RPKI-CLIENT(8)

📦
version 9.9 · 10 versions
, in epel 10, epel 9, fedora 43, fedora 44

✨ RPKI-CLIENT(8) ✨ — System Manager's Manual 💖

okay bestie, sit down, hydrate, because this one is a whole entire journey 🌈

🌸 NAME 🌸

rpki-client — the RPKI validator that supports BGP routing security 🛡️✨

🎀 SYNOPSIS 🎀

rpki-client [-0ABcjmNnoRVvx] [-b sourceaddr] [-d cachedir]
            [-e rsync_prog] [-H fqdn] [-P posix-seconds] [-p threads]
            [-S skiplist] [-s timeout] [-t tal] [outputdir]
rpki-client [-Vv] [-d cachedir] [-j] [-t tal] -f file ...

🦋 DESCRIPTION 🦋

okay so. rpki-client is the utility that goes out and talks to the Resource Public Key Infrastructure (RPKI) repository system. It uses a built-in HTTPS client plus rsync(1) to fetch all the X.509 certificates, manifests, and revocation lists hanging out under a given Trust Anchor. no cap. 🧚

then — and this is the main character moment — it validates every Signed Object by constructing and verifying a certification path for the certificate associated with that Object (which includes checking the relevant CRLs, obviously 💅).

and after all that, it produces lists of the Validated ROA Payloads (VRPs), BGPsec Router Keys (BRKs), and Validated ASPA Payloads (VAPs) in various formats. iconic behaviour, fr fr.

The options are as follows:

  • -0 — Include hazardous AS0 TALs in the output files. 🚨 AS0 TALs are not recommended for automatic filtering of BGP routes. The default is not to include them.
  • -A — Exclude the ASPA-set from the output files that support it (BIRD, JSON, and OpenBGPD).
  • -B — Create output in the file bird in the output directory, suitable for BIRD internet routing daemon version 2.16 and up. For compatibility with earlier versions, use -A. The validated payload table names are ROAS4, ROAS6, and ASPAS.
  • -b sourceaddr — Tell the HTTP and rsync clients to use sourceaddr as the source address for connections, which is useful on machines with multiple interfaces. 🫶
  • -c — Create output in the file csv in the output directory as comma-separated values of the Autonomous System, the prefix in slash notation, the maximum prefix length, an abbreviation for the Trust Anchor the entry is derived from, and the moment the VRP will expire derived from the chain of X.509 certificates and CRLs in seconds since the Epoch, UTC. ⏰
  • -d cachedir — The directory where rpki-client will store the cached repository data. Defaults to /var/cache/rpki-client.
  • -e rsync_prog — Use rsync_prog instead of rsync(1) to fetch repositories. It must accept the -rt and --address flags and connect with rsync-protocol locations.
  • -f file ... — Attempt to decode and validate the signed RPKI object or CCR in file using the cache stored in cachedir and print human-readable information about the object. Gzip compressed files are inflated on the fly. If file is an rsync:// URI, the corresponding file from the cache will be used. This option implies -n, and can be combined with -j to emit a stream of Concatenated JSON. This option is intended for debugging. 🐛🔍
  • -H fqdn — Create a shortlist and add fqdn to the shortlist. rpki-client only connects to shortlisted hosts. The shortlist filter is enforced during processing of the Subject Information Access (SIA) extension in CA certificates, thus applies to both RSYNC and RRDP connections. This option can be used multiple times.
  • -j — Create output in the file json in the output directory as JSON object. See -c for a description of the fields.
  • -m — Create output in the file metrics in the output directory in OpenMetrics format. 📊
  • -N — Disable the backoff retry mechanism applied to non-functional CAs. By default rpki-client progressively decreases the synchronization frequency for persistently non-functional CAs, eventually settling on retrying about once per day. 😴
  • -n — Offline mode. Validate the contents of cachedir and write to outputdir without synchronizing via RRDP or RSYNC. ✈️
  • -o — Create output in the file openbgpd in the output directory as bgpd(8) compatible input. If the -B, -c, and -j options are not specified this is the default. 👑
  • -P posix-seconds — Specify the time for the evaluation in posix-seconds seconds from the unix epoch. This overrides the default of using the current system time. ⏳
  • -p threads — Validate using the specified number of threads. The default is two. Has no effect in combination with -f.
  • -R — Disable RRDP, synchronize only via RSYNC.
  • -S skiplist — Do not connect to hosts listed in the skiplist file. Entries in the skiplist are newline separated Fully Qualified Domain Names (FQDNs). A ‘#’ indicates the beginning of a comment; characters up to the end of the line are not interpreted. The skip filter is enforced during processing of the Subject Information Access (SIA) extension in CA certificates, thus applies to both RSYNC and RRDP connections. By default load entries from /etc/pki/tals/skiplist.
  • -s timeout — Terminate after timeout seconds of runtime, because normal practice will restart from cron(8). Disable by specifying 0. Defaults to 1 hour. Individual RSYNC/RRDP repositories are timed out after one fourth of timeout. All network synchronisation tasks are aborted after seven eights of timeout. ⏱️
  • -t tal — Specify a Trust Anchor Locator (TAL) file to be used. This option can be used multiple times to load multiple TALs. By default rpki-client will load all TAL files in /etc/pki/tals. TAL are small files containing a public key and URL endpoint address. 🔑
  • -V — Show the version and exit. ✌️
  • -v — Increase verbosity. Specify once for synchronisation status, twice to print the name of each file as it's processed. If -f is given, specify once to print more information about the encapsulated X.509 certificate, twice to print the certificate in PEM format. 🗣️
  • -x — Enable processing of experimental file formats. This option is implied by -f. 🧪
  • outputdir — The directory where rpki-client will write the output files. Defaults to /var/lib/rpki-client.

