pacman return error: key "5F944B027F7FE2091985AA2EFA11531AA0AA7F57" is unknown

[simonjha]

After installed msys2-x86_64-20230526.exe, and started terminal UCRT64, cannot run pacman, it always returns errors:
$ pacman
error: clangarm64: key "5F944B027F7FE2091985AA2EFA11531AA0AA7F57" is unknown
:: Import PGP key 5F944B027F7FE2091985AA2EFA11531AA0AA7F57? [Y/n] Y
error: key "5F944B027F7FE2091985AA2EFA11531AA0AA7F57" could not be looked up remotely
error: mingw32: key "5F944B027F7FE2091985AA2EFA11531AA0AA7F57" is unknown
:: Import PGP key 5F944B027F7FE2091985AA2EFA11531AA0AA7F57? [Y/n]

when type Y, it returns "could not be looked up remotely".

[ognevny]

latest installer is msys2-x86_64-20230718.exe. try to delete your one and install this one from website

[simonjha]

Same issue with msys2-x86_64-20230718.exe:

$ pacman
error: clangarm64: key "5F944B027F7FE2091985AA2EFA11531AA0AA7F57" is unknown
:: Import PGP key 5F944B027F7FE2091985AA2EFA11531AA0AA7F57? [Y/n] Y
error: key "5F944B027F7FE2091985AA2EFA11531AA0AA7F57" could not be looked up remotely
error: mingw32: key "5F944B027F7FE2091985AA2EFA11531AA0AA7F57" is unknown
:: Import PGP key 5F944B027F7FE2091985AA2EFA11531AA0AA7F57? [Y/n] Y
error: key "5F944B027F7FE2091985AA2EFA11531AA0AA7F57" could not be looked up remotely
error: mingw64: key "5F944B027F7FE2091985AA2EFA11531AA0AA7F57" is unknown
:: Import PGP key 5F944B027F7FE2091985AA2EFA11531AA0AA7F57? [Y/n]
...

