1PKEY(1)                             OpenSSL                            PKEY(1)
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NAME

6       pkey - public or private key processing tool
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SYNOPSIS

9       openssl pkey [-inform PEM|DER] [-outform PEM|DER] [-in filename]
10       [-passin arg] [-out filename] [-passout arg] [-cipher] [-text]
11       [-text_pub] [-noout] [-pubin] [-pubout] [-engine id]
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DESCRIPTION

14       The pkey command processes public or private keys. They can be
15       converted between various forms and their components printed out.
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COMMAND OPTIONS

18       -inform DER|PEM
19           This specifies the input format DER or PEM.
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21       -outform DER|PEM
22           This specifies the output format, the options have the same meaning
23           as the -inform option.
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25       -in filename
26           This specifies the input filename to read a key from or standard
27           input if this option is not specified. If the key is encrypted a
28           pass phrase will be prompted for.
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30       -passin arg
31           the input file password source. For more information about the
32           format of arg see the PASS PHRASE ARGUMENTS section in openssl(1).
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34       -out filename
35           This specifies the output filename to write a key to or standard
36           output if this option is not specified. If any encryption options
37           are set then a pass phrase will be prompted for. The output
38           filename should not be the same as the input filename.
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40       -passout password
41           the output file password source. For more information about the
42           format of arg see the PASS PHRASE ARGUMENTS section in openssl(1).
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44       -cipher
45           These options encrypt the private key with the supplied cipher. Any
46           algorithm name accepted by EVP_get_cipherbyname() is acceptable
47           such as des3.
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49       -text
50           prints out the various public or private key components in plain
51           text in addition to the encoded version.
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53       -text_pub
54           print out only public key components even if a private key is being
55           processed.
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57       -noout
58           do not output the encoded version of the key.
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60       -pubin
61           by default a private key is read from the input file: with this
62           option a public key is read instead.
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64       -pubout
65           by default a private key is output: with this option a public key
66           will be output instead. This option is automatically set if the
67           input is a public key.
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69       -engine id
70           specifying an engine (by its unique id string) will cause pkey to
71           attempt to obtain a functional reference to the specified engine,
72           thus initialising it if needed. The engine will then be set as the
73           default for all available algorithms.
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EXAMPLES

76       To remove the pass phrase on an RSA private key:
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78        openssl pkey -in key.pem -out keyout.pem
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80       To encrypt a private key using triple DES:
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82        openssl pkey -in key.pem -des3 -out keyout.pem
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84       To convert a private key from PEM to DER format:
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86        openssl pkey -in key.pem -outform DER -out keyout.der
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88       To print out the components of a private key to standard output:
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90        openssl pkey -in key.pem -text -noout
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92       To print out the public components of a private key to standard output:
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94        openssl pkey -in key.pem -text_pub -noout
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96       To just output the public part of a private key:
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98        openssl pkey -in key.pem -pubout -out pubkey.pem
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SEE ALSO

101       genpkey(1), rsa(1), pkcs8(1), dsa(1), genrsa(1), gendsa(1)
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1051.0.0e                            2009-04-10                           PKEY(1)