•

-certreq: Generates a certificate request

•

-changealias: Changes an entry's alias

•

-delete: Deletes an entry

•

-exportcert: Exports certificate

•

-genkeypair: Generates a key pair

•

-genseckey: Generates a secret key

•

-gencert: Generates a certificate from a certificate request

•

-importcert: Imports a certificate or a certificate chain

•

-importpass: Imports a password

•

-importkeystore: Imports one or all entries from another keystore

•

-keypasswd: Changes the key password of an entry

•

-list: Lists entries in a keystore

•

-printcert: Prints the content of a certificate

•

-printcertreq: Prints the content of a certificate request

•

-printcrl: Prints the content of a Certificate Revocation List (CRL) file

•

-storepasswd: Changes the store password of a keystore

•

-showinfo: Displays security-related information

•

-version: Prints the program version

See Commands and Options for a description of these commands with their options.

When you specify a -printcert command, replace cert_file with the actual file name, as follows: keytool -printcert -file VScert.cer

•

{-rfc}: Output in RFC (Request For Comment) style

•

{-infile infile}: Input file name

•

{-outfile outfile}: Output file name

•

{-alias alias}: Alias name of the entry to process

•

{-sigalg sigalg}: Signature algorithm name

•

{-dname dname}: Distinguished name

•

{-startdate startdate}: Certificate validity start date and time

•

{-ext ext}*: X.509 extension

•

{-validity days}: Validity number of days

•

[-keypass arg]: Key password

•

{-keystore keystore}: Keystore name

•

[-storepass arg]: Keystore password

•

{-storetype type}: Keystore type

•

{-providername name}: Provider name

•

{-addprovider name [-providerarg arg]}: Adds a security provider by name (such as SunPKCS11) with an optional configure argument. The value of the security provider is the name of a security provider that is defined in a module.

•

{-providerclass class [-providerarg arg]}: Add security provider by fully qualified class name with an optional configure argument.

•

{-providerpath list}: Provider classpath

•

{-v}: Verbose output

•

{-protected}: Password provided through a protected mechanism

Use the -gencert command to generate a certificate as a response to a certificate request file (which can be created by the keytool -certreq command). The command reads the request either from infile or, if omitted, from the standard input, signs it by using the alias's private key, and outputs the X.509 certificate into either outfile or, if omitted, to the standard output. When -rfc is specified, the output format is Base64-encoded PEM; otherwise, a binary DER is created.

The -sigalg value specifies the algorithm that should be used to sign the certificate. The startdate argument is the start time and date that the certificate is valid. The days argument tells the number of days for which the certificate should be considered valid.

When dname is provided, it is used as the subject of the generated certificate. Otherwise, the one from the certificate request is used.

The -ext value shows what X.509 extensions will be embedded in the certificate. Read Common Command Options for the grammar of -ext.

The -gencert option enables you to create certificate chains. The following example creates a certificate, e1, that contains three certificates in its certificate chain.

The following commands creates four key pairs named ca, ca1, ca2, and e1:

keytool -alias ca -dname CN=CA -genkeypair -keyalg rsa
keytool -alias ca1 -dname CN=CA -genkeypair -keyalg rsa
keytool -alias ca2 -dname CN=CA -genkeypair -keyalg rsa
keytool -alias e1 -dname CN=E1 -genkeypair -keyalg rsa

The following two commands create a chain of signed certificates; ca signs ca1 and ca1 signs ca2, all of which are self-issued:

keytool -alias ca1 -certreq |


    keytool -alias ca -gencert -ext san=dns:ca1 |


    keytool -alias ca1 -importcert
keytool -alias ca2 -certreq |


    keytool -alias ca1 -gencert -ext san=dns:ca2 |


    keytool -alias ca2 -importcert

The following command creates the certificate e1 and stores it in the e1.cert file, which is signed by ca2. As a result, e1 should contain ca, ca1, and ca2 in its certificate chain:

•

{-alias alias}: Alias name of the entry to process

•

-keyalg alg: Key algorithm name

•

{-keysize size}: Key bit size

•

{-groupname name}: Group name. For example, an Elliptic Curve name.

•

{-sigalg alg}: Signature algorithm name

•

{-signer alias}: Signer alias

•

[-signerkeypass arg]: Signer key password

•

[-dname name]: Distinguished name

•

{-startdate date}: Certificate validity start date and time

•

{-ext value}*: X.509 extension

•

{-validity days}: Validity number of days

•

[-keypass arg]: Key password

•

{-keystore keystore}: Keystore name

•

[-storepass arg]: Keystore password

•

{-storetype type}: Keystore type

•

{-providername name}: Provider name

•

{-addprovider name [-providerarg arg]}: Add security provider by name (such as SunPKCS11) with an optional configure argument.

•

{-providerclass class [-providerarg arg] }: Add security provider by fully qualified class name with an optional configure argument.

•

{-providerpath list}: Provider classpath

•

{-v}: Verbose output

•

{-protected}: Password provided through a protected mechanism

Use the -genkeypair command to generate a key pair (a public key and associated private key). When the -signer option is not specified, the public key is wrapped in an X.509 v3 self-signed certificate and stored as a single-element certificate chain. When the -signer option is specified, a new certificate is generated and signed by the designated signer and stored as a multiple-element certificate chain (containing the generated certificate itself, and the signer's certificate chain). The certificate chain and private key are stored in a new keystore entry that is identified by its alias.

The -keyalg value specifies the algorithm to be used to generate the key pair. The -keysize value specifies the size of each key to be generated. The -groupname value specifies the named group (for example, the standard or predefined name of an Elliptic Curve) of the key to be generated.

