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1=pod
2
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3=begin comment
4{- join("\n", @autowarntext) -}
5
6=end comment
7
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8=head1 NAME
9
6c03fa21 10openssl-genpkey - generate a private key or key pair
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11
12=head1 SYNOPSIS
13
14B<openssl> B<genpkey>
169394d4 15[B<-help>]
e8769719 16[B<-out> I<filename>]
6c03fa21 17[B<-outpubkey> I<filename>]
e8769719 18[B<-outform> B<DER>|B<PEM>]
a414fd67 19[B<-verbose>]
7d72dc78 20[B<-quiet>]
e8769719 21[B<-pass> I<arg>]
8dc57d76 22[B<-I<cipher>>]
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23[B<-paramfile> I<file>]
24[B<-algorithm> I<alg>]
2f0ea936 25[B<-pkeyopt> I<opt>:I<value>]
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26[B<-genparam>]
27[B<-text>]
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28{- $OpenSSL::safe::opt_r_synopsis -}
29{- $OpenSSL::safe::opt_engine_synopsis -}
30{- $OpenSSL::safe::opt_provider_synopsis -}
7c9a7cf1 31{- $OpenSSL::safe::opt_config_synopsis -}
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32
33=head1 DESCRIPTION
34
6c03fa21 35This command generates a private key or key pair.
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36
37=head1 OPTIONS
38
39=over 4
40
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41=item B<-help>
42
43Print out a usage message.
44
e8769719 45=item B<-out> I<filename>
49131a7d 46
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47Output the private key to the specified file. If this argument is not
48specified then standard output is used.
49
50=item B<-outpubkey> I<filename>
51
52Output the public key to the specified file. If this argument is not
53specified then the public key is not output.
49131a7d 54
e8769719 55=item B<-outform> B<DER>|B<PEM>
49131a7d 56
f7928938 57The output format, except when B<-genparam> is given; the default is B<PEM>.
46949153 58See L<openssl-format-options(1)> for details.
49131a7d 59
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60When B<-genparam> is given, B<-outform> is ignored.
61
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62=item B<-verbose>
63
64Output "status dots" while generating keys.
65
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66=item B<-quiet>
67
68Do not output "status dots" while generating keys.
69
e8769719 70=item B<-pass> I<arg>
49131a7d 71
2f0ea936 72The output file password source. For more information about the format of I<arg>
46949153 73see L<openssl-passphrase-options(1)>.
49131a7d 74
8dc57d76 75=item B<-I<cipher>>
49131a7d 76
5ce60a20 77This option encrypts the private key with the supplied cipher. Any algorithm
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78name accepted by EVP_get_cipherbyname() is acceptable such as B<des3>.
79
e8769719 80=item B<-algorithm> I<alg>
49131a7d 81
f1ffaaee 82Public key algorithm to use such as RSA, DSA, DH or DHX. If used this option must
f489ab31 83precede any B<-pkeyopt> options. The options B<-paramfile> and B<-algorithm>
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84are mutually exclusive. Engines or providers may add algorithms in addition to
85the standard built-in ones.
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86
87Valid built-in algorithm names for private key generation are RSA, RSA-PSS, EC,
88X25519, X448, ED25519 and ED448.
89
90Valid built-in algorithm names for parameter generation (see the B<-genparam>
91option) are DH, DSA and EC.
92
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93Note that the algorithm name X9.42 DH may be used as a synonym for DHX keys and
94PKCS#3 refers to DH Keys. Some options are not shared between DH and DHX keys.
49131a7d 95
2f0ea936 96=item B<-pkeyopt> I<opt>:I<value>
49131a7d 97
2f0ea936 98Set the public key algorithm option I<opt> to I<value>. The precise set of
49131a7d 99options supported depends on the public key algorithm used and its
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100implementation. See L</KEY GENERATION OPTIONS> and
101L</PARAMETER GENERATION OPTIONS> below for more details.
49131a7d 102
2c1ec72a 103To list the possible I<opt> values for an algorithm use:
104B<openssl> B<genpkey> -algorithm XXX -help
105
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106=item B<-genparam>
107
c4de074e 108Generate a set of parameters instead of a private key. If used this option must
77a795e4 109precede any B<-algorithm>, B<-paramfile> or B<-pkeyopt> options.
