OPENSSL-DSAPARAM(1ossl)

📦
version 3.5.9 · 8 versions
, in alpine 3.23, alpine 3.24

okay so real talk, this is the OPENSSL-DSAPARAM(1ossl) page from the OpenSSL manual — yes, the whole 1ossl situation — and we're about to make DSA parameters make sense. bestie, buckle up 💖

💅 NAME 💅

openssl-dsaparam - DSA parameter manipulation and generation

✨ SYNOPSIS ✨

openssl dsaparam [-help] [-inform DER|PEM] [-outform DER|PEM] [-in
       filename] [-out filename] [-noout] [-text] [-genkey] [-verbose] [-quiet]
       [-rand files] [-writerand file] [-engine id] [-provider name]
       [-provider-path path] [-provparam [name:]key=value] [-propquery propq]
       [numbits] [numqbits]

🦋 DESCRIPTION 🦋

okay so this command is literally here to manipulate or generate DSA parameter files. that's the whole vibe ✨

and lowkey? DSA parameter generation can be a slow process, so the same set of DSA parameters is often used to generate several distinct keys. it's giving "one base, many looks" energy, no cap 💅

🌸 OPTIONS 🌸

  • -help — prints out a usage message, which is v handy when you're like "wait what did that flag do again?" 🙈
  • -inform DER|PEM — the DSA parameters input format; unspecified by default. see openssl-format-options(1) for details. format check!
  • -outform DER|PEM — the DSA parameters output format; the default is PEM. see openssl-format-options(1) for details.

parameters are a sequence of ASN.1 INTEGERs: p, q, and g. this is compatible with RFC 2459 DSS-Parms structure. iykyk 🧚

  • -in filename — this specifies the input file to read parameters from, or standard input if this option is not specified. if the numbits parameter is included then this option will be ignored. noted!
  • -out filename — this specifies the output file to write parameters to. standard output is used if this option is not present. the output filename can be the same as the input filename, which leads to replacing the file contents.
bestie, heads up: file I/O is not atomic here 💀 the output file is truncated and then written. so maybe don't point it at something precious mid-crisis.
  • -noout — inhibits the output of the encoded version of the parameters. sometimes less is more, periodt 💜
  • -text — prints out the DSA parameters in human readable form. for the girls who like to actually read the lore 📖
  • -genkey — will generate a DSA either using the specified or generated parameters. main character key generation energy 👑
  • -verbose — print extra details about the operations being performed. spill the tea, command ☕
  • -quiet — print fewer details about the operations being performed, which may be handy during batch scripts and pipelines. shhh bestie, we're in a pipeline 🤫
  • -rand files, -writerand file — see "Random State Options" in openssl(1) for details. random state realness 🎀
  • -engine id — see "Engine Options" in openssl(1). this option is deprecated. deprecated alert 🚨
  • numbits — this optional argument specifies that a parameter set should be generated of size numbits. if this argument is included then the input file (if any) is ignored. big parameter energy ✨
  • numqbits — this optional argument specifies that a parameter set should be generated with a subprime parameter q of size numqbits. it must be the last argument. if this argument is included then the input file (if any) is ignored. last argument behavior, no cap 💫
  • -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).

🌈 SEE ALSO 🌈

you'll also wanna peek at:

⭐ HISTORY ⭐

  • the -engine option was deprecated in OpenSSL 3.0.
  • the -C option was removed in OpenSSL 3.0.

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.

this page is serving OpenSSL version 3.5.9, dated 2026-09-29, with manual tag OPENSSL-DSAPARAM(1ossl) — periodt 💋

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