When a -keysize value is provided, it will be used to initialize a KeyPairGenerator object using the initialize(int keysize) method. When a -groupname value is provided, it will be used to initialize a KeyPairGenerator object using the initialize(AlgorithmParameterSpec params) method where params is new NamedParameterSpec(groupname).

Only one of -groupname and -keysize can be specified. If an algorithm has multiple named groups that have the same key size, the -groupname option should usually be used. In this case, if -keysize is specified, it's up to the security provider to determine which named group is chosen when generating a key pair.

The -sigalg value specifies the algorithm that should be used to sign the certificate. This algorithm must be compatible with the -keyalg value.

The -signer value specifies the alias of a PrivateKeyEntry for the signer that already exists in the keystore. This option is used to sign the certificate with the signer's private key. This is especially useful for key agreement algorithms (i.e. the -keyalg value is XDH, X25519, X448, or DH) as these keys cannot be used for digital signatures, and therefore a self-signed certificate cannot be created.

The -signerkeypass value specifies the password of the signer's private key. It can be specified if the private key of the signer entry is protected by a password different from the store password.

The -dname value specifies the X.500 Distinguished Name to be associated with the value of -alias. If the -signer option is not specified, the issuer and subject fields of the self-signed certificate are populated with the specified distinguished name. If the -signer option is specified, the subject field of the certificate is populated with the specified distinguished name and the issuer field is populated with the subject field of the signer's certificate. If a distinguished name is not provided at the command line, then the user is prompted for one.

The value of -keypass is a password used to protect the private key of the generated key pair. If a password is not provided, then the user is prompted for it. If you press the Return key at the prompt, then the key password is set to the same password as the keystore password. The -keypass value must have at least six characters.

The value of -startdate specifies the issue time of the certificate, also known as the "Not Before" value of the X.509 certificate's Validity field.

The option value can be set in one of these two forms:

([+-]nnn[ymdHMS])+

[yyyy/mm/dd] [HH:MM:SS]

With the first form, the issue time is shifted by the specified value from the current time. The value is a concatenation of a sequence of subvalues. Inside each subvalue, the plus sign (+) means shift forward, and the minus sign (-) means shift backward. The time to be shifted is nnn units of years, months, days, hours, minutes, or seconds (denoted by a single character of y, m, d, H, M, or S respectively). The exact value of the issue time is calculated by using the java.util.GregorianCalendar.add(int field, int amount) method on each subvalue, from left to right. For example, the issue time can be specified by:

Calendar c = new GregorianCalendar();
c.add(Calendar.YEAR, -1);
c.add(Calendar.MONTH, 1);
c.add(Calendar.DATE, -1);
return c.getTime()

With the second form, the user sets the exact issue time in two parts, year/month/day and hour:minute:second (using the local time zone). The user can provide only one part, which means the other part is the same as the current date (or time). The user must provide the exact number of digits shown in the format definition (padding with 0 when shorter). When both date and time are provided, there is one (and only one) space character between the two parts. The hour should always be provided in 24-hour format.

When the option isn't provided, the start date is the current time. The option can only be provided one time.

The value of date specifies the number of days (starting at the date specified by -startdate, or the current date when -startdate isn't specified) for which the certificate should be considered valid.

•

{-alias alias}: Alias name of the entry to process

•

[-keypass arg]: Key password

•

-keyalg alg: Key algorithm name

•

{-keysize size}: Key bit size

•

{-keystore keystore}: Keystore name

•

[-storepass arg]: Keystore password

•

{-storetype type}: Keystore type

•

{-providername name}: Provider name

•

{-addprovider name [-providerarg arg]}: Add security provider by name (such as SunPKCS11) with an optional configure argument.

•

{-providerclass class [-providerarg arg]}: Add security provider by fully qualified class name with an optional configure argument.

•

{-providerpath list}: Provider classpath

•

{-v}: Verbose output

•

{-protected}: Password provided through a protected mechanism

Use the -genseckey command to generate a secret key and store it in a new KeyStore.SecretKeyEntry identified by alias.

The value of -keyalg specifies the algorithm to be used to generate the secret key, and the value of -keysize specifies the size of the key that is generated. The -keypass value is a password that protects the secret key. If a password is not provided, then the user is prompted for it. If you press the Return key at the prompt, then the key password is set to the same password that is used for the -keystore. The -keypass value must contain at least six characters.

•

{-noprompt}: Do not prompt

•

{-trustcacerts}: Trust certificates from cacerts

•

{-protected}: Password is provided through protected mechanism

•

{-alias alias}: Alias name of the entry to process

•

{-file file}: Input file name

•

[-keypass arg]: Key password

•

{-keystore keystore}: Keystore name

•

{-cacerts}: Access the cacerts keystore

•

[-storepass arg]: Keystore password

•

{-storetype type}: Keystore type

•

{-providername name}: Provider name

•

{-addprovider name [-providerarg arg]}: Add security provider by name (such as SunPKCS11) with an optional configure argument.

•

{-providerclass class [-providerarg arg]}: Add security provider by fully qualified class name with an optional configure argument.

•

{-providerpath list}: Provider classpath

•

{-v}: Verbose output

Use the -importcert command to read the certificate or certificate chain (where the latter is supplied in a PKCS#7 formatted reply or in a sequence of X.509 certificates) from -file file, and store it in the keystore entry identified by -alias. If -file file is not specified, then the certificate or certificate chain is read from stdin.

The keytool command can import X.509 v1, v2, and v3 certificates, and PKCS#7 formatted certificate chains consisting of certificates of that type. The data to be imported must be provided either in binary encoding format or in printable encoding format (also known as Base64 encoding) as defined by the Internet RFC 1421 standard. In the latter case, the encoding must be bounded at the beginning by a string that starts with -----BEGIN, and bounded at the end by a string that starts with -----END.

