[thirdparty/openssl.git] / doc / apps / CA.pl.pod


=pod

=head1 NAME

CA.pl - friendlier interface for OpenSSL certificate programs

=head1 SYNOPSIS

B<CA.pl>
[B<-?>]
[B<-h>]
[B<-help>]
[B<-newcert>]
[B<-newreq>]
[B<-newca>]
[B<-xsign>]
[B<-sign>]
[B<-signreq>]
[B<-signcert>]
[B<-verify>]
[B<files>]

=head1 DESCRIPTION

The B<CA.pl> script is a perl script that supplies the relevant command line
arguments to the B<openssl> command for some common certificate operations.
It is intended to simplify the process of certificate creation and management
by the use of some simple options.

=head1 COMMAND OPTIONS

=over 4

=item B<?>, B<-h>, B<-help>

prints a usage message.

=item B<-newcert>

creates a new self signed certificate. The private key and certificate are
written to the file "newreq.pem".

=item B<-newreq>

creates a new certificate request. The private key and request are
written to the file "newreq.pem".

=item B<-newca>

creates a new CA hierarchy for use with the B<ca> program (or the B<-signcert>
and B<-xsign> options). The user is prompted to enter the filename of the CA
certificates (which should also contain the private key) or by hitting ENTER
details of the CA will be prompted for. The relevant files and directories
are created in a directory called "demoCA" in the current directory.

=item B<-pkcs12>

create a PKCS#12 file containing the user certificate, private key and CA
certificate. It expects the user certificate and private key to be in the
file "newcert.pem" and the CA certificate to be in the file demoCA/cacert.pem,
it creates a file "newcert.p12". This command can thus be called after the
B<-sign> option. The PKCS#12 file can be imported directly into a browser.
If there is an additional argument on the command line it will be used as the
"friendly name" for the certificate (which is typically displayed in the browser
list box), otherwise the name "My Certifictate" is used.

=item B<-sign>, B<-signreq>, B<-xsign>

calls the B<ca> program to sign a certificate request. It expects the request
to be in the file "newreq.pem". The new certificate is written to the file
"newcert.pem" except in the case of the B<-xcert> option when it is written
to standard output.

=item B<-signcert>

this option is the same as B<-sign> except it expects a self signed certificate
to be present in the file "newreq.pem".

=item B<-verify>

verifies certificates against the CA certificate for "demoCA". If no certificates
are specified on the command line it tries to verify the file "newcert.pem". 

=item B<files>

one or more optional certificate file names for use with the B<-verify> command.

=back

=head1 EXAMPLES

Create a CA hierarchy:

 CA.pl -newca

Complete certificate creation example: create a CA, create a request, sign
the request and finally create a PKCS#12 file containing it.

 CA.pl -newca
 CA.pl -newreq
 CA.pl -signreq
 CA.pl -pkcs12 "My Test Certificate"

=head1 NOTES

Most of the filenames mentioned can be modified by editing the B<CA.pl> script.

If the demoCA directory already exists then the B<-newca> command will not
overwrite it and will do nothing. This can happen if a previous call using
the B<-newca> option terminated abnormally. To get the correct behaviour
delete the demoCA directory if it already exists.

Under some environments it may not be possible to run the B<CA.pl> script
directly (for example Win32) and the default configuration file location may
be wrong. In this case the command:

 perl -S CA.pl

can be used and the B<OPENSSL_CONF> environment variable changed to point to 
the correct path of the configuration file "openssl.cnf".

The script is intended as a simple front end for the B<openssl> program for use
by a beginner. Its behaviour isn't always what is wanted. For more control over the
behaviour of the certificate commands call the B<openssl> command directly.

=head1 ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES

The variable B<OPENSSL_CONF> if defined allows an alternative configuration
file location to be specified, it should contain the full path to the
configuration file, not just its directory.

