View source for PEM encoded RSA private key

{{FormatInfo
|formattype=electronic
|subcat=Security
|extensions={{ext|key}}, {{ext|pem}}
}}
'''PEM encoded RSA private key''' is a format that stores a private key, for use with cryptographic systems such as [[SSL]].

A public key can be derived from the private key, and the public key may be associated with one or more [[X.509 certificate]] files.

See also [[PEM]].

== Identification ==
A key file is plain text, with [[base64]]-encoded payload data. It contains a line that reads "<code>-----BEGIN RSA PRIVATE KEY-----</code>".

== Examples ==
To view the contents of a key, using OpenSSL:
  openssl rsa -noout -text -in example.key
(This mostly just prints out opaque numbers, but note that the modulus can be used to determine whether the key corresponds to a particular certificate.)

To generate a new private key:
  openssl genrsa 2048 > example.key

To add a password to an existing private key:
  openssl rsa -des3 -in unprotected.key > protected.key

To remove a password from an existing private key:
  openssl rsa -in protected.key > unprotected.key

== Software ==
* [http://www.openssl.org/ OpenSSL]