How to use the command line to verify your Monero CLI/GUI software is safe (advanced)

Verification of the Monero binary files should be done prior to extracting, installing, or using the Monero software. This is the only way to ensure that you are using the official Monero software. If you receive a fake Monero binary (eg. phishing, MITM, etc.), following this guide will protect you from being tricked into using it.

To protect the integrity of the binaries the Monero team provides a cryptographically signed list of all the SHA256 hashes. If your downloaded binary has been tampered with it will be produce a different hash than the one in the file.

This is an advanced guide for Linux, Mac, or Windows operating systems and will make use of the command line. It will walk you through the process of installing the required software, importing the signing key, downloading the necessary files, and finally verifying that your binary is authentic.

Table of Contents:

  1. Install GnuPG

  2. Verify & Import Signing Key

  3. Download & Verify Hash File

  4. Download & Verify Binary

Installing GnuPG

  • On Windows, go to the Gpg4win download page and follow the instructions for installation.

  • On Mac, go to the Gpgtools download page and follow the instructions for installation.

  • On Linux, GnuPG is installed by default.

Verify and Import Signing Key

This section will cover getting the Monero signing key, making sure it is correct, and importing the key to GnuPG.

Get Signing Key

On Windows or Mac, go to binaryFate's GPG key, which he uses to sign the Monero binaries, and save the page as binaryfate.asc to your home directory.

On Linux, you can download binaryFate's signing key by issuing the following command:

wget -O binaryfate.asc
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/monero-project/monero/master/utils/gpg_keys/binaryfate.asc

Verify Signing Key

On all operating systems, check the fingerprint of binaryfate.asc by issuing the following command in a terminal:

gpg --keyid-format long --with-fingerprint binaryfate.asc

Verify the fingerprint matches:

pub   rsa4096/F0AF4D462A0BDF92 2019-12-12 [SCEA]
      Key fingerprint = 81AC 591F E9C4 B65C 5806  AFC3 F0AF 4D46 2A0B DF92
uid                           binaryFate <[email protected]>

If the fingerprint DOES match, then you may proceed.

If the fingerprint DOES NOT match, DO NOT CONTINUE. Instead delete the file binaryfate.asc and go back to section Get Signing Key.

Import Signing Key

From a terminal, import the signing key:

gpg --import binaryfate.asc

If this is the first time you have imported the key, the output will look like this:

gpg: key F0AF4D462A0BDF92: 2 signatures not checked due to missing keys
gpg: key F0AF4D462A0BDF92: public key "binaryFate <[email protected]>" imported
gpg: Total number processed: 1
gpg:               imported: 1
gpg: marginals needed: 3  completes needed: 1  trust model: pgp

If you have imported the key previously, the output will look like this:

gpg: key F0AF4D462A0BDF92: "binaryFate <[email protected]>" not changed
gpg: Total number processed: 1
gpg:              unchanged: 1

Download and Verify Hash File

This section will cover downloading the hash file and verifying its authenticity.

Get Hash File

On Windows or Mac, go to the hashes file on getmonero.org and save the page as hashes.txt to your home directory.

On Linux, you can download the signed hashes file by issuing the following command:

wget -O hashes.txt https://www.getmonero.org/downloads/hashes.txt

Verify Hash File

The hash file is signed with key 81AC 591F E9C4 B65C 5806 AFC3 F0AF 4D46 2A0B DF92, as reflected in the output below.

On all operating systems, verify the signature of the hash file by issuing the following command in a terminal:

gpg --verify hashes.txt

If the file is authentic, the output will look like this:

gpg:                using RSA key 81AC591FE9C4B65C5806AFC3F0AF4D462A0BDF92
gpg: Good signature from "binaryFate <[email protected]>" [unknown]
gpg: WARNING: This key is not certified with a trusted signature!
gpg:          There is no indication that the signature belongs to the owner.
Primary key fingerprint: 81AC 591F E9C4 B65C 5806  AFC3 F0AF 4D46 2A0B DF92

If your output shows Good signature, as in the example, then you may proceed.

If you see BAD signature in the output, DO NOT CONTINUE. Instead delete the file hashes.txt and go back to section Get Hash File.

Download and Verify Binary

This section will cover downloading the Monero binary for your operating system, getting the SHA256 hash of your download, and verifying that it is correct.

Get Monero binary

On Windows or Mac, go to getmonero.org and download the correct file for your operating system. Save the file to your home directory. Do not extract the files yet.

On Linux, you can download the command line tools by issuing the following command:

wget -O monero-linux-x64-v0.15.0.1.tar.bz2 https://downloads.getmonero.org/cli/linux64

Binary Verification on Linux or Mac

The steps for both Linux and Mac are the same. From a terminal, get the SHA256 hash of your downloaded Monero binary. As an example this guide will use the Linux, 64bit GUI binary. Substitute monero-gui-linux-x64-v0.15.0.1.tar.bz2 with the name of the binary that you downloaded in section Get Monero binary.

shasum -a 256 monero-linux-x64-v0.15.0.1.tar.bz2

The output will look like this, but will be different for each binary file. Your SHA256 hash should match the one listed in the hashes.txt file for your binary file.

8d61f992a7e2dbc3d753470b4928b5bb9134ea14cf6f2973ba11d1600c0ce9ad 
monero-linux-x64-v0.15.0.1.tar.bz2

If your hash DOES match, then you are finished with the guide! You can extract the files and install.

If your hash DOES NOT match, DO NOT CONTINUE. Instead delete the binary you downloaded and go back to section Get Monero binary.

Binary Verification on Windows

From a terminal, get the SHA256 hash of your downloaded Monero binary. As an example this guide will use the Windows, 64bit GUI binary. Substitute monero-gui-win-x64-v0.15.0.1.zip with the name of the binary that you downloaded in section Get Monero binary.

certUtil -hashfile monero-gui-win-x64-v0.15.0.1.zip SHA256

The output will look like this, but will be different for each binary file. Your SHA256 hash should match the one listed in the hashes.txt file for your binary file.

SHA256 hash of file monero-gui-win-x64-v0.12.0.0.zip: 4b 9f 31 68 6e ca
ad 97 cd b1 75 e6 57 4b f3 07 f8 d1 c4 10 42 78 25 f4 30 4c 21 da 8a ac 18
64 CertUtil: -hashfile command completed successfully. 

If your hash DOES match, then you are finished with the guide! You can extract the files and install.

If your hash DOES NOT match, DO NOT CONTINUE. Instead delete the binary you downloaded and go back to section Get Monero binary.

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