=head1 SEE ALSO

L<x509(1)|x509(1)>, L<ca(1)|ca(1)>, L<req(1)|req(1)>, L<pkcs12(1)|pkcs12(1)>, L<config(1)|config(1)>

=cut
Commit	Line	Data
2af9fd00 DSH	1
	2	=pod
	3
	4	=head1 NAME
	5
	6	CA.pl - friendlier interface for OpenSSL certificate programs
	7
	8	=head1 SYNOPSIS
	9
	10	B<CA.pl>
	11	[B<-?>]
	12	[B<-h>]
	13	[B<-help>]
	14	[B<-newcert>]
	15	[B<-newreq>]
	16	[B<-newca>]
	17	[B<-xsign>]
	18	[B<-sign>]
	19	[B<-signreq>]
	20	[B<-signcert>]
	21	[B<-verify>]
	22	[B<files>]
	23
	24	=head1 DESCRIPTION
	25
	26	The B<CA.pl> script is a perl script that supplies the relevant command line
	27	arguments to the B<openssl> command for some common certificate operations.
	28	It is intended to simplify the process of certificate creation and management
	29	by the use of some simple options.
	30
	31	=head1 COMMAND OPTIONS
	32
	33	=over 4
	34
	35	=item B<?>, B<-h>, B<-help>
	36
	37	prints a usage message.
	38
	39	=item B<-newcert>
	40
	41	creates a new self signed certificate. The private key and certificate are
	42	written to the file "newreq.pem".
	43
	44	=item B<-newreq>
	45
	46	creates a new certificate request. The private key and request are
	47	written to the file "newreq.pem".
	48
	49	=item B<-newca>
	50
	51	creates a new CA hierarchy for use with the B<ca> program (or the B<-signcert>
	52	and B<-xsign> options). The user is prompted to enter the filename of the CA
	53	certificates (which should also contain the private key) or by hitting ENTER
	54	details of the CA will be prompted for. The relevant files and directories
	55	are created in a directory called "demoCA" in the current directory.
	56
	57	=item B<-pkcs12>
	58
	59	create a PKCS#12 file containing the user certificate, private key and CA
	60	certificate. It expects the user certificate and private key to be in the
	61	file "newcert.pem" and the CA certificate to be in the file demoCA/cacert.pem,
	62	it creates a file "newcert.p12". This command can thus be called after the
	63	B<-sign> option. The PKCS#12 file can be imported directly into a browser.
	64	If there is an additional argument on the command line it will be used as the
65	"friendly name" for the certificate (which is typically displayed in the browser
66	list box), otherwise the name "My Certifictate" is used.
67
68	=item B<-sign>, B<-signreq>, B<-xsign>
69
70	calls the B<ca> program to sign a certificate request. It expects the request
71	to be in the file "newreq.pem". The new certificate is written to the file
72	"newcert.pem" except in the case of the B<-xcert> option when it is written
73	to standard output.
74
75	=item B<-signcert>
76
77	this option is the same as B<-sign> except it expects a self signed certificate
78	to be present in the file "newreq.pem".
79
80	=item B<-verify>
81
82	verifies certificates against the CA certificate for "demoCA". If no certificates
83	are specified on the command line it tries to verify the file "newcert.pem".
84
85	=item B<files>
86
87	one or more optional certificate file names for use with the B<-verify> command.
88
89	=back
90
91	=head1 EXAMPLES
92
93	Create a CA hierarchy:
94
95	CA.pl -newca
96
97	Complete certificate creation example: create a CA, create a request, sign
98	the request and finally create a PKCS#12 file containing it.
99
100	CA.pl -newca
101	CA.pl -newreq
102	CA.pl -signreq
103	CA.pl -pkcs12 "My Test Certificate"
104
105	=head1 NOTES
106
107	Most of the filenames mentioned can be modified by editing the B<CA.pl> script.
108
109	If the demoCA directory already exists then the B<-newca> command will not
110	overwrite it and will do nothing. This can happen if a previous call using
111	the B<-newca> option terminated abnormally. To get the correct behaviour
112	delete the demoCA directory if it already exists.
113
114	Under some environments it may not be possible to run the B<CA.pl> script
115	directly (for example Win32) and the default configuration file location may
116	be wrong. In this case the command:
117
118	perl -S CA.pl
119
120	can be used and the B<OPENSSL_CONF> environment variable changed to point to
121	the correct path of the configuration file "openssl.cnf".
122
123	The script is intended as a simple front end for the B<openssl> program for use
124	by a beginner. Its behaviour isn't always what is wanted. For more control over the
125	behaviour of the certificate commands call the B<openssl> command directly.
126
127	=head1 ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES
128
129	The variable B<OPENSSL_CONF> if defined allows an alternative configuration
130	file location to be specified, it should contain the full path to the
131	configuration file, not just its directory.
132
133	=head1 SEE ALSO
134
135	L<x509(1)\|x509(1)>, L<ca(1)\|ca(1)>, L<req(1)\|req(1)>, L<pkcs12(1)\|pkcs12(1)>, L<config(1)\|config(1)>
136
137	=cut