PEM encoded RSA private key

File Format
Name	PEM encoded RSA private key
Ontology	Electronic File Formats Security PEM encoded RSA private key
Extension(s)	.key, .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 "-----BEGIN RSA PRIVATE KEY-----".

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

• OpenSSL