AGE-INSPECT(1)              General Commands Manual             AGE-INSPECT(1)

NAME
       age-inspect - inspect age(1) encrypted files

SYNOPSIS
       age-inspect [--json] [INPUT]

DESCRIPTION
       age-inspect reads an age(1) encrypted file from INPUT (or standard
       input) and displays metadata about it without decrypting.

       This includes the recipient types, whether it uses post-quantum
       encryption, and a size breakdown of the file components.

OPTIONS
       --json Output machine-readable JSON instead of human-readable text.

       --version
              Print the version and exit.

JSON FORMAT
       When --json is specified, the output is a JSON object with these
       fields:

       O   version: The age format version (e.g., "age-encryption.org/v1").

       O   postquantum: Whether the file uses post-quantum encryption: "yes",
           "no", or "unknown".

       O   armor: Boolean indicating whether the file is ASCII-armored.

       O   stanza_types: Array of recipient stanza type strings (e.g.,
           ["X25519"] or ["mlkem768x25519"]).

       O   sizes: Object containing size information in bytes:

       O   header: Size of the age header.

       O   armor: Armor encoding overhead (0 if not armored).

       O   overhead: Stream encryption overhead.

       O   min_payload, max_payload: Payload size bounds (currently always
           matching).

       O   min_padding, max_padding: Padding size bounds (currently always 0).





       The fields add up to the total size of the file.




EXAMPLES
       Inspect an encrypted file:


           $ age-inspect secrets.age
           secrets.age is an age file, version "age-encryption.org/v1".

           This file is encrypted to the following recipient types:
           - "mlkem768x25519"

           This file uses post-quantum encryption.

           Size breakdown (assuming it decrypts successfully):

               Header                      1627 bytes
               Encryption overhead           32 bytes
               Payload                       42 bytes
                                   -------------------
               Total                       1701 bytes

           Tip: for machine-readable output, use --json.




       Get JSON output for scripting:


           $ age-inspect --json secrets.age
           {
               "version": "age-encryption.org/v1",
               "postquantum": "yes",
               "armor": false,
               "stanza_types": [
                   "mlkem768x25519"
               ],
               "sizes": {
                   "header": 1627,
                   "armor": 0,
                   "overhead": 32,
                   "min_payload": 42,
                   "max_payload": 42,
                   "min_padding": 0,
                   "max_padding": 0
               }
           }




SEE ALSO
       age(1), age-keygen(1)

AUTHORS
       Filippo Valsorda age@filippo.io

                                 December 2025                  AGE-INSPECT(1)