DSA_GENERATE_KEY(3ossl)

📦
version 3.5.9 · 8 versions
, in fedora 43, fedora 44

💖 DSA_GENERATE_KEY 💖

okay bestie, so this page is DSA_GENERATE_KEY(3ossl) from the OpenSSL manual (section 3ossl, we love a library function moment), and it's all about generating a DSA key pair. sit down, hydrate, let's go 🫶

✨ NAME ✨

DSA_generate_key — generate DSA key pair 🔑✨

🌸 SYNOPSIS 🌸

#include <openssl/dsa.h>

so here's the tea, and it's giving deprecation era: the functions below have been deprecated since OpenSSL 3.0, and you can hide them entirely by defining OPENSSL_API_COMPAT with a suitable version value. check openssl_user_macros(7) for the deets 👑

int DSA_generate_key(DSA *a);

💅 DESCRIPTION 💅

okay so first thing, no cap: every single function on this page is deprecated. all of them. the whole vibe. if you're writing new code, the girlies are using EVP_PKEY_keygen_init(3) and EVP_PKEY_keygen(3) instead — as described in EVP_PKEY-DSA(7). that's the main character path now 💖

now for what the deprecated cutie actually does:

DSA_generate_key() expects a to contain DSA parameters. then it generates a brand new key pair and stores it in a->pub_key and a->priv_key. boom. keys. slay 🔑

⚠️ the random generator must be seeded before you call DSA_generate_key(). this is not optional, bestie. and if the automatic seeding or reseeding of the OpenSSL CSPRNG fails due to external circumstances (peep RAND(7)), the operation will fail. it's giving "not my fault but also not your keys" 😭

🎀 RETURN VALUES 🎀

DSA_generate_key() returns 1 on success, 0 otherwise. iconic binary behaviour honestly.

you can grab the error codes with ERR_get_error(3) if you need to know why it said no 💀

🦋 SEE ALSO 🦋

⭐ HISTORY ⭐

this function was deprecated in OpenSSL 3.0. it's giving legacy. it's giving "still here for the plot". periodt 🕰️

Copyright 2000-2021 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 OpenSSL 3.5.9, dated 2026-09-29, filed under DSA_GENERATE_KEY(3ossl) — mwah, go seed your RNG, ily 🎀✨

📦 where this page comes from