D2I_TS_REQ(3)

💅 D2I_TS_REQ — decode & encode X.509 time-stamp protocol structures, bestie

okay so this is one of those man pages from the Library Functions Manual shelf (iykyk, the OpenBSD-flavoured one), and it's literally a whole family of functions whose entire job is turning time-stamp-protocol structures into DER bytes and back. twenty-eight functions. one page. we're doing this. 🎀

✨ NAME ✨

bestie, the whole girliepop squad is here — every one of these decodes and encodes X.509 time-stamp protocol structures:

• decoders (d2i_, DER → struct): d2i_TS_REQ, d2i_TS_REQ_bio, d2i_TS_REQ_fp, d2i_TS_RESP, d2i_TS_RESP_bio, d2i_TS_RESP_fp, d2i_TS_STATUS_INFO, d2i_TS_TST_INFO, d2i_TS_TST_INFO_bio, d2i_TS_TST_INFO_fp, d2i_TS_ACCURACY, d2i_TS_MSG_IMPRINT, d2i_TS_MSG_IMPRINT_bio, d2i_TS_MSG_IMPRINT_fp
• encoders (i2d_, struct → DER): i2d_TS_REQ, i2d_TS_REQ_bio, i2d_TS_REQ_fp, i2d_TS_RESP, i2d_TS_RESP_bio, i2d_TS_RESP_fp, i2d_TS_STATUS_INFO, i2d_TS_TST_INFO, i2d_TS_TST_INFO_bio, i2d_TS_TST_INFO_fp, i2d_TS_ACCURACY, i2d_TS_MSG_IMPRINT, i2d_TS_MSG_IMPRINT_bio, i2d_TS_MSG_IMPRINT_fp

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🌸 SYNOPSIS 🌸

this is libcrypto energy, and you're gonna want #include <openssl/ts.h>:

TS_REQ *
d2i_TS_REQ(TS_REQ **val_out, const unsigned char **der_in, long length);

int
i2d_TS_REQ(const TS_REQ *val_in, unsigned char **der_out);

TS_REQ *
d2i_TS_REQ_bio(BIO *in_bio, TS_REQ **val_out);

int
i2d_TS_REQ_bio(BIO *out_bio, TS_REQ *val_in);

TS_REQ *
d2i_TS_REQ_fp(FILE *in_fp, TS_REQ **val_out);

int
i2d_TS_REQ_fp(FILE *out_fp, TS_REQ *val_in);

TS_RESP *
d2i_TS_RESP(TS_RESP **val_out, const unsigned char **der_in,
    long length);

int
i2d_TS_RESP(const TS_RESP *val_in, unsigned char **der_out);

TS_RESP *
d2i_TS_RESP_bio(BIO *in_bio, TS_RESP **val_out);

int
i2d_TS_RESP_bio(BIO *out_bio, TS_RESP *val_in);

TS_RESP *
d2i_TS_RESP_fp(FILE *in_fp, TS_RESP **val_out);

int
i2d_TS_RESP_fp(FILE *out_fp, TS_RESP *val_in);

TS_STATUS_INFO *
d2i_TS_STATUS_INFO(TS_STATUS_INFO **val_out,
    const unsigned char **der_in, long length);

int
i2d_TS_STATUS_INFO(const TS_STATUS_INFO *val_in,
    unsigned char **der_out);

TS_TST_INFO *
d2i_TS_TST_INFO(TS_TST_INFO **val_out, const unsigned char **der_in,
    long length);

int
i2d_TS_TST_INFO(const TS_TST_INFO *val_in, unsigned char **der_out);

TS_TST_INFO *
d2i_TS_TST_INFO_bio(BIO *in_bio, TS_TST_INFO **val_out);

int
i2d_TS_TST_INFO_bio(BIO *out_bio, TS_TST_INFO *val_in);

TS_TST_INFO *
d2i_TS_TST_INFO_fp(FILE *in_fp, TS_TST_INFO **val_out);

int
i2d_TS_TST_INFO_fp(FILE *out_fp, TS_TST_INFO *val_in);

TS_ACCURACY *
d2i_TS_ACCURACY(TS_ACCURACY **val_out, const unsigned char **der_in,
    long length);

int
i2d_TS_ACCURACY(const TS_ACCURACY *val_in, unsigned char **der_out);

TS_MSG_IMPRINT *
d2i_TS_MSG_IMPRINT(TS_MSG_IMPRINT **val_out,
    const unsigned char **der_in, long length);

int
i2d_TS_MSG_IMPRINT(const TS_MSG_IMPRINT *val_in,
    unsigned char **der_out);

TS_MSG_IMPRINT *
d2i_TS_MSG_IMPRINT_bio(BIO *in_bio, TS_MSG_IMPRINT **val_out);

int
i2d_TS_MSG_IMPRINT_bio(BIO *out_bio, TS_MSG_IMPRINT *val_in);

TS_MSG_IMPRINT *
d2i_TS_MSG_IMPRINT_fp(FILE *in_fp, TS_MSG_IMPRINT **val_out);

int
i2d_TS_MSG_IMPRINT_fp(FILE *out_fp, TS_MSG_IMPRINT *val_in);

