Ubuntu 26.10 Ships Sequoia PGP, Canonical's Rust-Based GnuPG Alternative
Canonical is bundling Sequoia PGP, a Rust implementation of the OpenPGP standard, with Ubuntu 26.10, marking the start of a gradual transition away from the C-based GnuPG.
Canonical has been methodically migrating Ubuntu's core system utilities from C to Rust, and the company's latest target is the operating system's cryptographic infrastructure. Beginning with Ubuntu 26.10, Sequoia PGP will ship as a preinstalled component, though the company has not yet made it the default OpenPGP implementation, replacing GnuPG.
Understanding OpenPGP
OpenPGP is not itself a tool but rather a technical standard widely adopted across the industry. Phil Zimmermann developed the original PGP software in 1991, and the IETF now oversees the open standard derived from that work. The specification establishes how different software implementations should handle encryption, decryption, signing, and verification, enabling interoperability between any two compliant systems.
On Linux systems, GnuPG has long served as the dominant OpenPGP implementation. Built in C, it adheres to RFC 4880 and provides the gpg and gpgv command-line utilities, which manage encryption, key handling, and signature verification tasks.
Sequoia PGP: A Different Approach
Three former GnuPG developers founded Sequoia PGP in 2017, deciding to construct a fresh OpenPGP implementation in Rust rather than continue refining GnuPG's existing architecture. Unlike GnuPG, Sequoia is structured as a library that applications can integrate directly, with sq providing the command-line interface for encryption, decryption, signing, and key management, and sqv handling signature verification.
A significant technical distinction separates the two implementations. Sequoia PGP implements RFC 9580, the 2024 update to the OpenPGP standard, while GnuPG continues working from RFC 4880, instead pursuing its own extensions and the LibrePGP specification rather than adopting RFC 9580 as its foundation.
Current Status in Ubuntu 26.10
Ubuntu 26.10 "Stonking Stingray" already includes Sequoia PGP from the main repository (packaged as rust-sequoia-xx) in the standard installation. Testing on a development build confirms that both sq and sqv function as intended.
Currently, sq serves as the primary interface for encryption, decryption, signing, and key management, while sqv handles signature verification. Entering gpg or gpgv still invokes GnuPG, meaning both OpenPGP implementations coexist on the system. Should Sequoia become the default, these commands would redirect to Sequoia instead, mirroring the transition that occurred with sudo-rs.
A Gradual Transition Ahead
Ubuntu's release notes and recent statements make clear that Sequoia PGP replacing GnuPG as the default OpenPGP toolchain remains a future objective, not an immediate change. Canonical's track record with similar transitions demonstrates a deliberate approach: the coreutils migration began in 2025 and only achieved full completion with version 26.10, while the sudo-rs switch was previewed extensively before becoming the default. Each component required multiple release cycles to establish itself before affecting user experience.
Sequoia PGP is currently at the beginning of this process, with its inclusion in the main repository representing the first major step. The company has not announced a specific timeline for making it the default. Given Canonical's cautious approach to every previous Rust transition, similar restraint should be expected for something as critical as OpenPGP infrastructure.