OPENSSL-ENGINE(1ssl)

📦
version 3.6.5 · 11 versions
, in arch rolling

💖 openssl-engine — like, the manual page but make it a group chat 💖

okay so bestie, welcome to OPENSSL-ENGINE(1ssl), which is the openssl-engine page from the OpenSSL fam. Sit down, grab a boba, we're doing engines today. 🧋✨

🌸 NAME 🌸

openssl-engine — load and query engines. that's it, that's the job. 💅

✨ SYNOPSIS ✨

openssl engine [-help] [-v] [-vv] [-vvv] [-vvvv] [-c] [-t] [-tt] [-pre
command] ...  [-post command] ...  [engine ...]

like, that's a lot of flags bestie, but we'll get through them together 🫶

🦋 DESCRIPTION 🦋

🚨 SIS. THIS COMMAND IS DEPRECATED. 🚨 Providers should be used instead of engines. The OpenSSL girlies said "we're moving on" and honestly? valid. But the command still exists so here we are.

So what does it actually do? This command queries the status and capabilities of the engines you specify. And here's a lil detail that's lowkey important: engines can be specified before and after all the other command-line flags. Only the ones you actually name get queried — no surprise extras, no cap. 👑

🎀 OPTIONS 🎀

  • -help — shows you an option summary. the classic "help me help you" moment 💖
  • -v, -vv, -vvv, -vvvv — these give you info about each engine you specified, and they stack like a glow-up montage:
    • -v (the first flag) lists all the possible run-time control commands
    • -vv (the second) adds a description of each command
    • -vvv (the third) adds the input flags
    • -vvvv (the final one) adds the internal input flags
  • -c — lists the capabilities of each engine. it's giving "what can you even do" 🦋
  • -t — tests whether each specified engine is available, and displays the answer. vibe check on the engine fr fr
  • -tt — if an engine is unavailable, this displays an error trace for it. receipts. 📋
  • -pre command, -post command — command-line configuration of engines, bestie:
    • -pre command is given to the engine before it's loaded
    • -post command is given to the engine after it's loaded
    • the command is of the form cmd:val where cmd is the command and val is the value for that command. peep the example below for how it looks ✨
    • these two options are cumulative, so you can hand them over more than once in the same command. stack them like scrunchies 💅

🌈 EXAMPLES 🌈

Example uno — to list all the commands available to a dynamic engine:

$ openssl engine -t -tt -vvvv dynamic
(dynamic) Dynamic engine loading support
     [ unavailable ]
     SO_PATH: Specifies the path to the new ENGINE shared library
          (input flags): STRING
     NO_VCHECK: Specifies to continue even if version checking fails (boolean)
          (input flags): NUMERIC
     ID: Specifies an ENGINE id name for loading
          (input flags): STRING
     LIST_ADD: Whether to add a loaded ENGINE to the internal list (0=no,1=yes,2=mandatory)
          (input flags): NUMERIC
     DIR_LOAD: Specifies whether to load from 'DIR_ADD' directories (0=no,1=yes,2=mandatory)
          (input flags): NUMERIC
     DIR_ADD: Adds a directory from which ENGINEs can be loaded
          (input flags): STRING
     LOAD: Load up the ENGINE specified by other settings
          (input flags): NO_INPUT

look at all those input flags, she's serving structure 💜

Example dos — to list the capabilities of the rsax engine:

$ openssl engine -c
(rsax) RSAX engine support
 [RSA]
(dynamic) Dynamic engine loading support

[RSA] — that's the capability, periodt. 💅

🧚 ENVIRONMENT 🧚

  • OPENSSL_ENGINES — the path to the engines directory. like, where all the engines live. their little home 🏡✨

💜 SEE ALSO 💜

go read those too, iykyk 📚

⭐ HISTORY ⭐

This command was deprecated in OpenSSL 3.0. it's giving "we still love you but from a distance" 😭

Copyright 2016-2020 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>.

and that's the whole page bestie!! 🎀 this was version 3.6.5 dated 2026-09-29 — now go forth and query those engines responsibly. mwah 💖🦋✨

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