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🦋 DESCRIPTION 🦋

so these functions decode and encode the X.509 structures that the time-stamp protocol uses. and here's the thing — for the actual semantics, examples, caveats, and bugs, the page is like "go read ASN1_item_d2i(3)", so genuinely go do that, bestie, this page is not the main character for that part. 🫶

💖 TS_REQ

d2i_TS_REQ() and i2d_TS_REQ() decode and encode an ASN.1 TimeStampReq structure defined in RFC 3161 section 2.4.1. and then d2i_TS_REQ_bio(), i2d_TS_REQ_bio(), d2i_TS_REQ_fp(), and i2d_TS_REQ_fp() are literally the same except they decode or encode using a BIO or FILE pointer. same vibe, different input/output plumbing. ✨

💖 TS_RESP

d2i_TS_RESP() and i2d_TS_RESP() decode and encode an ASN.1 TimeStampResp structure defined in RFC 3161 section 2.4.2. and d2i_TS_RESP_bio(), i2d_TS_RESP_bio(), d2i_TS_RESP_fp(), and i2d_TS_RESP_fp()? you guessed it — similar except they decode or encode using a BIO or FILE pointer. 🎀

💖 TS_STATUS_INFO

d2i_TS_STATUS_INFO() and i2d_TS_STATUS_INFO() decode and encode an ASN.1 PKIStatusInfo structure defined in RFC 3161 section 2.4.2. no bio/fp variant here, she's a one-trick icon. 💅

💖 TS_TST_INFO

d2i_TS_TST_INFO() and i2d_TS_TST_INFO() decode and encode an ASN.1 TSTInfo structure defined in RFC 3161 section 2.4.2. and d2i_TS_TST_INFO_bio(), i2d_TS_TST_INFO_bio(), d2i_TS_TST_INFO_fp(), and i2d_TS_TST_INFO_fp() are similar except they decode or encode using a BIO or FILE pointer. 🦋

💖 TS_ACCURACY

d2i_TS_ACCURACY() and i2d_TS_ACCURACY() decode and encode an ASN.1 Accuracy structure defined in RFC 3161 section 2.4.2. short and sweet, no notes. 🌸

💖 TS_MSG_IMPRINT

d2i_TS_MSG_IMPRINT() and i2d_TS_MSG_IMPRINT() decode and encode an ASN.1 MessageImprint structure defined in RFC 3161 section 2.4.1. and d2i_TS_MSG_IMPRINT_bio(), i2d_TS_MSG_IMPRINT_bio(), d2i_TS_MSG_IMPRINT_fp(), and i2d_TS_MSG_IMPRINT_fp() are similar except they decode or encode using a BIO or FILE pointer. ✨

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🔥 RETURN VALUES 🔥

okay this is the part where you actually pay attention, bestie, because there are three different return conventions and mixing them up is not the slay you think it is. 💀

the decoders — d2i_TS_REQ(), d2i_TS_REQ_bio(), d2i_TS_REQ_fp(), d2i_TS_RESP(), d2i_TS_RESP_bio(), d2i_TS_RESP_fp(), d2i_TS_STATUS_INFO(), d2i_TS_TST_INFO(), d2i_TS_TST_INFO_bio(), d2i_TS_TST_INFO_fp(), d2i_TS_ACCURACY(), d2i_TS_MSG_IMPRINT(), d2i_TS_MSG_IMPRINT_bio(), and d2i_TS_MSG_IMPRINT_fp() — return an object of the respective type, or NULL if an error occurs. 😭

the pointer-output encoders — i2d_TS_REQ(), i2d_TS_RESP(), i2d_TS_STATUS_INFO(), i2d_TS_TST_INFO(), i2d_TS_ACCURACY(), and i2d_TS_MSG_IMPRINT() — return the number of bytes successfully encoded, or a negative value if an error occurs. 🔥

the bio/fp encoders — i2d_TS_REQ_bio(), i2d_TS_REQ_fp(), i2d_TS_RESP_bio(), i2d_TS_RESP_fp(), i2d_TS_TST_INFO_bio(), i2d_TS_TST_INFO_fp(), i2d_TS_MSG_IMPRINT_bio(), and i2d_TS_MSG_IMPRINT_fp() — return 1 for success or 0 if an error occurs. 👑

real talk: three return styles, one man page. check which one you're calling, or you're gonna have a bad time. 🙈

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🌈 SEE ALSO 🌈

• ASN1_item_d2i(3) — the actual lore drop, go read it
• TS_REQ_new(3)

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⭐ STANDARDS ⭐

RFC 3161: Internet X.509 Public Key Infrastructure Time-Stamp Protocol. that's the whole standard, she ate. 💜

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👑 HISTORY 👑

these functions first appeared in OpenSSL 1.0.0 and have been available since OpenBSD 4.9. vintage but still iconic, fr fr. 🧚

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mwah, that's the page! 💖 this one's from the Debian build, dated June 8, 2025, and it lives at D2I_TS_REQ(3) in section 3 of the manual. go forth and encode responsibly, bestie 🫶✨