You import a certificate for two reasons: To add it to the list of trusted certificates, and to import a certificate reply received from a certificate authority (CA) as the result of submitting a Certificate Signing Request (CSR) to that CA. See the -certreq command in Commands for Generating a Certificate Request.

The type of import is indicated by the value of the -alias option. If the alias doesn't point to a key entry, then the keytool command assumes you are adding a trusted certificate entry. In this case, the alias shouldn't already exist in the keystore. If the alias does exist, then the keytool command outputs an error because a trusted certificate already exists for that alias, and doesn't import the certificate. If -alias points to a key entry, then the keytool command assumes that you're importing a certificate reply.

•

{-alias alias}: Alias name of the entry to process

•

[-keypass arg]: Key password

•

{-keyalg alg}: Key algorithm name

•

{-keysize size}: Key bit size

•

{-keystore keystore}: Keystore name

•

[-storepass arg]: Keystore password

•

{-storetype type}: Keystore type

•

{-providername name}: Provider name

•

{-addprovider name [-providerarg arg]}: Add security provider by name (such as SunPKCS11) with an optional configure argument.

•

{-providerclass class [-providerarg arg]}: Add security provider by fully qualified class name with an optional configure argument.

•

{-providerpath list}: Provider classpath

•

{-v}: Verbose output

•

{-protected}: Password provided through a protected mechanism

Use the -importpass command to imports a passphrase and store it in a new KeyStore.SecretKeyEntry identified by -alias. The passphrase may be supplied via the standard input stream; otherwise the user is prompted for it. The -keypass option provides a password to protect the imported passphrase. If a password is not provided, then the user is prompted for it. If you press the Return key at the prompt, then the key password is set to the same password as that used for the keystore. The -keypass value must contain at least six characters.

•

-srckeystore keystore: Source keystore name

•

{-destkeystore keystore}: Destination keystore name

•

{-srcstoretype type}: Source keystore type

•

{-deststoretype type}: Destination keystore type

•

[-srcstorepass arg]: Source keystore password

•

[-deststorepass arg]: Destination keystore password

•

{-srcprotected}: Source keystore password protected

•

{-destprotected}: Destination keystore password protected

•

{-srcprovidername name}: Source keystore provider name

•

{-destprovidername name}: Destination keystore provider name

•

{-srcalias alias}: Source alias

•

{-destalias alias}: Destination alias

•

[-srckeypass arg]: Source key password

•

[-destkeypass arg]: Destination key password

•

{-noprompt}: Do not prompt

•

{-addprovider name [-providerarg arg]: Add security provider by name (such as SunPKCS11) with an optional configure argument.

•

{-providerclass class [-providerarg arg]}: Add security provider by fully qualified class name with an optional configure argument

•

{-providerpath list}: Provider classpath

•

{-v}: Verbose output

Note:

This is the first line of all options:

Use the -importkeystore command to import a single entry or all entries from a source keystore to a destination keystore.

Note:

If you do not specify -destkeystore when using the keytool -importkeystore command, then the default keystore used is $HOME/.keystore.

When the -srcalias option is provided, the command imports the single entry identified by the alias to the destination keystore. If a destination alias isn't provided with -destalias, then -srcalias is used as the destination alias. If the source entry is protected by a password, then -srckeypass is used to recover the entry. If -srckeypass isn't provided, then the keytool command attempts to use -srcstorepass to recover the entry. If -srcstorepass is not provided or is incorrect, then the user is prompted for a password. The destination entry is protected with -destkeypass. If -destkeypass isn't provided, then the destination entry is protected with the source entry password. For example, most third-party tools require storepass and keypass in a PKCS #12 keystore to be the same. To create a PKCS#12 keystore for these tools, always specify a -destkeypass that is the same as -deststorepass.

If the -srcalias option isn't provided, then all entries in the source keystore are imported into the destination keystore. Each destination entry is stored under the alias from the source entry. If the source entry is protected by a password, then -srcstorepass is used to recover the entry. If -srcstorepass is not provided or is incorrect, then the user is prompted for a password. If a source keystore entry type isn't supported in the destination keystore, or if an error occurs while storing an entry into the destination keystore, then the user is prompted either to skip the entry and continue or to quit. The destination entry is protected with the source entry password.

If the destination alias already exists in the destination keystore, then the user is prompted either to overwrite the entry or to create a new entry under a different alias name.

If the -noprompt option is provided, then the user isn't prompted for a new destination alias. Existing entries are overwritten with the destination alias name. Entries that can't be imported are skipped and a warning is displayed.

•

{-alias alias}: Alias name of the entry to process

•

{-sigalg alg}: Signature algorithm name

•

{-file file}: Output file name

•

[ -keypass arg]: Key password

•

{-keystore keystore}: Keystore name

•

{-dname name}: Distinguished name

•

{-ext value}: X.509 extension

•

[-storepass arg]: Keystore password

•

{-storetype type}: Keystore type

•

{-providername name}: Provider name

•

{-addprovider name [-providerarg arg]}: Add security provider by name (such as SunPKCS11) with an optional configure argument.

•

{-providerclass class [-providerarg arg]}: Add security provider by fully qualified class name with an optional configure argument.

•

{-providerpath list}: Provider classpath

•

{-v}: Verbose output

•

{-protected}: Password provided through a protected mechanism

Use the -certreq command to generate a Certificate Signing Request (CSR) using the PKCS #10 format.

A CSR is intended to be sent to a CA. The CA authenticates the certificate requestor (usually offline) and returns a certificate or certificate chain to replace the existing certificate chain (initially a self-signed certificate) in the keystore.

The private key associated with alias is used to create the PKCS #10 certificate request. To access the private key, the correct password must be provided. If -keypass isn't provided at the command line and is different from the password used to protect the integrity of the keystore, then the user is prompted for it. If -dname is provided, then it is used as the subject in the CSR. Otherwise, the X.500 Distinguished Name associated with alias is used.

The -sigalg value specifies the algorithm that should be used to sign the CSR.

The CSR is stored in the -file file. If a file is not specified, then the CSR is output to -stdout.

Use the -importcert command to import the response from the CA.

•

{-rfc}: Output in RFC style

•

{-alias alias}: Alias name of the entry to process

•

{-file file}: Output file name

•

{-keystore keystore}: Keystore name

•

{-cacerts}: Access the cacerts keystore

•

[-storepass arg]: Keystore password

•

{-storetype type}: Keystore type

•

{-providername name}: Provider name

•

{-addprovider name [-providerarg arg]}: Add security provider by name (such as SunPKCS11) with an optional configure argument.

•

{-providerclass class [-providerarg arg] }: Add security provider by fully qualified class name with an optional configure argument.

•

{-providerpath list}: Provider classpath

•

{-v}: Verbose output

•

{-protected}: Password provided through a protected mechanism

Use the -exportcert command to read a certificate from the keystore that is associated with -alias alias and store it in the -file file. When a file is not specified, the certificate is output to stdout.

By default, the certificate is output in binary encoding. If the -rfc option is specified, then the output in the printable encoding format defined by the Internet RFC 1421 Certificate Encoding Standard.

If -alias refers to a trusted certificate, then that certificate is output. Otherwise, -alias refers to a key entry with an associated certificate chain. In that case, the first certificate in the chain is returned. This certificate authenticates the public key of the entity addressed by -alias.

•

{-rfc}: Output in RFC style

•

{-alias alias}: Alias name of the entry to process

•

{-keystore keystore}: Keystore name

•

{-cacerts}: Access the cacerts keystore

•

[-storepass arg]: Keystore password

•

{-storetype type}: Keystore type

•

{-providername name}: Provider name

•

{-addprovider name [-providerarg arg]}: Add security provider by name (such as SunPKCS11) with an optional configure argument.

•

{-providerclass class [-providerarg arg] }: Add security provider by fully qualified class name with an optional configure argument.

•

{-providerpath list}: Provider classpath

•

{-v}: Verbose output

•

{-protected}: Password provided through a protected mechanism

Use the -list command to print the contents of the keystore entry identified by -alias to stdout. If -alias alias is not specified, then the contents of the entire keystore are printed.

By default, this command prints the SHA-256 fingerprint of a certificate. If the -v option is specified, then the certificate is printed in human-readable format, with additional information such as the owner, issuer, serial number, and any extensions. If the -rfc option is specified, then the certificate contents are printed by using the printable encoding format, as defined by the Internet RFC 1421 Certificate Encoding Standard.

Note:

You can't specify both -v and -rfc in the same command. Otherwise, an error is reported.

•

{-rfc}: Output in RFC style

•

{-file cert_file}: Input file name

•

{-sslserver server[:port]}:: Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) server host and port

•

{-jarfile JAR_file}: Signed .jar file

•

{-keystore keystore}: Keystore name

•

{-trustcacerts}: Trust certificates from cacerts

•

[-storepass arg]: Keystore password

•

{-storetype type}: Keystore type

•

{-providername name}: Provider name

•

{-addprovider name [-providerarg arg]}: Add security provider by name (such as SunPKCS11) with an optional configure argument.

•

{-providerclass class [-providerarg arg]}: Add security provider by fully qualified class name with an optional configure argument.

•

{-providerpath list}: Provider classpath

•

{-protected}: Password is provided through protected mechanism

•

{-v}: Verbose output

Use the -printcert command to read and print the certificate from -file cert_file, the SSL server located at -sslserver server[:port], or the signed JAR file specified by -jarfile JAR_file. It prints its contents in a human-readable format. When a port is not specified, the standard HTTPS port 443 is assumed.

Note:

The -sslserver and -file options can't be provided in the same command. Otherwise, an error is reported. If you don't specify either option, then the certificate is read from stdin.

When-rfc is specified, the keytool command prints the certificate in PEM mode as defined by the Internet RFC 1421 Certificate Encoding standard.

If the certificate is read from a file or stdin, then it might be either binary encoded or in printable encoding format, as defined by the RFC 1421 Certificate Encoding standard.

If the SSL server is behind a firewall, then the -J-Dhttps.proxyHost=proxyhost and -J-Dhttps.proxyPort=proxyport options can be specified on the command line for proxy tunneling.

Note:

This command can be used independently of a keystore. This command does not check for the weakness of a certificate's signature algorithm if it is a trusted certificate in the user keystore (specified by -keystore) or in the cacerts keystore (if -trustcacerts is specified).

•

{-file file}: Input file name

•

{-v}: Verbose output

Use the -printcertreq command to print the contents of a PKCS #10 format certificate request, which can be generated by the keytool -certreq command. The command reads the request from file. If there is no file, then the request is read from the standard input.

•

{-file crl}: Input file name

•

{-keystore keystore}: Keystore name

•

{-trustcacerts}: Trust certificates from cacerts

•

[-storepass arg]: Keystore password

•

{-storetype type}: Keystore type

•

{-providername name}: Provider name

•

{-addprovider name [-providerarg arg]}: Add security provider by name (such as SunPKCS11) with an optional configure argument.

