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:
