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In GnuPG I can edit the expiry of my key like this:

$ gpg --edit-key 01234567
[...]

gpg> expire
Changing expiration time for the primary key.
Please specify how long the key should be valid.
         0 = key does not expire
      <n>  = key expires in n days
      <n>w = key expires in n weeks
      <n>m = key expires in n months
      <n>y = key expires in n years
Key is valid for? (0)

But what if I want to set the expiry to a specific (absolute) date/time, e.g. 01-01-2015, midnight? Do I really have to calculate the exact time from now, e.g. 9m+15d+...?

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The output of GnuPG on how to specify the expiry is missing the option to just enter an ISO date in the form of YYYY-MM-DD. Unlike the help text suggests it would not be valid, it will just work:

Key is valid for? (0) 2015-01-01
Key expires at Thu 01 Jan 2015 00:00:00 CET
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    It doesn’t accept 2038-01-01T00:00:00Z but 20380101T000000Z, for what it’s worth.
    – Константин Ван
    Jun 23, 2019 at 5:25
  • ...And this way it won’t set the Key Expiration Time (0x9) subpacket value minute-level-accurately. Mine have differences of a few minutes.
    – Константин Ван
    Jun 23, 2019 at 10:02
  • 1
    @КонстантинВан, this seems to be resolved at least as of gpg (GnuPG/MacGPG2) 2.2.24.
    – Jivan Pal
    Jan 3, 2021 at 21:08

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