•

{-providerclass class [-providerarg arg]}: Add security provider by fully qualified class name with an optional configure argument.

•

{-providerpath list}: Provider classpath

•

{-protected}: Password is provided through protected mechanism

•

{-v}: Verbose output

Use the -printcrl command to read the Certificate Revocation List (CRL) from -file crl . A CRL is a list of the digital certificates that were revoked by the CA that issued them. The CA generates the crl file.

Note:

This command can be used independently of a keystore. This command attempts to verify the CRL using a certificate from the user keystore (specified by -keystore) or the cacerts keystore (if -trustcacerts is specified), and will print out a warning if it cannot be verified.

•

[-new arg]: New password

•

{-keystore keystore}: Keystore name

•

{-cacerts}: Access the cacerts keystore

•

[-storepass arg]: Keystore password

•

{-storetype type}: Keystore type

•

{-providername name}: Provider name

•

{-addprovider name [-providerarg arg]}: Add security provider by name (such as SunPKCS11) with an optional configure argument.

•

{-providerclass class [-providerarg arg]}: Add security provider by fully qualified class name with an optional configure argument.

•

{-providerpath list}: Provider classpath

•

{-v}: Verbose output

Use the -storepasswd command to change the password used to protect the integrity of the keystore contents. The new password is set by -new arg and must contain at least six characters.

•

{-alias alias}: Alias name of the entry to process

•

[-keypass old_keypass]: Key password

•

[-new new_keypass]: New password

•

{-keystore keystore}: Keystore name

•

{-storepass arg}: Keystore password

•

{-storetype type}: Keystore type

•

{-providername name}: Provider name

•

{-addprovider name [-providerarg arg]}: Add security provider by name (such as SunPKCS11) with an optional configure argument.

•

{-providerclass class [-providerarg arg]}: Add security provider by fully qualified class name with an optional configure argument.

•

{-providerpath list}: Provider classpath

•

{-v}: Verbose output

Use the -keypasswd command to change the password (under which private/secret keys identified by -alias are protected) from -keypass old_keypass to -new new_keypass. The password value must contain at least six characters.

If the -keypass option isn't provided at the command line and the -keypass password is different from the keystore password (-storepass arg), then the user is prompted for it.

If the -new option isn't provided at the command line, then the user is prompted for it.

•

[-alias alias]: Alias name of the entry to process

•

{-keystore keystore}: Keystore name

•

{-cacerts}: Access the cacerts keystore

•

[-storepass arg]: Keystore password

•

{-storetype type}: Keystore type

•

{-providername name}: Provider name

•

{-addprovider name [-providerarg arg]}: Add security provider by name (such as SunPKCS11) with an optional configure argument.

•

{-providerclass class [-providerarg arg]}: Add security provider by fully qualified class name with an optional configure argument.

•

{-providerpath list}: Provider classpath

•

{-v}: Verbose output

•

{-protected}: Password provided through a protected mechanism

Use the -delete command to delete the -alias alias entry from the keystore. When not provided at the command line, the user is prompted for the alias.

•

{-alias alias}: Alias name of the entry to process

•

[-destalias alias]: Destination alias

•

[-keypass arg]: Key password

•

{-keystore keystore}: Keystore name

•

{-cacerts}: Access the cacerts keystore

•

[-storepass arg]: Keystore password

•

{-storetype type}: Keystore type

•

{-providername name}: Provider name

•

{-addprovider name [-providerarg arg]}: Add security provider by name (such as SunPKCS11) with an optional configure argument.

•

{-providerclass class [-providerarg arg]}: Add security provider by fully qualified class name with an optional configure argument.

•

{-providerpath list}: Provider classpath

•

{-v}: Verbose output

•

{-protected}: Password provided through a protected mechanism

Use the -changealias command to move an existing keystore entry from -alias alias to a new -destalias alias. If a destination alias is not provided, then the command prompts you for one. If the original entry is protected with an entry password, then the password can be supplied with the -keypass option. If a key password is not provided, then the -storepass (if provided) is attempted first. If the attempt fails, then the user is prompted for a password.

•

{-tls}: Displays TLS configuration information

•

{-v}: Verbose output

Use the -showinfo command to display various security-related information. The -tls option displays TLS configurations, such as the list of enabled protocols and cipher suites.

If the JKS storetype is used and a keystore file doesn't yet exist, then certain keytool commands can result in a new keystore file being created. For example, if keytool -genkeypair is called and the -keystore option isn't specified, the default keystore file named .keystore is created in the user's home directory if it doesn't already exist. Similarly, if the -keystore ks_file option is specified but ks_file doesn't exist, then it is created. For more information on the JKS storetype, see the KeyStore Implementation section in KeyStore aliases.

Note that the input stream from the -keystore option is passed to the KeyStore.load method. If NONE is specified as the URL, then a null stream is passed to the KeyStore.load method. NONE should be specified if the keystore isn't file-based. For example, when the keystore resides on a hardware token device.

If the modifier env or file isn't specified, then the password has the value argument, which must contain at least six characters. Otherwise, the password is retrieved as follows:

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env: Retrieve the password from the environment variable named argument.

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file: Retrieve the password from the file named argument.

Note: All other options that require passwords, such as -keypass, -srckeypass, -destkeypass, -srcstorepass, and -deststorepass, accept the env and file modifiers. Remember to separate the password option and the modifier with a colon (:).

The password must be provided to all commands that access the keystore contents. For such commands, when the -storepass option isn't provided at the command line, the user is prompted for it.

