openssl-genrsa
(1ssl)generate an RSA private key
Options
15-helpPrint out a usage message.
-outfilenameOutput the key to the specified file. If this argument is not specified then standard output is used.
-passoutargThe output file password source. For more information about the format see openssl-passphrase-options(1).
-aes128-aes192-aes256-aria128-aria192-aria256-camellia128-camellia192-camellia256-des-des3-ideaThese options encrypt the private key with specified cipher before outputting it. If none of these options is specified no encryption is used. If encryption is used a pass phrase is prompted for if it is not supplied via the -passout argument.
-3-F4-f4The public exponent to use, either 65537 or 3. The default is 65537. The -3 option has been deprecated.
-primesnumSpecify the number of primes to use while generating the RSA key. The num parameter must be a positive integer that is greater than 1 and less than 16. If num is greater than 2, then the generated key is called a 'multi-prime' RSA key, which is defined in RFC 8017.
-verbosePrint extra details about the operations being performed.
-quietPrint fewer details about the operations being performed, which may be handy during batch scripts and pipelines.
-traditionalWrite the key using the traditional PKCS#1 format instead of the PKCS#8 format.
-rand-writerandfilesSee "Random State Options" in openssl(1) for details.
-engineidSee "Engine Options" in openssl(1). This option is deprecated.
-providername—
-provider-pathpath—
-provparam[name:]key=value—
-propquerypropqSee "Provider Options" in openssl(1), provider(7), and property(7).
DESCRIPTION
NOTES
RSA private key generation essentially involves the generation of two or more prime numbers. When generating a private key various symbols will be output to indicate the progress of the generation. A . represents each number which has passed an initial sieve test, + means a number has passed a single round of the Miller-Rabin primality test, * means the current prime starts a regenerating progress due to some failed tests. A newline means that the number has passed all the prime tests (the actual number depends on the key size).
Because key generation is a random process the time taken to generate a key may vary somewhat. But in general, more primes lead to less generation time of a key.
COPYRIGHT
Copyright 2000-2023 The OpenSSL Project Authors. All Rights Reserved.
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.