With Enigmail, emails are encrypted using your OpenPGP key. In this help article, we explain how to add an existing key pair in Enigmail. If you do not yet possess a key pair, please read our help article How do I encrypt emails using Enigmail and Thunderbird?

Adding a key

To add a key, you need to open the Enigmail wizard. Visual instructions can be found in the gallery under our Step-by-step instructions.

1. Click the sandwich button, at the top right of the menu.
2. Click the arrow next to “Enigmail”.
3. Click Setup Wizard.

4. In the first window of the wizard, select Yes, I would like the wizard to get me started and click Continue.
5. In the next window you need to specify when you would like to encrypt. Choose Convenient auto encryption and click Continue.
6. Next, select Sign all of my messages by default and confirm with Continue.
7. Choose Yes and click Continue.
8. Select I have existing public and private keys that I would like to import and click Continue.
9. Click the Browse button and paste first your public key and then your private key. Confirm by clicking Continue. You need to have exported your keys to a file beforehand. How to export a key from Enigmail is explained in our help article How do I export my OpenPGP key from Enigmail?
10. Choose I want to select one of the keys below for signing and encrypting my email, click on the key you just imported and confirm with Continue.
11. Read the summary and click Continue.
12. By clicking Done, setup of email encryption using PGP is complete.

Visual instructions: Adding a key

Secure your key

When you use email encryption, only you have access to your emails using your private key. It is therefore important to always create a backup copy. How this works is explained in our Enigmail and Mailvelope help articles.

Additional articles

• How do I activate inbound encryption with my public PGP key?
• How do I encrypt emails using Enigmail in Thunderbird?