When retrieving information from the keystore, the password is optional. If a password is not specified, then the integrity of the retrieved information can't be verified and a warning is displayed.

keytool -keystore ~/ks -v -list

keytool -keystore ~/ks -keyalg rsa -genkeypair -alias me

keytool -keystore ~/ks -keyalg rsa -genkeypair -alias you -keyalg ec

keytool -keystore ~/ks -genkeypair -alias you -keyalg ec

The full form is ca:{true|false}[,pathlen:len] or len, which is short for ca:true,pathlen:len.

When len is omitted, the resulting value is ca:true.

usage(, usage)*

usage can be one of the following:

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digitalSignature

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nonRepudiation (contentCommitment)

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keyEncipherment

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dataEncipherment

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keyAgreement

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keyCertSign

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cRLSign

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encipherOnly

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decipherOnly

Provided there is no ambiguity, the usage argument can be abbreviated with the first few letters (such as dig for digitalSignature) or in camel-case style (such as dS for digitalSignature or cRLS for cRLSign). The usage values are case-sensitive.

usage(, usage)*

usage can be one of the following:

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anyExtendedKeyUsage

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serverAuth

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clientAuth

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codeSigning

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emailProtection

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timeStamping

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OCSPSigning

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Any OID string

Provided there is no ambiguity, the usage argument can be abbreviated with the first few letters or in camel-case style. The usage values are case-sensitive.

type:value(, type:value)*

type can be one of the following:

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EMAIL

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URI

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DNS

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IP

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OID

The value argument is the string format value for the type.

Same as SAN or SubjectAlternativeName.

method:location-type:location-value(, method:location-type:location-value)*

method can be one of the following:

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timeStamping

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caRepository

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Any OID

The location-type and location-value arguments can be any type:value supported by the SubjectAlternativeName extension.

Same as SIA or SubjectInfoAccess.

The method argument can be one of the following:

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ocsp

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caIssuers

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Any OID

keytool -genkeypair -dname "cn=myname, ou=mygroup, o=mycompany, c=mycountry" -alias business -keyalg rsa -keypass password -keystore /working/mykeystore -storepass password -validity 180

keytool -genkeypair -keyalg rsa

This creates a CSR for the entity identified by the default alias mykey and puts the request in the file named myname.csr.

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If the certificate reply is a certificate chain, then you need the top certificate of the chain. The root CA certificate that authenticates the public key of the CA.

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If the certificate reply is a single certificate, then you need a certificate for the issuing CA (the one that signed it). If that certificate isn't self-signed, then you need a certificate for its signer, and so on, up to a self-signed root CA certificate.

The cacerts keystore ships with a set of root certificates issued by the CAs of the Oracle Java Root Certificate program [http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/java/javase/javasecarootcertsprogram-1876540.html]. If you request a signed certificate from a CA, and a certificate authenticating that CA's public key hasn't been added to cacerts, then you must import a certificate from that CA as a trusted certificate.

A certificate from a CA is usually self-signed or signed by another CA. If it is signed by another CA, you need a certificate that authenticates that CA's public key.

For example, you have obtained a X.cer file from a company that is a CA and the file is supposed to be a self-signed certificate that authenticates that CA's public key. Before you import it as a trusted certificate, you should ensure that the certificate is valid by:

1.

Viewing it with the keytool -printcert command or the keytool -importcert command without using the -noprompt option. Make sure that the displayed certificate fingerprints match the expected fingerprints.

2.

Calling the person who sent the certificate, and comparing the fingerprints that you see with the ones that they show or that a secure public key repository shows.

Only when the fingerprints are equal is it assured that the certificate wasn't replaced in transit with somebody else's certificate (such as an attacker's certificate). If such an attack takes place, and you didn't check the certificate before you imported it, then you would be trusting anything that the attacker signed.

If you trust that the certificate is valid, then you can add it to your keystore by entering the following command:

This command creates a trusted certificate entry in the keystore from the data in the CA certificate file and assigns the values of the alias to the entry.

keytool -importcert -trustcacerts -file DCmyname.cer

Note:

In this example, the entry has an alias of mykey.

keytool -importkeystore -srckeystore key.jks -destkeystore NONE -srcstoretype JKS -deststoretype PKCS11 -srcstorepass password -deststorepass password

keytool -importkeystore -srckeystore key.jks -destkeystore NONE -srcstoretype JKS -deststoretype PKCS11 -srcstorepass password -deststorepass password -srcalias myprivatekey -destalias myoldprivatekey -srckeypass password -destkeypass password -noprompt

Key entries: Each entry holds very sensitive cryptographic key information, which is stored in a protected format to prevent unauthorized access. Typically, a key stored in this type of entry is a secret key, or a private key accompanied by the certificate chain for the corresponding public key. See Certificate Chains. The keytool command can handle both types of entries, while the jarsigner tool only handles the latter type of entry, that is private keys and their associated certificate chains.

Trusted certificate entries: Each entry contains a single public key certificate that belongs to another party. The entry is called a trusted certificate because the keystore owner trusts that the public key in the certificate belongs to the identity identified by the subject (owner) of the certificate. The issuer of the certificate vouches for this, by signing the certificate.

An alias is specified when you add an entity to the keystore with the -genseckey command to generate a secret key, the -genkeypair command to generate a key pair (public and private key), or the -importcert command to add a certificate or certificate chain to the list of trusted certificates. Subsequent keytool commands must use this same alias to refer to the entity.

For example, you can use the alias duke to generate a new public/private key pair and wrap the public key into a self-signed certificate with the following command. See Certificate Chains.

This example specifies an initial passwd required by subsequent commands to access the private key associated with the alias duke. If you later want to change Duke's private key password, use a command such as the following:

This changes the initial passwd to newpasswd. A password shouldn't be specified on a command line or in a script unless it is for testing purposes, or you are on a secure system. If you don't specify a required password option on a command line, then you are prompted for it.