49131a7d 110
e8769719 111=item B<-paramfile> I<filename>
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112
113Some public key algorithms generate a private key based on a set of parameters.
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114They can be supplied using this option. If this option is used the public key
115algorithm used is determined by the parameters. If used this option must
77a795e4 116precede any B<-pkeyopt> options. The options B<-paramfile> and B<-algorithm>
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117are mutually exclusive.
118
119=item B<-text>
120
121Print an (unencrypted) text representation of private and public keys and
122parameters along with the PEM or DER structure.
49131a7d 123
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124{- $OpenSSL::safe::opt_r_item -}
125
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126{- $OpenSSL::safe::opt_engine_item -}
127
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128{- $OpenSSL::safe::opt_provider_item -}
129
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130{- $OpenSSL::safe::opt_config_item -}
131
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132=back
133
134=head1 KEY GENERATION OPTIONS
135
4c583c36 136The options supported by each algorithm and indeed each implementation of an
49131a7d 137algorithm can vary. The options for the OpenSSL implementations are detailed
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138below. There are no key generation options defined for the X25519, X448, ED25519
139or ED448 algorithms.
49131a7d 140
77579510 141=head2 RSA Key Generation Options
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142
143=over 4
144
145=item B<rsa_keygen_bits:numbits>
146
70b0b977 147The number of bits in the generated key. If not specified 2048 is used.
49131a7d 148
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149=item B<rsa_keygen_primes:numprimes>
150
151The number of primes in the generated key. If not specified 2 is used.
152
153=item B<rsa_keygen_pubexp:value>
154
155The RSA public exponent value. This can be a large decimal or
a43384fd 156hexadecimal value if preceded by C<0x>. Default value is 65537.
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157
158=back
159
77579510 160=head2 RSA-PSS Key Generation Options
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161
162Note: by default an B<RSA-PSS> key has no parameter restrictions.
163
164=over 4
165
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166=item B<rsa_keygen_bits>:I<numbits>, B<rsa_keygen_primes>:I<numprimes>,
167B<rsa_keygen_pubexp>:I<value>
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168
169These options have the same meaning as the B<RSA> algorithm.
170
2f0ea936 171=item B<rsa_pss_keygen_md>:I<digest>
7751098e 172
2f0ea936 173If set the key is restricted and can only use I<digest> for signing.
7751098e 174
2f0ea936 175=item B<rsa_pss_keygen_mgf1_md>:I<digest>
7751098e 176
2f0ea936 177If set the key is restricted and can only use I<digest> as it's MGF1
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178parameter.
179
2f0ea936 180=item B<rsa_pss_keygen_saltlen>:I<len>
7751098e 181
2f0ea936 182If set the key is restricted and I<len> specifies the minimum salt length.
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183
184=back
185
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186=head2 EC Key Generation Options
187
188The EC key generation options can also be used for parameter generation.
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189
190=over 4
191
2f0ea936 192=item B<ec_paramgen_curve>:I<curve>
49131a7d 193
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194The EC curve to use. OpenSSL supports NIST curve names such as "P-256".
195
2f0ea936 196=item B<ec_param_enc>:I<encoding>
77579510 197
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198The encoding to use for parameters. The I<encoding> parameter must be either
199B<named_curve> or B<explicit>. The default value is B<named_curve>.
49131a7d 200
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201=back
202
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203=head2 DH Key Generation Options
204
205=over 4
206
207=item B<group>:I<name>
208
209The B<paramfile> option is not required if a named group is used here.
210See the L</DH Parameter Generation Options> section below.
211
212=back
213
214
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215=head1 PARAMETER GENERATION OPTIONS
216
217The options supported by each algorithm and indeed each implementation of an
218algorithm can vary. The options for the OpenSSL implementations are detailed
219below.
220
221=head2 DSA Parameter Generation Options
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222
223=over 4
224
2f0ea936 225=item B<dsa_paramgen_bits>:I<numbits>
49131a7d 226
70b0b977 227The number of bits in the generated prime. If not specified 2048 is used.
