OpenPGP messages and keys are often sent as ASCII armor (RFC 4880): a cleartext block with headers, Base64 body (76-character lines), and a CRC-24 checksum line starting with =.
-----BEGIN PGP MESSAGE-----
…
(Base64 body, 76-char lines)
=XXXX
-----END PGP MESSAGE-----The Base64 alphabet matches standard RFC 4648 (+ / with = padding). The extras are framing and the CRC, not a different alphabet.
Versus MIME Base64
| MIME (RFC 2045) | OpenPGP armor | |
|---|---|---|
| Line length | ≤ 76 | ≤ 76 |
| Headers | MIME Content-Transfer-Encoding | BEGIN / END armor |
| Checksum | none | CRC-24 (=XXXX) |
Developer tips
- Never treat armored text as encryption by itself—the armor is packaging; OpenPGP encryption is separate.
- Strip headers before feeding the body to a generic decoder, or use a tool that understands armor.
- Our encoder/decoder supports the OpenPGP ASCII armor standard for body encode/decode workflows; use the detector if you are unsure which wrapping you have.
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