OPENSSL-PKCS7(1SSL)

💖 OPENSSL-PKCS7 💖

okay bestie, listen up — this is the openssl-pkcs7 command, the PKCS#7 one, and it's basically the bouncer at the club door for your .p7 files. she's pretty, she's specific, and she does exactly one thing. let's get into it 💅

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✨ SYNOPSIS ✨

openssl pkcs7 [-help] [-inform DER|PEM] [-outform DER|PEM] [-in
filename] [-out filename] [-print] [-print_certs] [-quiet] [-text]
[-noout] [-provider name] [-provider-path path] [-provparam
[name:]key=value] [-propquery propq]

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🦋 DESCRIPTION 🦋

so this command processes PKCS#7 files. that's the whole gig. she's not nosy, she's not extra, she just handles PKCS#7.

BUT. and this is important bestie, so pay attention 👀 — she only understands PKCS#7 v 1.5 as specified in IETF RFC 2315. and she cannot currently parse CMS as described in IETF RFC 2630. like, at all. it's not a her problem, it's just where she's at right now. no cap. 😭

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🎀 OPTIONS 🎀

• -help — prints out a usage message. the classic "hey what do i even do" button. 🫶
• -inform DER|PEM, -outform DER|PEM — these set the input and output formats, and the default is PEM. peek at openssl-format-options(1) for the whole story. also, the data in question is a PKCS#7 Version 1.5 structure. periodt.
• -in filename — tells her which file to read from. don't specify it and she'll read from standard input, easy peasy. 🌸
• -out filename — tells her where to write. skip it and she writes to standard output by default. queen of improvising. 👑
• -print — prints out the full PKCS7 object. the whole thing. the entire meal. ate and left no crumbs.
• -print_certs — prints out any certificates or CRLs hiding inside the file. they get preceded by their subject and issuer names in one line format. little intros, so polite. 🎀
• -quiet — when you use this alongside -print_certs, she prints out just the PEM-encoded certificates and absolutely nothing else. no yapping. iconic. 🤫
• -text — prints out the certificate details in full instead of just the subject and issuer names. she said you want the lore? here's the lore. 🔥
• -noout — don't output the encoded version of the PKCS#7 structure (or the certificates if -print_certs is set). sometimes the best output is no output. main character restraint. ✨
• -provider name
• -provider-path path
• -provparam [name:]key=value
• -propquery propq — these are the provider crew. go read "Provider Options" in openssl(1), provider(7), and property(7). iykyk. 🧚

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🌈 EXAMPLES 🌈

convert a PKCS#7 file from PEM to DER:

openssl pkcs7 -in file.pem -outform DER -out file.der

output all the certificates in a file:

openssl pkcs7 -in file.pem -print_certs -out certs.pem

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💜 SEE ALSO 💜

openssl(1), openssl-crl2pkcs7(1)

go read those too bestie, they're in the same friend group. 🦋

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📜 HISTORY 📜

the -engine option was removed in OpenSSL 4.0. she's gone, she's not coming back, we don't talk about her. 💀

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⭐ COPYRIGHT ⭐

Copyright 2000-2022 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>.

fr fr, do read the license before you go wild with it, bestie. legal girlies are watching. 🍓

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okay that's the whole page!! this was OpenSSL 4.0.3, dated 2026-09-29, and it lives under the OPENSSL-PKCS7(1SSL) manual name in case you need to find her again. mwah 💖✨🫶