$ pacman --debug
debug: pacman v6.0.2 - libalpm v13.0.2
debug: config: attempting to read file /etc/pacman.conf
debug: config: new section 'options'
debug: config: HoldPkg: pacman
debug: config: Architecture: auto
debug: config: arch: x86_64
debug: config: SigLevel: Required
debug: config: LocalFileSigLevel: Optional
debug: config: new section 'clangarm64'
debug: config file /etc/pacman.conf, line 74: including /etc/pacman.d/mirrorlist.mingw
debug: config: new section 'mingw32'
debug: config file /etc/pacman.conf, line 77: including /etc/pacman.d/mirrorlist.mingw
debug: config: new section 'mingw64'
debug: config file /etc/pacman.conf, line 80: including /etc/pacman.d/mirrorlist.mingw
debug: config: new section 'ucrt64'
debug: config file /etc/pacman.conf, line 83: including /etc/pacman.d/mirrorlist.mingw
debug: config: new section 'clang32'
debug: config file /etc/pacman.conf, line 86: including /etc/pacman.d/mirrorlist.mingw
debug: config: new section 'clang64'
debug: config file /etc/pacman.conf, line 89: including /etc/pacman.d/mirrorlist.mingw
debug: config: new section 'msys'
debug: config file /etc/pacman.conf, line 92: including /etc/pacman.d/mirrorlist.msys
debug: config: finished parsing /etc/pacman.conf
debug: setup_libalpm called
debug: option 'logfile' = /var/log/pacman.log
debug: option 'gpgdir' = /etc/pacman.d/gnupg/
debug: option 'hookdir' = /etc/pacman.d/hooks/
debug: option 'cachedir' = /var/cache/pacman/pkg/
debug: registering sync database 'clangarm64'
debug: database path for tree clangarm64 set to /var/lib/pacman/sync/clangarm64.db
debug: GPGME version: 1.20.0
debug: GPGME engine info: file=/usr/bin/gpg, home=/etc/pacman.d/gnupg/
debug: checking signature for /var/lib/pacman/sync/clangarm64.db
debug: 1 signatures returned
debug: fingerprint: 5F944B027F7FE2091985AA2EFA11531AA0AA7F57
debug: summary: key missing
debug: status: No public key
debug: timestamp: 1689611781
debug: exp_timestamp: 0
debug: validity: unknown; reason: Success
debug: key lookup failed, unknown key
debug: signature is not valid
debug: looking up key 5F944B027F7FE2091985AA2EFA11531AA0AA7F57 locally
debug: key lookup failed, unknown key
error: clangarm64: key "5F944B027F7FE2091985AA2EFA11531AA0AA7F57" is unknown
:: Import PGP key 5F944B027F7FE2091985AA2EFA11531AA0AA7F57? [Y/n] Y
debug: looking up key 5F944B027F7FE2091985AA2EFA11531AA0AA7F57 remotely
debug: key lookup failed, unknown key
debug: looking up key 0xA0AA7F57 remotely
debug: key lookup failed, unknown key
debug: gpg error: End of file
error: key "5F944B027F7FE2091985AA2EFA11531AA0AA7F57" could not be looked up remotely
debug: setting usage of 15 for clangarm64 repository
debug: adding new server URL to database 'clangarm64': https://mirror.msys2.org/mingw/clangarm64
debug: adding new server URL to database 'clangarm64': https://repo.msys2.org/mingw/clangarm64
debug: adding new server URL to database 'clangarm64': https://mirror.umd.edu/msys2/mingw/clangarm64
debug: adding new server URL to database 'clangarm64': https://mirror.yandex.ru/mirrors/msys2/mingw/clangarm64
debug: adding new server URL to database 'clangarm64': https://download.nus.edu.sg/mirror/msys2/mingw/clangarm64
debug: adding new server URL to database 'clangarm64': https://ftp.acc.umu.se/mirror/msys2.org/mingw/clangarm64
debug: adding new server URL to database 'clangarm64': https://ftp.nluug.nl/pub/os/windows/msys2/builds/mingw/clangarm64
debug: adding new server URL to database 'clangarm64': https://ftp.osuosl.org/pub/msys2/mingw/clangarm64
debug: adding new server URL to database 'clangarm64': https://mirror.internet.asn.au/pub/msys2/mingw/clangarm64
debug: adding new server URL to database 'clangarm64': https://mirror.selfnet.de/msys2/mingw/clangarm64
debug: adding new server URL to database 'clangarm64': https://mirror.ufro.cl/msys2/mingw/clangarm64
debug: adding new server URL to database 'clangarm64': https://mirrors.dotsrc.org/msys2/mingw/clangarm64
debug: adding new server URL to database 'clangarm64': https://mirrors.bfsu.edu.cn/msys2/mingw/clangarm64
debug: adding new server URL to database 'clangarm64': https://mirrors.tuna.tsinghua.edu.cn/msys2/mingw/clangarm64
debug: adding new server URL to database 'clangarm64': https://mirrors.ustc.edu.cn/msys2/mingw/clangarm64
debug: adding new server URL to database 'clangarm64': https://mirror.nju.edu.cn/msys2/mingw/clangarm64
debug: adding new server URL to database 'clangarm64': https://repo.extreme-ix.org/msys2/mingw/clangarm64
debug: adding new server URL to database 'clangarm64': https://mirrors.hit.edu.cn/msys2/mingw/clangarm64
debug: adding new server URL to database 'clangarm64': https://mirror.clarkson.edu/msys2/mingw/clangarm64
debug: adding new server URL to database 'clangarm64': https://quantum-mirror.hu/mirrors/pub/msys2/mingw/clangarm64
debug: adding new server URL to database 'clangarm64': https://mirror2.sandyriver.net/pub/software/msys2/mingw/clangarm64
debug: adding new server URL to database 'clangarm64': https://mirror.archlinux.tw/MSYS2/mingw/clangarm64
debug: adding new server URL to database 'clangarm64': https://fastmirror.pp.ua/msys2/mingw/clangarm64
debug: adding new server URL to database 'clangarm64': https://ftp.cc.uoc.gr/mirrors/msys2/mingw/clangarm64
debug: adding new server URL to database 'clangarm64': https://mirror.jmu.edu/pub/msys2/mingw/clangarm64
debug: adding new server URL to database 'clangarm64': https://mirrors.piconets.webwerks.in/msys2-mirror/mingw/clangarm64
debug: adding new server URL to database 'clangarm64': https://www2.futureware.at/~nickoe/msys2-mirror/mingw/clangarm64
debug: adding new server URL to database 'clangarm64': https://mirrors.sjtug.sjtu.edu.cn/msys2/mingw/clangarm64
debug: adding new server URL to database 'clangarm64': https://mirrors.bit.edu.cn/msys2/mingw/clangarm64
debug: adding new server URL to database 'clangarm64': https://repo.casualgamer.ca/mingw/clangarm64
debug: adding new server URL to database 'clangarm64': https://mirrors.aliyun.com/msys2/mingw/clangarm64
debug: adding new server URL to database 'clangarm64': https://mirror.iscas.ac.cn/msys2/mingw/clangarm64
debug: adding new server URL to database 'clangarm64': https://mirrors.tencent.com/msys2/mingw/clangarm64
debug: registering sync database 'mingw32'
debug: database path for tree mingw32 set to /var/lib/pacman/sync/mingw32.db
debug: checking signature for /var/lib/pacman/sync/mingw32.db
debug: 1 signatures returned
debug: fingerprint: 5F944B027F7FE2091985AA2EFA11531AA0AA7F57
debug: summary: key missing
debug: status: No public key
debug: timestamp: 1689611681
debug: exp_timestamp: 0
debug: validity: unknown; reason: Success
debug: key lookup failed, unknown key
debug: signature is not valid
debug: looking up key 5F944B027F7FE2091985AA2EFA11531AA0AA7F57 locally
debug: key lookup failed, unknown key
error: mingw32: key "5F944B027F7FE2091985AA2EFA11531AA0AA7F57" is unknown
:: Import PGP key 5F944B027F7FE2091985AA2EFA11531AA0AA7F57? [Y/n]