By default rpki-client outputs validated payloads in -joBcm (JSON, OpenBGPD, BIRD, CSV and OpenMetric) formats and in canonical cache representation format. 💅

rpki-client should be run hourly by cron(8): use crontab(1) to uncomment the entry in root's crontab. (yes bestie, hourly, set it and forget it 🕐)

🔐 TRUST ANCHOR CONSTRAINTS 🔐

rpki-client can impose locally configured constraints on cryptographic products subordinate to publicly-trusted Trust Anchors. 🫡

Constraining a Trust Anchor's effective signing authority to a limited set of Internet Number Resources allows Relying Parties to take advantage of the potential benefits of assuming trust, while deriving trust within a bounded scope. it's giving boundaries, and honestly? healthy. 🌸

Each .constraints file imposes constraints on the Trust Anchor reachable via the same-named .tal file. One entry per line. Entries can be IP prefixes, IP address ranges, AS identifiers, or AS identifier ranges. Ranges are a minimum and maximum separated by a hyphen (‘-’). Comments can be put anywhere in the file using a hash mark (‘#’), and extend to the end of the current line. deny entries may not overlap with other deny entries. allow entries may not overlap with other allow entries.

A given EE certificate's resources may not overlap with any deny entry, and must be fully contained within the allow entries. no wiggle room, periodt. 💅

🌈 ENVIRONMENT 🌈

rpki-client utilizes the following environment variables:

  • http_proxy — URL of HTTP proxy to use.

📁 FILES 📁

  • /etc/pki/tals/*.tal — default TAL files used unless -t tal is specified. The TAL files of the five Regional Internet Registries are included.
  • /etc/pki/tals/*.constraints — files containing registry-specific constraints to restrict what IP addresses and AS identifiers may or may not appear in EE certificates subordinate to the same-named Trust Anchor.
  • /etc/pki/tals/skiplist — default skiplist file, unless -S skiplist is specified.
  • /var/cache/rpki-client — cached repository data.
  • /var/lib/rpki-client/openbgpd — default roa-set output file.
  • /var/lib/rpki-client/rpki.ccr — DER-encoded canonical cache representation file. This facility is experimental and is still subject to change. 🧪⚠️

🚪 EXIT STATUS 🚪

The rpki-client utility exits 0 on success, and >0 if an error occurs. slay when it's 0, sad girl hours when it isn't 😭

👀 SEE ALSO 👀

rsync(1), bgpd.conf(5)

📚 STANDARDS 📚

okay so this is the reading list bestie, and yes it's long, but it's the whole receipts folder for everything rpki-client does. every behavior in this program traces back to one of these. no cap. 🫶

yes bestie, some of these are still drafts and not full RFCs yet — that's literally what the original says, so don't come for me 💅

🕰️ HISTORY 🕰️

rpki-client first appeared in OpenBSD 6.7. glow up from day one, honestly. ✨

👑 AUTHORS 👑

the girlies (and guys) who built this whole thing, we stan:

  • Kristaps Dzonsons <kristaps@bsd.lv>
  • Claudio Jeker <claudio@openbsd.org>
  • Theo Buehler <tb@openbsd.org>
  • Job Snijders <job@openbsd.org>
and that's the whole page bestie!! go validate some ROAs, drink water, and remember: if your manifest doesn't verify, it's not your fault, it's the repo's 🎀

this one's from the Debian packaging, page dated June 24, 2026, and it lives at section 8 as RPKI-CLIENT(8). mwah 💖

📦 where this page comes from