Project — About
About RNP
RNP is a powerful open-source software library for working with LibrePGP and OpenPGP messages — a high-level API for encryption, decryption, signing, verification, and key management.
§ 01 — Why
Why RNP exists
RNP is developed by Ribose, an organization specializing in secure collaboration and communication. It originally stemmed from NetPGP, and through years of active development it has been transformed into a modern, high-performance codebase.
Its flagship deployment is Mozilla Thunderbird, where RNP performs the end-to-end encryption of email for users around the world — a rare level of trust for a cryptographic library.
Ribose is committed to promoting privacy and security in the digital world, and supports RNP as part of its mission to empower individuals and organizations with secure communication solutions.
“Empower individuals and organizations with secure communication — and make strong encryption accessible to everyone.”
§ 02 — Ecosystem
The ecosystem
| Project | Description | Category |
|---|---|---|
| rnp / rnpkeys | Command-line tools for handling OpenPGP data and managing keys. | CLI |
| librnp | The core C++ library behind everything, available via a C/FFI interface. | Core |
| Py-RNP | Python bindings for the RNP C++ library. | Bindings |
| Ruby-RNP | Ruby bindings for the RNP C++ library. | Bindings |
| homebrew-rnp | The Homebrew formula — one-command installation on macOS. | Distribution |
§ 03 — Use cases
What RNP is for
End-to-end email encryption
RNP powers the built-in OpenPGP support in Mozilla Thunderbird, securing mail for millions of users.
File & data encryption
The rnp CLI encrypts, decrypts, signs and verifies files and streams — scriptable and fast.
Key management
rnpkeys generates, inspects and maintains OpenPGP keys across keyrings with care.
Embedding via FFI
librnp exposes a stable C interface, ready for bindings and for deep integration in your own products.
§ 04 — Standards
Standards support
RNP believes in standards that stand the test of time — and helps write them.
§ 05 — Community
Partners & supporters
“RNP is also supported by a dedicated community of developers who contribute to its ongoing development and improvement.”
RNP collaborates closely with
Mozilla
Mozilla chose RNP as the cryptographic core of Thunderbird — the world’s most widely deployed open-source mail client — powering end-to-end encryption for tens of millions of users, independently audited by Cure53 under Mozilla’s Secure Open Source program.
g10 Code
Founded by Werner Koch, principal author of GnuPG — the canonical OpenPGP implementation underpinning secure communication for three decades. Co-architect of the LibrePGP specification alongside Ribose and Intevation; maintains the cryptographic backbone trusted by Linux distributions, governments, and enterprises worldwide.
Intevation
Co-developer and maintainer of Gpg4win, the official Windows distribution of GnuPG — in continuous production across European public administration and the German federal government since 2006. Founding partner of the LibrePGP specification alongside Ribose and g10 Code.
RNP is funded by
NLnet Foundation
Founded in 1989, NLnet is one of the world’s oldest philanthropic foundations for free and open internet infrastructure. Their grants have built KDE, GNOME, GnuTLS, WireGuard, Matrix — and the bedrock on which RNP stands.
NGI Zero PET
The European Commission’s flagship Next Generation Internet initiative — the Privacy & Trust Enhancing Technologies stream funding privacy-preserving open-source infrastructure across Europe.
Mozilla
Recipient of Mozilla Open Source Support (MOSS) awards under both the Foundational Technology track (software Mozilla relies on) and the Secure Open Source track (security hardening of critical cryptography).
Ribose
Creator and primary steward of RNP. Co-architect of the LibrePGP specification alongside g10 Code and Intevation, and home institution of the project since inception.
§ 06 — Open source
Get started
RNP is an open-source project. All repositories live on GitHub under permissive licenses, and contributions of every kind — code, documentation, testing, advocacy — are warmly welcomed.
Questions or feedback? Reach us at open.source@ribose.com.
§ 07 — Identity
The name & the mark
The name
RNP is widely recognized in the biological sciences as the acronym for ribonucleoprotein. The name was chosen for its strong association with Ribose — a sugar fundamental to life on Earth. The human ribosome, the molecular machine that translates RNA into proteins, consists of two ribonucleoprotein (RNP) particles.
The acronym was never back-fitted with specific words, but it originated with an R for Ribose and a P for OpenPGP — aligning neatly with the biological RNP.
The mark
The RNP symbol is a vesica piscis — two overlapping lenses that create a third in their intersection. It represents the abstract structure of the ribosome: two ribonucleoprotein particles locked together in translation.
In light mode the mark sits on paper like a seal in a technical paper. In dark mode the tricolor lenses glow against the deep navy — the same geometry, revealed differently, just as the ribosome's structure emerges only when you look closely enough.
Open-source project maintained by Ribose