CONF_MODULES_FREE(3ossl)

📦 version 3.5.0, in opensuse-leap 16.0

💅 CONF_MODULES_FREE 💅

okay so bestie, this is the OpenSSL configuration cleanup page — the one about tidying up your config modules before you dip. it lives in the 3ossl manual, and honestly? it's giving "who's gonna clean up after the party" energy and I'm obsessed 🎀

✨ NAME ✨

CONF_modules_free, CONF_modules_finish, CONF_modules_unload — the OpenSSL configuration cleanup functions, aka the cleanup crew for your config modules 🧹✨

🌸 SYNOPSIS 🌸

#include <openssl/conf.h>

void CONF_modules_finish(void);
void CONF_modules_unload(int all);

and then the deprecated one (we'll get to that, don't worry 😭) — the following functions have been deprecated since OpenSSL 1.1.0, and can be hidden entirely by defining OPENSSL_API_COMPAT with a suitable version value, see openssl_user_macros(7):

void CONF_modules_free(void);

💖 DESCRIPTION 💖

  • CONF_modules_free() — closes down and frees up all memory allocated by all configuration modules. like, everything. Normally, in versions of OpenSSL prior to 1.1.0, applications called CONF_modules_free() at exit to tidy up any configuration performed. cute, but also: deprecated, we'll yell about that in a sec 🫶
  • CONF_modules_finish() — calls each configuration module's finish handler to free up any configuration that module may have performed. it's literally just telling every module "hey bestie, wrap it up" 💅
  • CONF_modules_unload() — finishes and unloads configuration modules. If all is set to 0, only modules loaded from DSOs will be unloaded. If all is 1, all modules — including built-in modules — will be unloaded. iykyk 💀

🌈 RETURN VALUES 🌈

None of the functions return a value. like, nothing. zero. void. they do the thing and that's it, no receipt, no follow-up text, nothing 😌✨

🦋 SEE ALSO 🦋

go read those too, they're iconic in their own right 👑

🔥 HISTORY 🔥

CONF_modules_free() was deprecated in OpenSSL 1.1.0; do not use it. For more information see OPENSSL_init_crypto(3).

fr fr bestie, don't use CONF_modules_free(). it's deprecated, it's old news, it's not the main character anymore 😭 use the init functions instead, OPENSSL_init_crypto(3) will tell you everything 💖

Copyright 2004-2020 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>.

okay that's the whole page, and this lil sign-off is brought to you by OpenSSL 3.5.0, dated 2026-09-25 — the CONF_MODULES_FREE(3ossl) manual, slaying since forever 💜🌷✨

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