Minisign is a dead-simple tool to sign files and verify signatures. It is portable, lightweight, and uses the highly secure Ed25519 public-key signature system.
Publisher’s description
What is Minisign?
Minisign is an open-source encryption program for Windows from Frank Denis. It ranks 14th by popularity among encryption in this catalogue. It is written in C.
Installation and requirements
Official installers exist for 64-bit as Portable. It runs without installation (portable).
Updates and version history
The current version is 0.12, released on January 16, 2025. 2 versions are listed since June 21, 2024, each with links to its own installer files. The last update is more than a year old.
Popularity and file types
The Chocolatey package has been downloaded 9,357 times. The source code on GitHub (jedisct1/minisign) has 2,863 stars. On Windows it registers 1 file type, including .minisig. Similar programs include Cryptomator, Keybase and GNU Privacy Guard.
Project description on GitHub: “A dead simple tool to sign files and verify digital signatures.”
Pros / Cons
Pros
- Open source: the code can be inspected and built by anyone
- Portable: runs without installation
Cons
- No native ARM64 build
- No update for more than a year
In short: Minisign is an open-source encryption tool for 64-bit PCs. Updates have slowed down.
Is Minisign 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:
37B600344E20C19314B2E82813DB2BFDCC408B77B876F7727889DBD46D539479· 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
Security practices (OpenSSF Scorecard)
Automated checks of the jedisct1/minisign repository on GitHub by the Open Source Security Foundation, last run on October 19, 2026.
- No dangerous workflows10
- No binaries in the repository10
- Licence declared10
- Static code analysis9
- Signed releases8
- Actively maintained4
- Code review1
- Restricted token permissions0
- OpenSSF Best Practices badge0
- Pinned dependencies0
- Security policy0
- Fuzzing0
- Branch protection0
The score rates how the project is developed and released, not whether the program is safe to install. scorecard.dev
Recent versions
All 2 versions ›| Version | Date | Size | Files |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.12Latest | January 16, 2025 | — | 64-bit ZIP |
| 0.11 | June 21, 2024 | — | 64-bit ZIP |
Install from the command line
Silent install ›winget install --id jedisct1.minisign -echoco install minisign -yProgram files (.exe): minisign.exe
Related guide: How to use winget: install and update apps
Information
- Publisher
- Frank Denis
- Category
- Encryption
- Licence
- ISC
- Price
- Free
- Source code
- github.com/jedisct1/minisign
- Written in
- C
- Requires
- Windows 11 / 10
- Architecture
- 64-bit
- Installer
- Portable
- Version
- 0.12
- Released
- January 16, 2025
- Added to the catalogue
- July 24, 2024
- Versions listed
- 2
- Chocolatey downloads
- 9,357
- GitHub stars
- 2,863
- GitHub forks
- 155
- Website
- github.com
- winget ID
- jedisct1.minisign
- Chocolatey package
- minisign
File types it opens (1)
Ratings and reviews
No reviews yet. Be the first to rate it.
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Frequently asked questions
Is Minisign free?
Yes. Minisign is open-source software under the ISC licence.
Is Minisign 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 Minisign 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 Minisign 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 Minisign?
The versions page lists all 2 versions with links to their official installer files, back to June 21, 2024.
Can I use Minisign without administrator rights?
Yes, it is portable: unpack and run it.
What are alternatives to Minisign?
Cryptomator, Keybase, GNU Privacy Guard, i2pd and KopiaUI. The alternatives page compares them.
