---
name: "ecryptfs-recover-private"
section: "1"
platform: "linux"
package: "ecryptfs-utils"
version: "111-9"
release: "Arch Linux 2026-11-01"
platforms: ["linux"]
url: "https://new.carta.tech/ecryptfs-recover-private"
---

# ecryptfs-recover-private(1)

find and mount any encrypted private directories

## NAME

**ecryptfs-recover-private** - find and mount any encrypted private directories

## SYNOPSIS

**ecryptfs-recover-private** \[--rw\] \[encrypted private dir\]

## DESCRIPTION

This utility is intended to help eCryptfs recover data from their encrypted home or encrypted private partitions.  It is useful to run this from a LiveISO or a recovery image.  It must run under [**sudo**(8)](/sudo/8.md) or with root permission, in order to search the filesystem and perform the mounts.

The program can take a target encrypted directory on the command line.  If unspecified, the utility will search the entire system looking for encrypted private directories, as configured by [**ecryptfs-setup-private**(1)](/ecryptfs-setup-private/1.md).

If an encrypted directory and a *wrapped-passphrase* file are found, the user is prompted for the login (wrapping) passphrase, the keys are inserted into the keyring, and the data is decrypted and mounted.

If no *wrapped-passphrase* file is found, the user will be prompted for their mount passphrase.  This passphrase is typically 32 characters of \[0-9a-f\].  All users are prompted to urgently record this randomly generated passphrase when they first setup their encrypted private directory.

The destination mount of the decrypted data is a temporary directory, in the form of */tmp/ecryptfs.XXXXXXXX*.

By default, the mount will be read-only.  To mount with read and write permission, add the --rw parameter.

## SEE ALSO

[**ecryptfs-setup-private**(1)](/ecryptfs-setup-private/1.md), [**sudo**(8)](/sudo/8.md)

*http://blog.dustinkirkland.com/2009/03/mounting-your-encrypted-home-from.html*

- *http://ecryptfs.org/*

  ## AUTHOR

This manpage was written by Dustin Kirkland \<kirkland@ubuntu.com\> for Ubuntu systems (but may be used by others).  Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU General Public License, Version 2 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation.

On Debian and Ubuntu systems, the complete text of the GNU General Public License can be found in /usr/share/common-licenses/GPL.