49131a7d 228
2f0ea936 229=item B<dsa_paramgen_q_bits>:I<numbits>
49131a7d 230
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231=item B<qbits>:I<numbits>
232
77579510 233The number of bits in the q parameter. Must be one of 160, 224 or 256. If not
70b0b977 234specified 224 is used.
49131a7d 235
2f0ea936 236=item B<dsa_paramgen_md>:I<digest>
618eb125 237
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238=item B<digest>:I<digest>
239
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240The digest to use during parameter generation. Must be one of B<sha1>, B<sha224>
241or B<sha256>. If set, then the number of bits in B<q> will match the output size
242of the specified digest and the B<dsa_paramgen_q_bits> parameter will be
243ignored. If not set, then a digest will be used that gives an output matching
244the number of bits in B<q>, i.e. B<sha1> if q length is 160, B<sha224> if it 224
245or B<sha256> if it is 256.
618eb125 246
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247=item B<properties>:I<query>
248
249The I<digest> property I<query> string to use when fetching a digest from a provider.
250
251=item B<type>:I<type>
252
253The type of generation to use. Set this to 1 to use legacy FIPS186-2 parameter
254generation. The default of 0 uses FIPS186-4 parameter generation.
255
256=item B<gindex>:I<index>
257
258The index to use for canonical generation and verification of the generator g.
259Set this to a positive value ranging from 0..255 to use this mode. Larger values
260will only use the bottom byte.
261This I<index> must then be reused during key validation to verify the value of g.
262If this value is not set then g is not verifiable. The default value is -1.
263
264=item B<hexseed>:I<seed>
265
266The seed I<seed> data to use instead of generating a random seed internally.
267This should be used for testing purposes only. This will either produced fixed
268values for the generated parameters OR it will fail if the seed did not
269generate valid primes.
270
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271=back
272
77579510 273=head2 DH Parameter Generation Options
146ca72c 274
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275For most use cases it is recommended to use the B<group> option rather than
276the B<type> options. Note that the B<group> option is not used by default if
277no parameter generation options are specified.
278
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279=over 4
280
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281=item B<group>:I<name>
282
283=item B<dh_param>:I<name>
284
285Use a named DH group to select constant values for the DH parameters.
286All other options will be ignored if this value is set.
287
288Valid values that are associated with the B<algorithm> of B<"DH"> are:
289"ffdhe2048", "ffdhe3072", "ffdhe4096", "ffdhe6144", "ffdhe8192",
290"modp_1536", "modp_2048", "modp_3072", "modp_4096", "modp_6144", "modp_8192".
291
292Valid values that are associated with the B<algorithm> of B<"DHX"> are the
293RFC5114 names "dh_1024_160", "dh_2048_224", "dh_2048_256".
294
295=item B<dh_rfc5114>:I<num>
296
297If this option is set, then the appropriate RFC5114 parameters are used
298instead of generating new parameters. The value I<num> can be one of
e304aa87 2991, 2 or 3 that are equivalent to using the option B<group> with one of
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300"dh_1024_160", "dh_2048_224" or "dh_2048_256".
301All other options will be ignored if this value is set.
302
303=item B<pbits>:I<numbits>
304
2f0ea936 305=item B<dh_paramgen_prime_len>:I<numbits>
146ca72c 306
2f0ea936 307The number of bits in the prime parameter I<p>. The default is 2048.
49131a7d 308
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309=item B<qbits>:I<numbits>
310
2f0ea936 311=item B<dh_paramgen_subprime_len>:I<numbits>
49131a7d 312
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313The number of bits in the sub prime parameter I<q>. The default is 224.
314Only relevant if used in conjunction with the B<dh_paramgen_type> option to
315generate DHX parameters.
316
317=item B<safeprime-generator>:I<value>
e5fa864f 318
2f0ea936 319=item B<dh_paramgen_generator>:I<value>
e5fa864f 320
2f0ea936 321The value to use for the generator I<g>. The default is 2.
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322The B<algorithm> option must be B<"DH"> for this parameter to be used.
323
324=item B<type>:I<string>
325
326The type name of DH parameters to generate. Valid values are:
327
328=over 4
329
330=item "generator"
331
332Use a safe prime generator with the option B<safeprime_generator>
333The B<algorithm> option must be B<"DH">.
