A.7 UI Server: Decrypting and verifying files.

First, the input files need to be specified by one or more FILE commands. Afterwards, the actual operation is requested:

Command: DECRYPT_FILES --nohup

Command: VERIFY_FILES --nohup

Command: DECRYPT_VERIFY_FILES --nohup

Request that the files specified by FILE are decrypted and/or verified. The command selects the default action. The UI server may allow the user to change this default afterwards interactively, and even abort the operation or complete it only on some of the selected files and directories.

What it means to decrypt or verify a file or directory is specific to the preferences of the user, the functionality the UI server provides, and the selected protocol. Typically, for decryption, a new file is created for each input file under the original filename minus a protocol specific extension (like .gpg) which contains the original plaintext. For verification a status is displayed for each signed input file, indicating if it is signed, and if yes, if the signature is valid. For files that are signed and encrypted, the VERIFY command transiently decrypts the file to verify the enclosed signature. For directories, the server may offer multiple options to the user (for example ignore or process recursively).

The option --nohup is mandatory. It is currently unspecified what should happen if --nohup is not present. Because --nohup is present, the server always returns OK promptly, and completes the operation asynchronously.