pkey - public or private key processing tool
openssl pkey [-inform PEM|DER] [-outform PEM|DER] [-in filename] [-passin arg] [-out filename] [-passout arg] [-cipher] [-text] [-text_pub] [-noout] [-pubin] [-pubout] [-engine id]
PKEY(1openssl) OpenSSL PKEY(1openssl)
NAME
openssl-pkey, pkey - public or private key processing tool
SYNOPSIS
openssl pkey [-inform PEM|DER] [-outform PEM|DER] [-in filename]
[-passin arg] [-out filename] [-passout arg] [-cipher] [-text]
[-text_pub] [-noout] [-pubin] [-pubout] [-engine id]
DESCRIPTION
The pkey command processes public or private keys. They can be
converted between various forms and their components printed out.
COMMAND OPTIONS
-inform DER|PEM
This specifies the input format DER or PEM.
-outform DER|PEM
This specifies the output format, the options have the same meaning
as the -inform option.
-in filename
This specifies the input filename to read a key from or standard
input if this option is not specified. If the key is encrypted a
pass phrase will be prompted for.
-passin arg
the input file password source. For more information about the
format of arg see the PASS PHRASE ARGUMENTS section in openssl(1).
-out filename
This specifies the output filename to write a key to or standard
output if this option is not specified. If any encryption options
are set then a pass phrase will be prompted for. The output
filename should not be the same as the input filename.
-passout password
the output file password source. For more information about the
format of arg see the PASS PHRASE ARGUMENTS section in openssl(1).
-cipher
These options encrypt the private key with the supplied cipher. Any
algorithm name accepted by EVP_get_cipherbyname() is acceptable
such as des3.
-text
prints out the various public or private key components in plain
text in addition to the encoded version.
-text_pub
print out only public key components even if a private key is being
processed.
-noout
do not output the encoded version of the key.
-pubin
by default a private key is read from the input file: with this
option a public key is read instead.
-pubout
by default a private key is output: with this option a public key
will be output instead. This option is automatically set if the
input is a public key.
-engine id
specifying an engine (by its unique id string) will cause pkey to
attempt to obtain a functional reference to the specified engine,
thus initialising it if needed. The engine will then be set as the
default for all available algorithms.
EXAMPLES
To remove the pass phrase on an RSA private key:
openssl pkey -in key.pem -out keyout.pem
To encrypt a private key using triple DES:
openssl pkey -in key.pem -des3 -out keyout.pem
To convert a private key from PEM to DER format:
openssl pkey -in key.pem -outform DER -out keyout.der
To print out the components of a private key to standard output:
openssl pkey -in key.pem -text -noout
To print out the public components of a private key to standard output:
openssl pkey -in key.pem -text_pub -noout
To just output the public part of a private key:
openssl pkey -in key.pem -pubout -out pubkey.pem
ATTRIBUTES
See attributes(7) for descriptions of the following attributes:
+---------------+--------------------------+
|ATTRIBUTE TYPE | ATTRIBUTE VALUE |
+---------------+--------------------------+
|Availability | library/security/openssl |
+---------------+--------------------------+
|Stability | Pass-through uncommitted |
+---------------+--------------------------+
SEE ALSO
genpkey(1), rsa(1), pkcs8(1), dsa(1), genrsa(1), gendsa(1)
NOTES
Source code for open source software components in Oracle Solaris can
be found at https://www.oracle.com/downloads/opensource/solaris-source-
code-downloads.html.
This software was built from source available at
https://github.com/oracle/solaris-userland. The original community
source was downloaded from
https://www.openssl.org/source/openssl-1.0.2ze.tar.gz.
Further information about this software can be found on the open source
community website at https://www.openssl.org/.
1.0.2ze 2022-05-03 PKEY(1openssl)