pkey.pod revision 325337 
1
2=pod
3
4=head1 NAME
5
6openssl-pkey,
7pkey - public or private key processing tool
8
9=head1 SYNOPSIS
10
11B<openssl> B<pkey>
12[B<-inform PEM|DER>]
13[B<-outform PEM|DER>]
14[B<-in filename>]
15[B<-passin arg>]
16[B<-out filename>]
17[B<-passout arg>]
18[B<-cipher>]
19[B<-text>]
20[B<-text_pub>]
21[B<-noout>]
22[B<-pubin>]
23[B<-pubout>]
24[B<-engine id>]
25
26=head1 DESCRIPTION
27
28The B<pkey> command processes public or private keys. They can be converted
29between various forms and their components printed out.
30
31=head1 COMMAND OPTIONS
32
33=over 4
34
35=item B<-inform DER|PEM>
36
37This specifies the input format DER or PEM.
38
39=item B<-outform DER|PEM>
40
41This specifies the output format, the options have the same meaning as the 
42B<-inform> option.
43
44=item B<-in filename>
45
46This specifies the input filename to read a key from or standard input if this
47option is not specified. If the key is encrypted a pass phrase will be
48prompted for.
49
50=item B<-passin arg>
51
52the input file password source. For more information about the format of B<arg>
53see the B<PASS PHRASE ARGUMENTS> section in L<openssl(1)|openssl(1)>.
54
55=item B<-out filename>
56
57This specifies the output filename to write a key to or standard output if this
58option is not specified. If any encryption options are set then a pass phrase
59will be prompted for. The output filename should B<not> be the same as the input
60filename.
61
62=item B<-passout password>
63
64the output file password source. For more information about the format of B<arg>
65see the B<PASS PHRASE ARGUMENTS> section in L<openssl(1)|openssl(1)>.
66
67=item B<-cipher>
68
69These options encrypt the private key with the supplied cipher. Any algorithm
70name accepted by EVP_get_cipherbyname() is acceptable such as B<des3>.
71
72=item B<-text>
73
74prints out the various public or private key components in
75plain text in addition to the encoded version. 
76
77=item B<-text_pub>
78
79print out only public key components even if a private key is being processed.
80
81=item B<-noout>
82
83do not output the encoded version of the key.
84
85=item B<-pubin>
86
87by default a private key is read from the input file: with this
88option a public key is read instead.
89
90=item B<-pubout>
91
92by default a private key is output: with this option a public
93key will be output instead. This option is automatically set if
94the input is a public key.
95
96=item B<-engine id>
97
98specifying an engine (by its unique B<id> string) will cause B<pkey>
99to attempt to obtain a functional reference to the specified engine,
100thus initialising it if needed. The engine will then be set as the default
101for all available algorithms.
102
103=back
104
105=head1 EXAMPLES
106
107To remove the pass phrase on an RSA private key:
108
109 openssl pkey -in key.pem -out keyout.pem
110
111To encrypt a private key using triple DES:
112
113 openssl pkey -in key.pem -des3 -out keyout.pem
114
115To convert a private key from PEM to DER format: 
116
117 openssl pkey -in key.pem -outform DER -out keyout.der
118
119To print out the components of a private key to standard output:
120
121 openssl pkey -in key.pem -text -noout
122
123To print out the public components of a private key to standard output:
124
125 openssl pkey -in key.pem -text_pub -noout
126
127To just output the public part of a private key:
128
129 openssl pkey -in key.pem -pubout -out pubkey.pem
130
131=head1 SEE ALSO
132
133L<genpkey(1)|genpkey(1)>, L<rsa(1)|rsa(1)>, L<pkcs8(1)|pkcs8(1)>,
134L<dsa(1)|dsa(1)>, L<genrsa(1)|genrsa(1)>, L<gendsa(1)|gendsa(1)> 
135
136=cut
137