PROVIDER(7ossl)

📦

version 15.1 · 3 versions

15.1 · freebsd 15.1 (latest)
14.5 · freebsd 14.5
nixpkgs unstable

💅 PROVIDER — the OpenSSL operation implementation providers glow-up

okay so real talk: this is PROVIDER(7ossl), a page straight out of the OpenSSL manual, and it's basically the "how to be a provider" handbook for provider authors. if that's you, bestie, pull up a chair 🎀

✨ NAME ✨

provider — OpenSSL's operation implementation providers. yes that's the whole name section, it ate and left no crumbs 💅

🌸 SYNOPSIS 🌸

#include <openssl/provider.h>

that's it. that's the whole synopsis. iconic of it honestly 🫶

💖 DESCRIPTION 💖

🧚 General

This page is literally a care package for provider authors — everything you need to know, no gatekeeping.

So what even is a provider? In OpenSSL terms, a provider is a unit of code that provides one or more implementations for various operations, for diverse algorithms that one might want to perform. it's giving "supplier of cryptographic vibes" 💐

An operation is something one wants to do — like encryption and decryption, key derivation, MAC calculation, signing and verification, etc. it's the verb of the whole situation.

An algorithm is a named method to perform an operation. very often the algorithms revolve around cryptographic operations, but they may also revolve around other types of operation, such as managing certain types of objects. so not everything is crypto, some of it is just object-wrangling ✨

See crypto(7) for further details. go read it, i'll wait 🍓

👑 Provider

A provider offers an initialization function, as a set of base functions in the form of an OSSL_DISPATCH(3) array, and by extension, a set of OSSL_ALGORITHM(3)s (see openssl-core.h(7)). it may be a dynamically loadable module, or may be built-in, in OpenSSL libraries or in the application.

if it's a dynamically loadable module, the initialization function must be named "OSSL_provider_init" and must be exported. no nicknames, no vibes-based naming, it's "OSSL_provider_init" periodt.
if it's built-in, the initialization function may have any name. freedom!! 🦋

The initialization function must have the following signature:

 int NAME(const OSSL_CORE_HANDLE *handle,
          const OSSL_DISPATCH *in, const OSSL_DISPATCH **out,
          void **provctx);

Let's break down the cast, shall we 💅

handle is the OpenSSL library object for the provider, and works as a handle for everything the OpenSSL libraries need to know about the provider. For the provider itself, it is passed to some of the functions given in the dispatch array in. it's the main character of the parameter list, lowkey.
in is a dispatch array of base functions offered by the OpenSSL libraries, and the available functions are further described in provider-base(7). this is the "here's what we can do for you" envelope 📬
*out must be assigned a dispatch array of base functions that the provider offers to the OpenSSL libraries. The functions that may be offered are further described in provider-base(7), and they are the central means of communication between the OpenSSL libraries and the provider. this is the reply envelope, and it's the central means of communication, so like... don't fumble it 🫶
*provctx should be assigned a provider specific context to allow the provider multiple simultaneous uses. This pointer will be passed to various operation functions offered by the provider. it's the provider's own little purse where it keeps its stuff ✨

Note that the provider will not be made available for applications to use until the initialization function has completed and returned successfully. no shortcuts, no half-Init glow-ups, it finishes or it doesn't count 💀

One of the functions the provider offers to the OpenSSL libraries is the central mechanism for the OpenSSL libraries to get access to operation implementations for diverse algorithms. It's referred to with the number OSSL_FUNC_PROVIDER_QUERY_OPERATION and has the following signature:

 const OSSL_ALGORITHM *provider_query_operation(void *provctx,
                                                int operation_id,
                                                const int *no_store);

provctx is the provider specific context that was passed back by the initialization function. yes, the same purse. consistency slay.
operation_id is an operation identity (see "Operations" below).
no_store is a flag back to the OpenSSL libraries which, when nonzero, signifies that the OpenSSL libraries will not store a reference to the returned data in their internal store of implementations. very "don't screenshot this" energy 🙈

The returned OSSL_ALGORITHM(3) is the foundation of any OpenSSL library API that uses providers for their implementation, most commonly in the fetching type of functions (see "ALGORITHM FETCHING" in crypto(7)). it's the whole foundation, no cap 🏛️

🌈 Operations

Operations are referred to with numbers, via macros with names starting with "OSSL_OP_". very systematic. very cutesy naming convention.

