Help with Setting Up Nitrokey Pro on Linux

Nitrokeys
1

Hi everyone,

I am trying to set up my new Nitrokey Pro on my Linux system but I am, running into some issues. I have followed the instructions from the Nitrokey website but I am struggling with the key initialization process. When I try to generate GPG keys, it seems to hang or not complete the process. I am using Ubuntu 22.04 and I have already installed the necessary software (GPG and Nitrokey App).

Has anyone experienced this issue before. Are there specific steps I might be missing. Any advice on troubleshooting or additional configurations needed to get the Nitrokey Pro working properly would be greatly appreciated.

I also read this topic on this site https://docs.nitrokey.com/pro/linux-blue-prism but I could not find anything helpful for me.

Thanks in advance for your help

Best regards,
[Dianna]

2

What kind of key do you generate? 4096bits RSA tend to take longer on Nitrokey Pro to generate (minutes to find the proper primes!) and are somewhat superseded by Elliptic Curve keys (but they require Nitrokey Pro 2 or Nitrokey 3)

Any output while generating the keys? LEDs turning on? Do you have an output of the gpg commands you use and the card status that gets reported?

3

To set up a Nitrokey Pro on Linux:

  1. Install Dependencies:
    Run the following command to install necessary packages:

    sudo apt-get install libusb-1.0-0 libpcsclite1 pcscd gnupg2 scdaemon

  2. Plug in Nitrokey Pro: Insert your Nitrokey Pro device into a USB port.

  3. Start PCSC Service:
    Ensure the PCSC daemon is running:

    sudo systemctl start pcscd

  4. Check Device Recognition:
    Verify if the Nitrokey is detected:

    pcsc_scan

  5. Use with GPG:

    • Initialize the key:
      gpg --card-status
    • To generate keys on the device:
      gpg --gen-key

  6. Configure GPG for Nitrokey: Use the key for encryption/signing operations as required.

That’s it! Your Nitrokey Pro should now be set up on your Linux system.