[ognevny]

have you deleted previous msys2 cleanly via uninstall?

[simonjha]

Yes, fully deleted. In fact, yesterday, I had installed msys2-x86_64-20230526.exe first, then msys2-x86_64-20230526.exe, both have the same issue.

Moment ago, I tried installing the GUI installer via the CLI. and here is the output:

C:>.\msys2-x86_64-20230718.exe in --confirm-command --accept-messages --root C:/msys64
[0] Arguments: .\msys2-x86_64-20230718.exe, in, --confirm-command, --accept-messages, --root, C:/msys64
[6] Operations sanity check succeeded.
[12] Using metadata cache from "C:/Users/sgong/AppData/Local/cache\qt-installer-framework\d75f1c19-3379-3717-ae8d-1404b51494a9"
[12] Found 0 cached items.
[14] Loaded control script ":/metadata/installer-config/control_js.js"
[16] Fetching latest update information...
[18] Loading component scripts...
[20] Loading component scripts...
[21] Warning: QFont::setPixelSize: Pixel size <= 0 (-1)
[22] Selected components without dependencies:
com.msys2.root
[22] Installation space required: "526.64 MB" Temporary space required: "256.00 MB" Local repository size: "0.00 bytes"
[24] Cache and install directories are on the same volume. Volume mount point: "C:\" Free space available: "211.59 GB"
[24] Installation will use 270.64 MB of disk space.
[25] backup operation: Mkdir
[25] - arguments: C:/msys64
[25] Done
[26] perform operation: Mkdir
[26] - arguments: C:/msys64
[27] Done
[28] Preparing the installation...
[28] Install size: 1 components
[33] Preparing to unpack components...
[34] backup com.msys2.root concurrent operation: Extract
[34] - arguments: installer://com.msys2.root/20230718msys64.7z, C:/msys64
[35] Started
[290] Unpacking components...
[292] perform com.msys2.root concurrent operation: Extract
[293] - arguments: installer://com.msys2.root/20230718msys64.7z, C:/msys64
[294] Started
[10844] Installing component MSYS2
[10846] backup com.msys2.root operation: CreateShortcut
[10846] - arguments: C:/msys64/mingw32.exe, C:\Users\sgong\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\MSYS2/MSYS2 MINGW32.lnk, iconPath=C:/msys64/mingw32.exe
[10847] Done
[10848] perform com.msys2.root operation: CreateShortcut
[10849] - arguments: C:/msys64/mingw32.exe, C:\Users\sgong\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\MSYS2/MSYS2 MINGW32.lnk
[10888] Done
[10889] backup com.msys2.root operation: CreateShortcut
[10891] - arguments: C:/msys64/mingw64.exe, C:\Users\sgong\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\MSYS2/MSYS2 MINGW64.lnk, iconPath=C:/msys64/mingw64.exe
[10894] Done
[10895] perform com.msys2.root operation: CreateShortcut
[10896] - arguments: C:/msys64/mingw64.exe, C:\Users\sgong\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\MSYS2/MSYS2 MINGW64.lnk
[10913] Done
[10914] backup com.msys2.root operation: CreateShortcut
[10915] - arguments: C:/msys64/ucrt64.exe, C:\Users\sgong\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\MSYS2/MSYS2 UCRT64.lnk, iconPath=C:/msys64/ucrt64.exe
[10923] Done
[10924] perform com.msys2.root operation: CreateShortcut
[10925] - arguments: C:/msys64/ucrt64.exe, C:\Users\sgong\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\MSYS2/MSYS2 UCRT64.lnk
[10943] Done
[10944] backup com.msys2.root operation: CreateShortcut
[10945] - arguments: C:/msys64/clang64.exe, C:\Users\sgong\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\MSYS2/MSYS2 CLANG64.lnk, iconPath=C:/msys64/clang64.exe
[10950] Done
[10951] perform com.msys2.root operation: CreateShortcut
[10953] - arguments: C:/msys64/clang64.exe, C:\Users\sgong\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\MSYS2/MSYS2 CLANG64.lnk
[10969] Done
[10971] backup com.msys2.root operation: CreateShortcut