Currently, two command-line tools (keytool and jarsigner) make use of keystore implementations. Because the KeyStore class is public, users can write additional security applications that use it.

In JDK 9 and later, the default keystore implementation is PKCS12. This is a cross platform keystore based on the RSA PKCS12 Personal Information Exchange Syntax Standard. This standard is primarily meant for storing or transporting a user's private keys, certificates, and miscellaneous secrets. There is another built-in implementation, provided by Oracle. It implements the keystore as a file with a proprietary keystore type (format) named JKS. It protects each private key with its individual password, and also protects the integrity of the entire keystore with a (possibly different) password.

Keystore implementations are provider-based. More specifically, the application interfaces supplied by KeyStore are implemented in terms of a Service Provider Interface (SPI). That is, there is a corresponding abstract KeystoreSpi class, also in the java.security package, which defines the Service Provider Interface methods that providers must implement. The term provider refers to a package or a set of packages that supply a concrete implementation of a subset of services that can be accessed by the Java Security API. To provide a keystore implementation, clients must implement a provider and supply a KeystoreSpi subclass implementation, as described in Steps to Implement and Integrate a Provider.

Applications can choose different types of keystore implementations from different providers, using the getInstance factory method supplied in the KeyStore class. A keystore type defines the storage and data format of the keystore information, and the algorithms used to protect private/secret keys in the keystore and the integrity of the keystore. Keystore implementations of different types aren't compatible.

The keytool command works on any file-based keystore implementation. It treats the keystore location that is passed to it at the command line as a file name and converts it to a FileInputStream, from which it loads the keystore information.)The jarsigner commands can read a keystore from any location that can be specified with a URL.

For keytool and jarsigner, you can specify a keystore type at the command line, with the -storetype option.

If you don't explicitly specify a keystore type, then the tools choose a keystore implementation based on the value of the keystore.type property specified in the security properties file. The security properties file is called java.security, and resides in the security properties directory:

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Linux and macOS: java.home/lib/security

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Windows: java.home\lib\security

Each tool gets the keystore.type value and then examines all the currently installed providers until it finds one that implements a keystores of that type. It then uses the keystore implementation from that provider.The KeyStore class defines a static method named getDefaultType that lets applications retrieve the value of the keystore.type property. The following line of code creates an instance of the default keystore type as specified in the keystore.type property:

The default keystore type is pkcs12, which is a cross-platform keystore based on the RSA PKCS12 Personal Information Exchange Syntax Standard. This is specified by the following line in the security properties file:

To have the tools utilize a keystore implementation other than the default, you can change that line to specify a different keystore type. For example, if you want to use the Oracle's jks keystore implementation, then change the line to the following:

Note:

Case doesn't matter in keystore type designations. For example, JKS would be considered the same as jks.

•

Public Keys: These are numbers associated with a particular entity, and are intended to be known to everyone who needs to have trusted interactions with that entity. Public keys are used to verify signatures.

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Digitally Signed: If some data is digitally signed, then it is stored with the identity of an entity and a signature that proves that entity knows about the data. The data is rendered unforgeable by signing with the entity's private key.

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Identity: A known way of addressing an entity. In some systems, the identity is the public key, and in others it can be anything from an Oracle Solaris UID to an email address to an X.509 distinguished name.

•

Signature: A signature is computed over some data using the private key of an entity. The signer, which in the case of a certificate is also known as the issuer.

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Private Keys: These are numbers, each of which is supposed to be known only to the particular entity whose private key it is (that is, it is supposed to be kept secret). Private and public keys exist in pairs in all public key cryptography systems (also referred to as public key crypto systems). In a typical public key crypto system, such as DSA, a private key corresponds to exactly one public key. Private keys are used to compute signatures.

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Entity: An entity is a person, organization, program, computer, business, bank, or something else you are trusting to some degree.

Public key cryptography requires access to users' public keys. In a large-scale networked environment, it is impossible to guarantee that prior relationships between communicating entities were established or that a trusted repository exists with all used public keys. Certificates were invented as a solution to this public key distribution problem. Now a Certification Authority (CA) can act as a trusted third party. CAs are entities such as businesses that are trusted to sign (issue) certificates for other entities. It is assumed that CAs only create valid and reliable certificates because they are bound by legal agreements. There are many public Certification Authorities, such as DigiCert, Comodo, Entrust, and so on.

You can also run your own Certification Authority using products such as Microsoft Certificate Server or the Entrust CA product for your organization. With the keytool command, it is possible to display, import, and export certificates. It is also possible to generate self-signed certificates.

The keytool command currently handles X.509 certificates.

All X.509 certificates have the following data, in addition to the signature:

•

Version: This identifies which version of the X.509 standard applies to this certificate, which affects what information can be specified in it. Thus far, three versions are defined. The keytool command can import and export v1, v2, and v3 certificates. It generates v3 certificates.

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Serial number: The entity that created the certificate is responsible for assigning it a serial number to distinguish it from other certificates it issues. This information is used in numerous ways. For example, when a certificate is revoked its serial number is placed in a Certificate Revocation List (CRL).

•

Signature algorithm identifier: This identifies the algorithm used by the CA to sign the certificate.

•

Issuer name: The X.500 Distinguished Name of the entity that signed the certificate. This is typically a CA. Using this certificate implies trusting the entity that signed this certificate. In some cases, such as root or top-level CA certificates, the issuer signs its own certificate.

