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SIG ASC
File conversion

Convert SIG to ASC

Verified by Adam B.· reviewed by FE Editorial ·updated Aug 22, 2026
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Is it possible to convert SIG to ASC?
Yes - SIG converts to ASC.

Run gpg --enarmor < file.sig > file.asc to wrap the binary signature in Base64 armor. If you hold the private key, gpg --armor --detach-sign file produces an .asc with the canonical -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- header instead.

Also to ASC: SEC · PGP · HGT

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Tested on macOS, Windows & Linux
Last verified Oct 2026

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Why convert SIG to ASC?

A .sig file is typically a compact binary OpenPGP signature packet; an .asc file is the same cryptographic data wrapped in Base64 with PGP armor headers. Email clients, web forms, mailing lists, and documentation pages handle the text-format .asc more reliably than a binary .sig, making re-encoding to ASCII armor a common distribution step.

How to convert SIG to ASC

GnuPG FREE

Run gpg --enarmor < file.sig > file.asc in a terminal; if you hold the private key, use gpg --armor --detach-sign file instead to produce an .asc with the standard PGP SIGNATURE header.

Gpg4win FREE

Install Gpg4win (which bundles GnuPG) and run the same gpg --enarmor command in a Windows terminal to convert .sig to ASCII-armored .asc.

About these formats

.SIG OpenPGP Detached Signature

A SIG file is a small companion file that proves a download (such as an installer or ISO) is authentic and untampered. It contains a cryptographic OpenPGP signature, not readable content.…

Open .SIG details →
.ASC OpenPGP ASCII-Armored File

An ASC file is almost always an OpenPGP ASCII-armored block: a digital signature, a public key, or an encrypted message from PGP or GnuPG, encoded as readable Base64 text. Open it in a text…

Open .ASC details →

Quality & what to watch

  • gpg --enarmor writes -----BEGIN PGP ARMORED FILE----- as the header; some parsers expect -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- - open the .asc in a text editor and update the header and footer lines if needed.
  • If the .sig is already ASCII-armored (open it in a text editor and look for a -----BEGIN line), renaming it to .asc may be sufficient without running any command.
  • Both .sig and .asc verify files identically with gpg --verify; the conversion is a presentation change from binary to Base64 text only.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between `gpg --enarmor` and `gpg --armor`?
--enarmor wraps an existing binary OpenPGP blob in ASCII armor without needing the private key; --armor --detach-sign creates a fresh armored signature and requires the private key.
Will the `.asc` verify the same file as the original `.sig`?
Yes - the cryptographic data is identical; verification with gpg --verify works the same for both.
My `.sig` already has a `-----BEGIN` line - do I need to convert it?
No - if the file opens as plain text and starts with a PGP header, it is already ASCII-armored; just rename it to .asc.