Keytool Program

The keytool program is a security tool included in the bin directory of the Java^TM SDK.

This tool manages a type of database called a keystore. Keystores contain two types of entries:

• A key entry consists of a private key and the certificate chain for the associated public key.

• A trusted certificate entry is a public key certificate that belongs to another entity and that the owner of the keystore has determined to be trustworthy.

Each entry in the keystore is identified by a unique alias. When you add an entity to the keystore, you must specify an alias.

The available commands of the keytool program include the following:

• The genkey command generates a key pair. If you specify a keystore that does not exist, then the keystore is created.

• The certreq command generates a Certificate Signing Request (CSR).

• The import command adds a certificate to a keystore. If you specify a keystore that does not exist, then the keystore is created.

• The export command exports a certificate to a file.

• The list command prints the contents of a keystore entry.

For more information about the keytool program, go to http://java.sun.com/j2se/1.5.0/docs/tooldocs/index.html.