PEM encoded RSA private key
From Just Solve the File Format Problem
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 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
