OPENSSL-RSA(1ossl)

💖 NAME 💖

okay so bestie, this is openssl-rsa(1ossl) from OpenSSL — the RSA key processing command. Think of it as the little group chat where RSA keys get converted between forms and their components get printed out. ✨

🦋 SYNOPSIS 🦋

openssl rsa [-help] [-inform DER|PEM|P12|ENGINE] [-outform DER|PEM] [-in filename|uri] [-passin arg] [-out filename] [-passout arg] [-aes128] [-aes192] [-aes256] [-aria128] [-aria192] [-aria256] [-camellia128] [-camellia192] [-camellia256] [-des] [-des3] [-idea] [-text] [-noout] [-modulus] [-traditional] [-check] [-pubin] [-pubout] [-RSAPublicKey_in] [-RSAPublicKey_out] [-pvk-strong] [-pvk-weak] [-pvk-none] [-engine id] [-provider name] [-provider-path path] [-provparam [name:]key=value] [-propquery propq]

🌸 DESCRIPTION 🌸

This command processes RSA keys. They can be converted between various forms and their components printed out. Slay. 💅

✨ OPTIONS ✨

• -help — prints out a usage message. helpful queen behavior 🫶
• -inform DER|PEM|P12|ENGINE — the key input format; unspecified by default. See openssl-format-options(1) for details. 🔍
• -outform DER|PEM — the key output format; the default is PEM. See openssl-format-options(1) for details. 💖
• -traditional — when writing a private key, use the traditional PKCS#1 format instead of the PKCS#8 format. old-school but valid ✨
• -in filename|uri — specifies the input 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, -passout arg — the password source for the input and output file. For more information about the format of arg see openssl-passphrase-options(1). 🗝️
• -out filename — 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. ⚠️ important bestie, don’t overwrite your own input file.
• -aes128, -aes192, -aes256, -aria128, -aria192, -aria256, -camellia128, -camellia192, -camellia256, -des, -des3, -idea — these options encrypt the private key with the specified cipher before outputting it. A pass phrase is prompted for. If none of these options is specified the key is written in plain text. This means that this command can be used to remove the pass phrase from a key by not giving any encryption option, or to add or change the pass phrase by setting them. These options can only be used with PEM format output files. 🔥 the whole cipher squad.
• -text — prints out the various public or private key components in plain text in addition to the encoded version. 👀
• -noout — prevents output of the encoded version of the key. no encoded key spam, we love that.
• -modulus — prints out the value of the modulus of the key. 🧮
• -check — checks the consistency of an RSA private key. vibe check but for key consistency 💅
• -pubin — by default a private key is read from the input. With this option a public key is read instead. If the input contains no public key but a private key, its public part is used. 🫶
• -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. 🌈
• -RSAPublicKey_in, -RSAPublicKey_out — like -pubin and -pubout except RSAPublicKey format is used instead. 🎀
• -pvk-strong — enable 'Strong' PVK encoding level (default). 💪
• -pvk-weak — enable 'Weak' PVK encoding level. 🙈
• -pvk-none — don’t enforce PVK encoding. 🦋
• -engine id — see "Engine Options" in openssl(1). This option is deprecated. lowkey ancient history ⏳
• -provider name — see "Provider Options" in openssl(1), provider(7), and property(7). 👑
• -provider-path path — see "Provider Options" in openssl(1), provider(7), and property(7). 📁
• -provparam [name:]key=value — see "Provider Options" in openssl(1), provider(7), and property(7). 🧚
• -propquery propq — see "Provider Options" in openssl(1), provider(7), and property(7). ⭐

🎀 NOTES 🎀

The openssl-pkey(1) command is capable of performing all the operations this command can, as well as supporting other public key types. so yeah, pkey is giving main character energy too 👑

🌈 EXAMPLES 🌈

The documentation for the openssl-pkey(1) command contains examples equivalent to the ones listed here.

1. To remove the pass phrase on an RSA private key:

openssl rsa -in key.pem -out keyout.pem

2. To encrypt a private key using triple DES:

openssl rsa -in key.pem -des3 -out keyout.pem

3. To convert a private key from PEM to DER format:

openssl rsa -in key.pem -outform DER -out keyout.der

4. To print out the components of a private key to standard output:

openssl rsa -in key.pem -text -noout

5. To just output the public part of a private key:

openssl rsa -in key.pem -pubout -out pubkey.pem

6. Output the public part of a private key in RSAPublicKey format:

openssl rsa -in key.pem -RSAPublicKey_out -out pubkey.pem

💀 BUGS 💀

There should be an option that automatically handles .key files, without having to manually edit them. fr fr that would be so convenient 😭

👑 SEE ALSO 👑

openssl(1), openssl-pkey(1), openssl-pkcs8(1), openssl-dsa(1), openssl-genrsa(1), openssl-gendsa(1)

🕰️ HISTORY 🕰️

The -engine option was deprecated in OpenSSL 3.0. periodt. 💅

📜 COPYRIGHT 📜

Copyright 2000-2023 The OpenSSL Project Authors. All Rights Reserved.

Licensed under the Apache License 2.0 (the "License"). You may not use this file except in compliance with the License. You can obtain a copy in the file LICENSE in the source distribution or at <https://www.openssl.org/source/license.html>. 🫶

🧚 cute sign-off bestie: this is OpenSSL 3.5.0, dated 2026-09-25, page OPENSSL-RSA(1ossl). bye and slay 💖