334
335=item "fips186_4"
336
337FIPS186-4 parameter generation.
338The B<algorithm> option must be B<"DHX">.
339
340=item "fips186_2"
341
342FIPS186-4 parameter generation.
343The B<algorithm> option must be B<"DHX">.
344
345=item "group"
346
347Can be used with the option B<pbits> to select one of
348"ffdhe2048", "ffdhe3072", "ffdhe4096", "ffdhe6144" or "ffdhe8192".
349The B<algorithm> option must be B<"DH">.
350
351=item "default"
352
353Selects a default type based on the B<algorithm>. This is used by the
e304aa87 354OpenSSL default provider to set the type for backwards compatibility.
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355If B<algorithm> is B<"DH"> then B<"generator"> is used.
356If B<algorithm> is B<"DHX"> then B<"fips186_2"> is used.
357
358=back
e5fa864f 359
2f0ea936 360=item B<dh_paramgen_type>:I<value>
e5fa864f 361
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362The type of DH parameters to generate. Valid values are 0, 1, 2 or 3
363which correspond to setting the option B<type> to
364"generator", "fips186_2", "fips186_4" or "group".
e5fa864f 365
f1ffaaee 366=item B<digest>:I<digest>
e5fa864f 367
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368The digest to use during parameter generation. Must be one of B<sha1>, B<sha224>
369or B<sha256>. If set, then the number of bits in B<qbits> will match the output
370size of the specified digest and the B<qbits> parameter will be
371ignored. If not set, then a digest will be used that gives an output matching
372the number of bits in B<q>, i.e. B<sha1> if q length is 160, B<sha224> if it is
373224 or B<sha256> if it is 256.
374This is only used by "fips186_4" and "fips186_2" key generation.
375
376=item B<properties>:I<query>
377
378The I<digest> property I<query> string to use when fetching a digest from a provider.
379This is only used by "fips186_4" and "fips186_2" key generation.
380
381=item B<gindex>:I<index>
382
383The index to use for canonical generation and verification of the generator g.
384Set this to a positive value ranging from 0..255 to use this mode. Larger values
385will only use the bottom byte.
386This I<index> must then be reused during key validation to verify the value of g.
387If this value is not set then g is not verifiable. The default value is -1.
388This is only used by "fips186_4" and "fips186_2" key generation.
389
390=item B<hexseed>:I<seed>
391
392The seed I<seed> data to use instead of generating a random seed internally.
393This should be used for testing purposes only. This will either produced fixed
394values for the generated parameters OR it will fail if the seed did not
395generate valid primes.
396This is only used by "fips186_4" and "fips186_2" key generation.
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397
398=back
399
77579510 400=head2 EC Parameter Generation Options
e5fa864f 401
77579510 402The EC parameter generation options are the same as for key generation. See
f5c14c63 403L</EC Key Generation Options> above.
e5fa864f 404
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405=head1 NOTES
406
407The use of the genpkey program is encouraged over the algorithm specific
408utilities because additional algorithm options and ENGINE provided algorithms
409can be used.
410
411=head1 EXAMPLES
412
413Generate an RSA private key using default parameters:
414
146ca72c 415 openssl genpkey -algorithm RSA -out key.pem
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416
417Encrypt output private key using 128 bit AES and the passphrase "hello":
418
e5fa864f 419 openssl genpkey -algorithm RSA -out key.pem -aes-128-cbc -pass pass:hello
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420
421Generate a 2048 bit RSA key using 3 as the public exponent:
422
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423 openssl genpkey -algorithm RSA -out key.pem \
424 -pkeyopt rsa_keygen_bits:2048 -pkeyopt rsa_keygen_pubexp:3
49131a7d 425
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426Generate 2048 bit DSA parameters that can be validated: The output values for
427gindex and seed are required for key validation purposes and are not saved to
428the output pem file).