[10972] - arguments: C:/msys64/clangarm64.exe, C:\Users\sgong\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\MSYS2/MSYS2 CLANGARM64.lnk, iconPath=C:/msys64/clangarm64.exe
[10976] Done
[10976] perform com.msys2.root operation: CreateShortcut
[10978] - arguments: C:/msys64/clangarm64.exe, C:\Users\sgong\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\MSYS2/MSYS2 CLANGARM64.lnk
[10996] Done
[10998] backup com.msys2.root operation: CreateShortcut
[10999] - arguments: C:/msys64/msys2.exe, C:\Users\sgong\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\MSYS2/MSYS2 MSYS.lnk, iconPath=C:/msys64/msys2.exe
[11002] Done
[11004] perform com.msys2.root operation: CreateShortcut
[11005] - arguments: C:/msys64/msys2.exe, C:\Users\sgong\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\MSYS2/MSYS2 MSYS.lnk
[11021] Done
[11023] backup com.msys2.root operation: Execute
[11024] - arguments: C:/msys64\usr\bin\bash.exe, --login, -c, exit
[11027] Done
[11029] perform com.msys2.root operation: Execute
[11031] - arguments: C:/msys64\usr\bin\bash.exe, --login, -c, exit
[11054] C:/msys64\usr\bin\bash.exe" started, arguments: "--login -c exit
[11597] Copying skeleton files.\nThese files are for the users to personalise their msys2 experience.\n\nThey will never be overwritten nor automatically updated.\n\n
[11780] './.bashrc' -> '/home/SGong/.bashrc'\n'./.bash_logout' -> '/home/SGong/.bash_logout'\n
[11826] './.bash_profile' -> '/home/SGong/.bash_profile'\n
[11921] './.profile' -> '/home/SGong/.profile'\n
[12109] 'C:\WINDOWS\system32\drivers\etc\hosts' -> '/etc/hosts'\n
[12204] 'C:\WINDOWS\system32\drivers\etc\protocol' -> '/etc/protocols'\n
[12392] 'C:\WINDOWS\system32\drivers\etc\services' -> '/etc/services'\n
[12439] 'C:\WINDOWS\system32\drivers\etc\networks' -> '/etc/networks'\n
[20059] ==> Generating pacman master key. This may take some time.\n
[32543] ==> Updating trust database...\n
[38985] ==> Use 'pacman-key --init' to generate a default secret key.\n
[39830] \x1B[H\x1B[2J\x1B[3J
[39832] Warning: ←[1;32mMSYS2 is starting for the first time. Executing the initial setup.←[1;0m
gpg: /etc/pacman.d/gnupg/trustdb.gpg: trustdb created
gpg: no ultimately trusted keys found
gpg: starting migration from earlier GnuPG versions
gpg: can't connect to the agent: IPC connect call failed
gpg: error: GnuPG agent unusable. Please check that a GnuPG agent can be started.
gpg: migration aborted
gpg: starting migration from earlier GnuPG versions
gpg: can't connect to the agent: IPC connect call failed
gpg: error: GnuPG agent unusable. Please check that a GnuPG agent can be started.
gpg: migration aborted
gpg: Generating pacman keyring master key...
gpg: can't connect to the agent: IPC connect call failed
gpg: agent_genkey failed: No agent running
gpg: key generation failed: No agent running
gpg: Done
gpg: no need for a trustdb check
gpg: starting migration from earlier GnuPG versions
gpg: can't connect to the agent: IPC connect call failed
gpg: error: GnuPG agent unusable. Please check that a GnuPG agent can be started.
gpg: migration aborted
==> ERROR: There is no secret key available to sign with.
gpg: error reading key: No public key
←[1;32mInitial setup complete. MSYS2 is now ready to use.←[1;0m

[39875] Done
[39885] Writing maintenance tool: "C:/msys64/uninstall.exe.new"
[39885] Writing maintenance tool.
[39943] Wrote permissions for maintenance tool.
[39989] Maintenance tool hard restart: false.
[39994] Installation finished!
[39995] Components installed successfully.

As you can see form the output, there are problems and errors with gpg during installing:
...
gpg: can't connect to the agent: IPC connect call failed
gpg: error: GnuPG agent unusable. Please check that a GnuPG agent can be started.
...
gpg: migration aborted
==> ERROR: There is no secret key available to sign with.
gpg: error reading key: No public key
...