ERR_LOAD_CRYPTO_STRINGS(3ossl)

📦 version 3.5.0, in opensuse-leap 16.0

💖 ERR_LOAD_CRYPTO_STRINGS 💖

okay bestie, so this page is like... the 3ossl manual page? which means it's an OpenSSL thing, and it's honestly giving "vintage lore that you need to know but should NOT be out here using in 2026." Let's get into it 🫶

🌸 NAME 🌸

ERR_load_crypto_strings, SSL_load_error_strings, ERR_free_strings — the little trio that loads and frees error strings 💅

✨ SYNOPSIS ✨

so the vibe check first, and it's a big one: all of these are deprecated since OpenSSL 1.1.0 😭 and you can hide them entirely by defining OPENSSL_API_COMPAT with a suitable version value — go peek at openssl_user_macros(7) for that, iykyk.

#include <openssl/err.h>

void ERR_load_crypto_strings(void);
void ERR_free_strings(void);

#include <openssl/ssl.h>

void SSL_load_error_strings(void);

like, look at that little void family. no arguments, no returns, just vibes 🙈

🦋 DESCRIPTION 🦋

okay so what do they do:

  • ERR_load_crypto_strings() — literally registers the error strings for all the libcrypto functions. every single one, bestie. the whole roster 💜
  • SSL_load_error_strings() — same energy, but it also registers the libssl error strings on top. like an overachiever 🎀
  • ERR_free_strings() — and here's the important part: in versions prior to OpenSSL 1.1.0, this one releases any resources created by the two functions above. so it's the cleanup crew, but only in the old timeline 🕰️
bestie beware: the whole DESCRIPTION is lowkey a history lesson at this point. don't come for me, I'm just the messenger 💀

🔥 RETURN VALUES 🔥

ERR_load_crypto_strings(), SSL_load_error_strings() and ERR_free_strings() return no values. nothing. zero. void-coded. main character energy of not giving anything back 😌

🌈 SEE ALSO 🌈

👑 HISTORY 👑

and here's the tea ☕ : ERR_load_crypto_strings(), SSL_load_error_strings(), and ERR_free_strings() were deprecated in OpenSSL 1.1.0 by OPENSSL_init_crypto() and OPENSSL_init_ssl(), and they should not be used. periodt. 💅

like, the init functions took over. these three are retired icons. respect the legacy, but don't invite them to the function call 💀

Copyright 2000-2017 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 page, bestie! this iconic little rewrite was brought to you by version 3.5.0, dated 2026-09-25 — ERR_LOAD_CRYPTO_STRINGS(3ossl), signing off 🧚‍♀️💖

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