Add a troubleshooting section for GPG commit signing in WSL #46528

Code of Conduct

• I have read and agree to the GitHub Docs project's Code of Conduct

What article on docs.github.com is affected?

https://docs.github.com/en/authentication/managing-commit-signature-verification/signing-commits

What part(s) of the article would you like to see updated?

I suggest adding a troubleshooting section for users configuring GPG commit signing in Ubuntu under WSL2.

During my setup, I encountered the error No passphrase given and needed to adjust my GPG and terminal configuration before I could successfully sign a commit and have GitHub display the Verified status.

A troubleshooting section could explain how to:

• Configure GPG_TTY in the shell.
• Check whether GPG can sign a test message.
• Diagnose passphrase and pinentry errors.
• Verify that a signed commit is correctly recognized by GitHub.

These additions would help users distinguish between local GPG configuration problems and GitHub verification issues, especially when following the instructions in a WSL2 environment.

Additional information

I was able to reproduce the signing issue during my own setup. After adjusting the configuration, I successfully signed a commit and confirmed that GitHub displayed the Verified status.

I have not confirmed whether this issue affects other WSL2 users, but a troubleshooting note could help users facing similar problems.