BOS_REMOVEKEY(8)

💖 BOS_REMOVEKEY(8) — AFS Command Reference 💖

okay bestie, so this is bos_removekey from the AFS command reference, and it's giving "be careful with this one" energy fr fr. Let's get into it.

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✨ NAME ✨

bos_removekey — removes a server encryption key from the KeyFile file 🗝️

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🌸 SYNOPSIS 🌸

bos removekey -server <machine name>
    -kvno <key version number>+ [-cell <cell name>]
    [-noauth] [-localauth] [-help]

bos removek -s <machine name> -k <key version number>+
    [-c <cell name>] [-n] [-l] [-h]

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🎀 DESCRIPTION 🎀

So the bos removekey command literally removes each encryption key you specify from the /etc/openafs/server/KeyFile file, and it does it on the machine you name with the -server argument. 🫶

You use the -kvno argument to identify each key by its key version number. And if you don't already know the key version numbers? Use the bos listkeys command to display them. she's not gonna guess for you 💅

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🚨 CAUTIONS 🚨

Before you go removing an obsolete key, bestie, pleeease verify that the cell's maximum ticket lifetime has passed since the current key was defined — you do that using the kas setpassword and bos addkey commands. This is what ensures that no clients still possess tickets encrypted with the obsolete key. it's giving "don't skip this step" energy, no cap.

Also lowkey important: this command can only remove keys from the /etc/openafs/server/KeyFile file. The /etc/openafs/server/KeyFileExt cannot be modified by this command. periodt.

⚠️ Do not skip the ticket-lifetime check. Not dramatic, just true.

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👑 OPTIONS 👑

• -server <machine name> — Indicates the server machine on which to change the /etc/openafs/server/KeyFile file. Identify the machine by IP address or its host name (either fully-qualified or abbreviated unambiguously). For details, see bos(8).

In cells that use the Update Server to distribute the contents of the /etc/openafs/server directory, it's conventional to specify only the system control machine as a value for the -server argument. Otherwise, repeat the command for each file server machine. For further discussion, see bos(8). ✨

• -kvno <key version number>+ — Specifies the key version number of each key to remove. 🗝️
• -cell <cell name> — Names the cell in which to run the command. Do not combine this argument with the -localauth flag. For more details, see bos(8).
• -noauth — Assigns the unprivileged identity "anonymous" to the issuer. Do not combine this flag with the -localauth flag. For more details, see bos(8).
• -localauth — Constructs a server ticket using a key from the local /etc/openafs/server/KeyFile or /etc/openafs/server/KeyFileExt file. The bos command interpreter presents the ticket to the BOS Server during mutual authentication. Do not combine this flag with the -cell or -noauth options. For more details, see bos(8).
• -help — Prints the online help for this command. All other valid options are ignored. 💖

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🌈 EXAMPLES 🌈

The following command removes the keys with key version numbers 5 and 6 from the KeyFile file on the system control machine "fs1.example.com". 🦋

% bos removekey -server fs1.example.com -kvno 5 6

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🔥 PRIVILEGE REQUIRED 🔥

The issuer must be listed in the /etc/openafs/server/UserList file on the machine named by the -server argument — or must be logged onto a server machine as the local superuser "root" if the -localauth flag is included. main character credentials only, sorry 💅

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💜 SEE ALSO 💜

KeyFile(5), KeyFileExt(5), UserList(5), bos(8), bos_addkey(8), bos_listkeys(8)

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📜 COPYRIGHT 📜

IBM Corporation 2000. <http://www.ibm.com/> All Rights Reserved.

This documentation is covered by the IBM Public License Version 1.0. It was converted from HTML to POD by software written by Chas Williams and Russ Allbery, based on work by Alf Wachsmann and Elizabeth Cassell.

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okay that's the whole thing, you ate that 🫶 this was the OpenAFS page dated 2026-07-27, so go forth and remove those keys responsibly, bestie 💖✨🎀