | CRYPTSETUP

CRYPTSETUP-TOKEN(8)        Maintenance Commands       CRYPTSETUP-TOKEN(8)

NAME         top

       cryptsetup-token - manage LUKS2 tokens

SYNOPSIS         top

       cryptsetup token <add|remove|import|export|unassign> [<options>]
       <device>

DESCRIPTION         top

       Action add creates a new keyring token to enable auto-activation
       of the device. For the auto-activation, the passphrase must be
       stored in the keyring with the specified description. Usually, the
       passphrase should be stored in the user or user-session keyring.
       The token command is supported only for LUKS2.

       For adding a new keyring token, the option --key-description is
       mandatory. Also, a new token is assigned to the keyslot specified
       with --key-slot option or to all active keyslots if the --key-slot
       option is omitted.

       To remove an existing token, specify the token ID that should be
       removed with --token-id option.

       WARNING: The action token remove removes any token type, not just
       keyring type from token slot specified by --token-id option.

       Action import can store an arbitrary valid JSON data in the LUKS2
       token. It may be passed via standard input or a file passed in
       --json-file option. If you specify --key-slot, a successfully
       imported token is also assigned to the keyslot.

       Action export writes requested token JSON to a file passed with
       --json-file or to standard output.

       Action unassign removes token binding to specified keyslot. Both
       token and keyslot must be specified by --token-id and --key-slot
       parameters.

       If --token-id is used with action add or action import and a token
       with that ID already exists, option --token-replace can replace
       the existing token.

       <options> can be [--header, --token-id, --key-slot,
       --key-description, --disable-external-tokens, --disable-locks,
       --disable-keyring, --json-file, --token-replace, --unbound,
       --external tokens-path].

OPTIONS         top

       --batch-mode, -q
           Suppresses all confirmation questions. Use with care!

           If the --verify-passphrase option is not specified, this
           option also switches off the passphrase verification.

       --debug or --debug-json
           Run in debug mode with full diagnostic logs. Debug output
           lines are always prefixed by #.

           If --debug-json is used, additional LUKS2 JSON data structures
           are printed.

       --disable-external-tokens
           Disable loading of plugins for external LUKS2 tokens.

       --disable-keyring
           Do not load the volume key in the kernel keyring; store it
           directly in the dm-crypt target instead. This option is
           supported only for the LUKS2 type.

       --disable-locks
           Disable lock protection for metadata on disk. This option is
           valid only for LUKS2 and is ignored for other formats.

           WARNING: Do not use this option unless you run cryptsetup in a
           restricted environment where locking is impossible to perform
           (where /run directory cannot be used).

       --external-tokens-path <absolute path>
           Override the system directory path where cryptsetup searches
           for external token handlers (or token plugins). It must be an
           absolute path (starting with '/' character).

       --header <device or file storing the LUKS header>
           Use a detached (separated) metadata device or file where the
           LUKS header is stored. This option allows one to store the
           ciphertext and LUKS header on different devices.

           For commands that change the LUKS header (e.g., luksAddKey),
           specify the device or file with the LUKS header directly as
           the LUKS device.

       --help, -?
           Show help text and default parameters.

       --json-file
           Read the token JSON from a file or write the token to it.
           Option --json-file=- reads JSON from standard input or writes
           it to standard output, respectively.

       --key-description text
           Set the key description in the keyring that will be used for
           passphrase retrieval.

       --key-slot, -S <0-N>
           For LUKS operations that add key material, this option allows
           you to specify which keyslot is selected for the new key.

           The maximum number of keyslots depends on the LUKS version.
           LUKS1 can have up to 8 keyslots. LUKS2 can have up to 32
           keyslots based on keyslot area size and key size, but a valid
           keyslot ID can always be between 0 and 31 for LUKS2.

       --token-id
           Specify the token number. If omitted, the first unused token
           id is used when adding or importing a new token.

       --token-replace
           Replace an existing token when adding or importing a token
           with the --token-id option.

       --unbound
           Creates a new LUKS2 keyring token assigned to no keyslot.
           Usable only with the add action.

       --usage
           Show short option help.

       --version, -V
           Show the program version.

REPORTING BUGS         top

       Report bugs at cryptsetup mailing list
       <cryptsetup@lists.linux.dev> or in Issues project section
       <https://gitlab.com/cryptsetup/cryptsetup/-/issues/new>.

       Please attach the output of the failed command with --debug option
       added.

SEE ALSO         top

       Cryptsetup FAQ
       <https://gitlab.com/cryptsetup/cryptsetup/wikis/FrequentlyAskedQuestions>

       cryptsetup(8), integritysetup(8) and veritysetup(8)

CRYPTSETUP         top

       Part of cryptsetup project
       <https://gitlab.com/cryptsetup/cryptsetup/>. This page is part of
       the Cryptsetup ((open-source disk encryption)) project.
       Information about the project can be found at 
       ⟨https://gitlab.com/cryptsetup/cryptsetup⟩. If you have a bug
       report for this manual page, send it to dm-crypt@saout.de. This
       page was obtained from the project's upstream Git repository
       ⟨https://gitlab.com/cryptsetup/cryptsetup.git⟩ on 2025-08-11. (At
       that time, the date of the most recent commit that was found in
       the repository was 2025-08-01.) If you discover any rendering
       problems in this HTML version of the page, or you believe there is
       a better or more up-to-date source for the page, or you have
       corrections or improvements to the information in this COLOPHON
       (which is not part of the original manual page), send a mail to
       man-pages@man7.org

cryptsetup 2.8.1-git            2025-08-09            CRYPTSETUP-TOKEN(8)

Pages that refer to this page: cryptsetup(8)