A simple, modern and secure encryption tool (and Go library) with small explicit keys, no config options, and UNIX-style composability.
Publisher’s description
What is age?
age is an open-source encryption program for Windows from FiloSottile. It ranks 9th by popularity among encryption in this catalogue. It is written in Go.
Installation and requirements
Official installers exist for 64-bit as Portable. It runs without installation (portable).
Updates and version history
The current version is 1.3.2, released on August 29, 2026. 5 versions are listed since December 26, 2022, each with links to its own installer files. That is about 1.4 releases a year.
Popularity and file types
The Chocolatey package has been downloaded 15,596 times. The source code on GitHub (FiloSottile/age) has 24,008 stars. Similar programs include Cryptomator, KopiaUI and Keybase.
Project description on GitHub: “A simple, modern and secure encryption tool (and Go library) with small explicit keys, no config options, and UNIX-style composability.”
Pros / Cons
Pros
- Open source: the code can be inspected and built by anyone
- Portable: runs without installation
- Updated in the last two months
- Large user base
Cons
- No native ARM64 build
In short: age is an open-source encryption tool for 64-bit PCs.
Is age safe to download?
- The file is served by github.com, the publisher’s own domain
- The download link uses HTTPS
- A SHA256 hash is published, so you can verify the file:
F48D8F8F9EBE903AB5027ED067652F2CC1DB94BC206976430133B905DCD8E8C7· Open the VirusTotal report for this hash - The link has not been checked yet
- The source code is public
- ExeAtlas does not host, wrap or modify installers
Related guide: How to check a file’s SHA256 hash on Windows
Recent versions
All 5 versions ›5 versions over 4 years · about 1.4 a year
| Version | Date | Size | Files |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1.3.2Latest | August 29, 2026 | — | 64-bit ZIP |
| 1.3.1 | December 28, 2025 | — | 64-bit ZIP |
| 1.2.1 | December 18, 2024 | — | 64-bit ZIP |
| 1.2.0 | June 16, 2024 | — | 64-bit ZIP |
| 1.1.1 | December 26, 2022 | — | 64-bit ZIP |
Install from the command line
Silent install ›winget install --id FiloSottile.age -echoco install age.portable -yProgram files (.exe): age.exe, age-inspect.exe, age-keygen.exe
Related guide: How to use winget: install and update apps
Also for other systems
brew install ageInformation
- Publisher
- FiloSottile
- Category
- Encryption
- Licence
- BSD-3-Clause
- Price
- Free
- Source code
- github.com/FiloSottile/age
- Written in
- Go
- Requires
- Windows 11 / 10
- Architecture
- 64-bit
- Installer
- Portable
- Version
- 1.3.2
- Released
- August 29, 2026
- Added to the catalogue
- October 20, 2023
- Versions listed
- 5
- Updates / year
- 1.4
- Chocolatey downloads
- 15,596
- GitHub stars
- 24,008
- GitHub forks
- 680
- Website
- github.com
- winget ID
- FiloSottile.age
- Chocolatey package
- age.portable
Ratings and reviews
No reviews yet. Be the first to rate it.
Alternatives to age
See all ›-
Open source166.2K ↓ -
KopiaUI0.23.1Cross-platform backup tool for Windows, macOS & Linux with fast, incremental backups, client-side end-to-end encryption, compression and data deduplication. CLI and GUI included.Open source31.8K ↓ -
Keybase6.6.3.3End-to-end encryption for things that matter. Keybase is secure messaging and file-sharing.Open source36.6K ↓ -
GNU Privacy Guard2.5.24GNU Privacy Guard (GnuPG or GPG) is a free-software replacement for Symantec's PGP cryptographic software suite.Open source186.1K ↓ -
Open source78.8K ↓ -
Open source19.2K ↓ -
Open source11.5K ↓ -
Open source9.4K ↓
Frequently asked questions
Is age free?
Yes. age is open-source software under the BSD-3-Clause licence.
Is age safe to download?
The download comes from github.com, which belongs to the publisher; ExeAtlas does not host or change the file. Compare its SHA256 hash with the one shown here, or open the VirusTotal report for that hash.
How do I install age with winget?
Open PowerShell or Windows Terminal and run the winget command shown on this page. winget downloads the official installer and checks its SHA256 hash before running it.
Does age run on ARM (Windows on Arm)?
There is no ARM64 build; Windows 11 on Arm can run the 64-bit version through emulation.
Where can I download an older version of age?
The versions page lists all 5 versions with links to their official installer files, back to December 26, 2022.
Can I use age without administrator rights?
Yes, it is portable: unpack and run it.
What are alternatives to age?
Cryptomator, KopiaUI, Keybase, GNU Privacy Guard and i2pd. The alternatives page compares them.
