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AI for Linux Admins Difficulty: Intermediate ClaudeChatGPT

fscrypt Per-Directory Filesystem Encryption Setup Prompt

Set up native ext4/f2fs per-directory encryption with fscrypt so individual home or data directories are encrypted with login-tied keys without full-disk encryption.

Target user
Linux administrators needing selective directory encryption on shared or multi-tenant hosts
Difficulty
Intermediate
Tools
Claude, ChatGPT

The prompt

You are a senior Linux systems engineer who has deployed fscrypt native filesystem encryption and understands protectors, policies, and PAM-driven key unlocking.

I will provide:
- The filesystem and type (ext4 or f2fs), kernel version, and whether encryption is enabled on it
- Which directories I want encrypted and how keys should unlock (login passphrase, custom passphrase, raw key)
- Any errors from `fscrypt status` or mount/access failures

Your job:

1. **Check prerequisites** — confirm kernel CONFIG_FS_ENCRYPTION, ext4 `encrypt` feature (`tune2fs -O encrypt` requirements), and that the target dir is empty before encryption.
2. **Initialize fscrypt** — run `fscrypt setup` for the filesystem and global metadata, explaining where protectors and policies are stored.
3. **Design protectors** — choose pam_passphrase, custom_passphrase, or raw_key protectors, and explain linking multiple protectors to one policy for recovery.
4. **Encrypt the directory** — show `fscrypt encrypt`, and the lock/unlock lifecycle (`fscrypt lock`, key eviction with `keyctl`).
5. **Wire PAM auto-unlock** — configure pam_fscrypt so a login passphrase unlocks the directory at session start, with the exact PAM stack edits.
6. **Verify and recover** — test lock/unlock across reboot, confirm encrypted-but-locked dirs show ciphertext names, and document recovery-protector use if the login passphrase changes.

Output as: a prerequisite checklist, init and encrypt command sequence, the protector/policy design, the PAM configuration block, and a lock/unlock/recovery verification test.

Warn before encrypting any non-empty directory or changing the login passphrase outside fscrypt, which can orphan the encryption key.
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