•

Validity period: Each certificate is valid only for a limited amount of time. This period is described by a start date and time and an end date and time, and can be as short as a few seconds or almost as long as a century. The validity period chosen depends on a number of factors, such as the strength of the private key used to sign the certificate, or the amount one is willing to pay for a certificate. This is the expected period that entities can rely on the public value, when the associated private key has not been compromised.

•

Subject name: The name of the entity whose public key the certificate identifies. This name uses the X.500 standard, so it is intended to be unique across the Internet. This is the X.500 Distinguished Name (DN) of the entity. For example,

•

Subject public key information: This is the public key of the entity being named with an algorithm identifier that specifies which public key crypto system this key belongs to and any associated key parameters.

When keys are first generated, the chain usually starts off containing a single element, a self-signed certificate. See -genkeypair in Commands. A self-signed certificate is one for which the issuer (signer) is the same as the subject. The subject is the entity whose public key is being authenticated by the certificate. When the -genkeypair command is called to generate a new public/private key pair, it also wraps the public key into a self-signed certificate (unless the -signer option is specified).

Later, after a Certificate Signing Request (CSR) was generated with the -certreq command and sent to a Certification Authority (CA), the response from the CA is imported with -importcert, and the self-signed certificate is replaced by a chain of certificates. At the bottom of the chain is the certificate (reply) issued by the CA authenticating the subject's public key. The next certificate in the chain is one that authenticates the CA's public key.

In many cases, this is a self-signed certificate, which is a certificate from the CA authenticating its own public key, and the last certificate in the chain. In other cases, the CA might return a chain of certificates. In this case, the bottom certificate in the chain is the same (a certificate signed by the CA, authenticating the public key of the key entry), but the second certificate in the chain is a certificate signed by a different CA that authenticates the public key of the CA you sent the CSR to. The next certificate in the chain is a certificate that authenticates the second CA's key, and so on, until a self-signed root certificate is reached. Each certificate in the chain (after the first) authenticates the public key of the signer of the previous certificate in the chain.

Many CAs only return the issued certificate, with no supporting chain, especially when there is a flat hierarchy (no intermediates CAs). In this case, the certificate chain must be established from trusted certificate information already stored in the keystore.

A different reply format (defined by the PKCS #7 standard) includes the supporting certificate chain in addition to the issued certificate. Both reply formats can be handled by the keytool command.

The top-level (root) CA certificate is self-signed. However, the trust into the root's public key doesn't come from the root certificate itself, but from other sources such as a newspaper. This is because anybody could generate a self-signed certificate with the distinguished name of, for example, the DigiCert root CA. The root CA public key is widely known. The only reason it is stored in a certificate is because this is the format understood by most tools, so the certificate in this case is only used as a vehicle to transport the root CA's public key. Before you add the root CA certificate to your keystore, you should view it with the -printcert option and compare the displayed fingerprint with the well-known fingerprint obtained from a newspaper, the root CA's Web page, and so on.

•

Linux and macOS: JAVA_HOME/lib/security

•

Windows: JAVA_HOME\lib\security

The cacerts file represents a system-wide keystore with CA certificates. System administrators can configure and manage that file with the keytool command by specifying jks as the keystore type. The cacerts keystore file ships with a default set of root CA certificates. For Linux, macOS, and Windows, you can list the default certificates with the following command:

The initial password of the cacerts keystore file is changeit. System administrators should change that password and the default access permission of that file upon installing the SDK.

Note:

It is important to verify your cacerts file. Because you trust the CAs in the cacerts file as entities for signing and issuing certificates to other entities, you must manage the cacerts file carefully. The cacerts file should contain only certificates of the CAs you trust. It is your responsibility to verify the trusted root CA certificates bundled in the cacerts file and make your own trust decisions.

To remove an untrusted CA certificate from the cacerts file, use the -delete option of the keytool command. You can find the cacerts file in the JDK's $JAVA_HOME/lib/security directory. Contact your system administrator if you don't have permission to edit this file.

Certificates read by the -importcert and -printcert commands can be in either this format or binary encoded. The -exportcert command by default outputs a certificate in binary encoding, but will instead output a certificate in the printable encoding format, when the -rfc option is specified.

The -list command by default prints the SHA-256 fingerprint of a certificate. If the -v option is specified, then the certificate is printed in human-readable format. If the -rfc option is specified, then the certificate is output in the printable encoding format.

In its printable encoding format, the encoded certificate is bounded at the beginning and end by the following text:

-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----
encoded certificate goes here.
-----END CERTIFICATE-----

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commonName: The common name of a person such as Susan Jones.

•

organizationUnit: The small organization (such as department or division) name. For example, Purchasing.

•

localityName: The locality (city) name, for example, Palo Alto.

•

stateName: State or province name, for example, California.

•

country: Two-letter country code, for example, CH.

When you supply a distinguished name string as the value of a -dname option, such as for the -genkeypair command, the string must be in the following format:

All the following items represent actual values and the previous keywords are abbreviations for the following:

CN=commonName
OU=organizationUnit
O=organizationName
L=localityName
S=stateName
C=country

A sample distinguished name string is:

A sample command using such a string is:

Case doesn't matter for the keyword abbreviations. For example, CN, cn, and Cn are all treated the same.

Order matters; each subcomponent must appear in the designated order. However, it isn't necessary to have all the subcomponents. You can use a subset, for example:

If a distinguished name string value contains a comma, then the comma must be escaped by a backslash (\) character when you specify the string on a command line, as in:

It is never necessary to specify a distinguished name string on a command line. When the distinguished name is needed for a command, but not supplied on the command line, the user is prompted for each of the subcomponents. In this case, a comma doesn't need to be escaped by a backslash (\).