49131a7d 429
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430 openssl genpkey -genparam -algorithm DSA -out dsap.pem -pkeyopt pbits:2048 \
431 -pkeyopt qbits:224 -pkeyopt digest:SHA256 -pkeyopt gindex:1 -text
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432
433Generate DSA key from parameters:
434
146ca72c 435 openssl genpkey -paramfile dsap.pem -out dsakey.pem
49131a7d 436
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437Generate 4096 bit DH Key using safe prime group ffdhe4096:
438
439 openssl genpkey -algorithm DH -out dhkey.pem -pkeyopt group:ffdhe4096
440
441Generate 2048 bit X9.42 DH key with 256 bit subgroup using RFC5114 group3:
442
443 openssl genpkey -algorithm DHX -out dhkey.pem -pkeyopt dh_rfc5114:3
444
445Generate a DH key using a DH parameters file:
446
447 openssl genpkey -paramfile dhp.pem -out dhkey.pem
448
449Output DH parameters for safe prime group ffdhe2048:
450
451 openssl genpkey -genparam -algorithm DH -out dhp.pem -pkeyopt group:ffdhe2048
452
453Output 2048 bit X9.42 DH parameters with 224 bit subgroup using RFC5114 group2:
454
455 openssl genpkey -genparam -algorithm DHX -out dhp.pem -pkeyopt dh_rfc5114:2
456
457Output 2048 bit X9.42 DH parameters with 224 bit subgroup using FIP186-4 keygen:
458
459 openssl genpkey -genparam -algorithm DHX -out dhp.pem -text \
460 -pkeyopt pbits:2048 -pkeyopt qbits:224 -pkeyopt digest:SHA256 \
461 -pkeyopt gindex:1 -pkeyopt dh_paramgen_type:2
462
463Output 1024 bit X9.42 DH parameters with 160 bit subgroup using FIP186-2 keygen:
464
465 openssl genpkey -genparam -algorithm DHX -out dhp.pem -text \
466 -pkeyopt pbits:1024 -pkeyopt qbits:160 -pkeyopt digest:SHA1 \
467 -pkeyopt gindex:1 -pkeyopt dh_paramgen_type:1
468
469Output 2048 bit DH parameters:
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470
471 openssl genpkey -genparam -algorithm DH -out dhp.pem \
dfee8626 472 -pkeyopt dh_paramgen_prime_len:2048
77579510 473
f1ffaaee 474Output 2048 bit DH parameters using a generator:
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475
476 openssl genpkey -genparam -algorithm DH -out dhpx.pem \
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477 -pkeyopt dh_paramgen_prime_len:2048 \
478 -pkeyopt dh_paramgen_type:1
49131a7d 479
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480Generate EC parameters:
481
482 openssl genpkey -genparam -algorithm EC -out ecp.pem \
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483 -pkeyopt ec_paramgen_curve:secp384r1 \
484 -pkeyopt ec_param_enc:named_curve
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485
486Generate EC key from parameters:
487
488 openssl genpkey -paramfile ecp.pem -out eckey.pem
489
a528d4f0 490Generate EC key directly:
49131a7d 491
146ca72c 492 openssl genpkey -algorithm EC -out eckey.pem \
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493 -pkeyopt ec_paramgen_curve:P-384 \
494 -pkeyopt ec_param_enc:named_curve
49131a7d 495
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496Generate an X25519 private key:
497
498 openssl genpkey -algorithm X25519 -out xkey.pem
499
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500Generate an ED448 private key:
501
502 openssl genpkey -algorithm ED448 -out xkey.pem
503
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504=head1 HISTORY
505
506The ability to use NIST curve names, and to generate an EC key directly,
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507were added in OpenSSL 1.0.2.
508The ability to generate X25519 keys was added in OpenSSL 1.1.0.
509The ability to generate X448, ED25519 and ED448 keys was added in OpenSSL 1.1.1.
a528d4f0 510
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511The B<-engine> option was deprecated in OpenSSL 3.0.
512
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513=head1 COPYRIGHT
514
b6461792 515Copyright 2006-2024 The OpenSSL Project Authors. All Rights Reserved.
e2f92610 516
449040b4 517Licensed under the Apache License 2.0 (the "License"). You may not use
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518this file except in compliance with the License. You can obtain a copy
519in the file LICENSE in the source distribution or at
520L<https://www.openssl.org/source/license.html>.
521
522=cut