C++

Export a Private Key as DER into a BinData

Demonstrates the Chilkat PrivateKey.GetPkcsBd method, which exports the key as DER into a BinData. The first argument selects PKCS #1 (true) versus PKCS #8 (false), the second is the password (empty for unencrypted), and the third is the BinData that receives the bytes.

Note: The file paths are relative to the application's current working directory. Absolute paths may also be used. Supply the paths appropriate to your own environment.

Background: This is the in-memory binary export — the raw DER bytes land in a BinData ready to hash, encrypt, or hand to another API without a temporary file. One method covers several cases: the boolean picks the traditional (PKCS #1) versus modern (PKCS #8) structure, and a nonempty password produces an encrypted PKCS #8 export (with the cipher from Pkcs8EncryptAlg). Source any password securely.

Chilkat C++ Downloads

Download Chilkat for C++

C++

#include <CkPrivateKey.h>
#include <CkBinData.h>

void ChilkatSample(void)
    {
    bool success = false;

    //  Load a private key to export.
    CkPrivateKey privKey;
    success = privKey.LoadPemFile("qa_data/private.pem");
    if (success == false) {
        std::cout << privKey.lastErrorText() << "\r\n";
        return;
    }

    //  The key password is not hard-coded in a real application; obtain it from an interactive
    //  prompt, environment variable, or a secrets vault.
    const char *password = "myKeyPassword";

    //  Export the key as DER into a BinData.  The 1st argument selects PKCS #1 (true) versus PKCS #8
    //  (false); the 2nd is the password (empty string for an unencrypted export); the 3rd is the
    //  BinData that receives the DER bytes.
    bool usePkcs1 = false;
    CkBinData bd;
    success = privKey.GetPkcsBd(usePkcs1,password,bd);
    if (success == false) {
        std::cout << privKey.lastErrorText() << "\r\n";
        return;
    }

    std::cout << "Exported " << bd.get_NumBytes() << " DER bytes." << "\r\n";
    }