With each operation comes a set of defined function types that a provider may or may not offer, depending on its needs. you pick what you want to serve, like a build-your-own-bowl but for crypto 🍓

Currently available operations are:

Digests — In the OpenSSL libraries, the corresponding method object is EVP_MD. The number for this operation is OSSL_OP_DIGEST. The functions the provider can offer are described in provider-digest(7).
Symmetric ciphers — In the OpenSSL libraries, the corresponding method object is EVP_CIPHER. The number for this operation is OSSL_OP_CIPHER. The functions the provider can offer are described in provider-cipher(7).
Message Authentication Code (MAC) — In the OpenSSL libraries, the corresponding method object is EVP_MAC. The number for this operation is OSSL_OP_MAC. The functions the provider can offer are described in provider-mac(7).
Key Derivation Function (KDF) — In the OpenSSL libraries, the corresponding method object is EVP_KDF. The number for this operation is OSSL_OP_KDF. The functions the provider can offer are described in provider-kdf(7).
Key Exchange — In the OpenSSL libraries, the corresponding method object is EVP_KEYEXCH. The number for this operation is OSSL_OP_KEYEXCH. The functions the provider can offer are described in provider-keyexch(7).
Asymmetric Ciphers — In the OpenSSL libraries, the corresponding method object is EVP_ASYM_CIPHER. The number for this operation is OSSL_OP_ASYM_CIPHER. The functions the provider can offer are described in provider-asym_cipher(7).
Asymmetric Key Encapsulation — In the OpenSSL libraries, the corresponding method object is EVP_KEM. The number for this operation is OSSL_OP_KEM. The functions the provider can offer are described in provider-kem(7).
Encoding — In the OpenSSL libraries, the corresponding method object is OSSL_ENCODER. The number for this operation is OSSL_OP_ENCODER. The functions the provider can offer are described in provider-encoder(7).
Decoding — In the OpenSSL libraries, the corresponding method object is OSSL_DECODER. The number for this operation is OSSL_OP_DECODER. The functions the provider can offer are described in provider-decoder(7).
Random Number Generation — The number for this operation is OSSL_OP_RAND. The functions the provider can offer for random number generation are described in provider-rand(7).
Key Management — The number for this operation is OSSL_OP_KEYMGMT. The functions the provider can offer for key management are described in provider-keymgmt(7).
Signing and Signature Verification — The number for this operation is OSSL_OP_SIGNATURE. The functions the provider can offer for digital signatures are described in provider-signature(7).
Store Management — The number for this operation is OSSL_OP_STORE. The functions the provider can offer for store management are described in provider-storemgmt(7).

🦋 Algorithm naming

Algorithm names are case insensitive. Any particular algorithm can have multiple aliases associated with it. the canonical OpenSSL naming scheme follows this format:

ALGNAME[VERSION?][-SUBNAME[VERSION?]?][-SIZE?][-MODE?]

breakdown time, get your notes app out 📝

VERSION is only present if there are multiple versions of an algorithm (e.g. MD2, MD4, MD5). It may be omitted if there is only one version.
SUBNAME may be present where multiple algorithms are combined together, e.g. MD5-SHA1.
SIZE is only present if multiple versions of an algorithm exist with different sizes (e.g. AES-128-CBC, AES-256-CBC)
MODE is only present where applicable.

Other aliases may exist for example where standards bodies or common practice use alternative names or names that OpenSSL has used historically. so like, legacy nicknames are a thing, keep up 💅

🧚 Provider dependencies

Providers may depend for their proper operation on the availability of (functionality implemented in) other providers. As there is no mechanism to express such dependencies towards the OpenSSL core, provider authors must take care that such dependencies are either completely avoided or made visible to users, e.g., by documentation and/or defensive programming, e.g., outputting error messages if required external dependencies are not available, e.g., when no provider implementing the required functionality has been activated. In particular, provider initialization should not depend on other providers already having been initialized.

this one is a genuine warning, bestie — no sneaky hidden cross-provider dependency, because the core has literally no way to hear you say that. either dodge it completely or make it loud and visible. and do NOT assume other providers have already initialized themselves. 😭

💀 Note on naming clashes

It is possible to register the same algorithm name from within different providers. Users should note that if no property query is specified, or more than one implementation matches the property query then it is unspecified which implementation of a particular algorithm will be returned. Such naming clashes may also occur if algorithms only differ in capitalization as "Algorithm naming" is case insensitive — so Slay and slay are the same name and can absolutely collide. 🙈

🌟 OPENSSL PROVIDERS 🌟

OpenSSL provides a number of its own providers. These are the default, base, fips, legacy and null providers. See crypto(7) for an overview of these providers. five little homegrown faves, all documented elsewhere 🫶

the reading list, go forth and click 🎀

⭐ HISTORY ⭐

The concept of providers and everything surrounding them was introduced in OpenSSL 3.0. so it's newer-gen OpenSSL, which honestly explains the whole vibe.

🔥 COPYRIGHT 🔥

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!! ✨ this version of OpenSSL is 3.5.6, dated 2026-04-07, and the whole thing goes by PROVIDER(7ossl) in the man-page world. go be a provider, you're gonna slay 💖

📦 where this page comes from

freebsd 15.1: base 15.1
💖 girlified by deepseek-ai/DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash-1017 on 2026-11-04: a language model's rewrite of the original, under its terms