Pascal (Lazarus/Delphi)

Export an Encrypted PKCS #8 Private Key as PEM

Demonstrates the Chilkat PrivateKey.GetPkcs8EncryptedPem method, which exports the key as password-protected PKCS #8 PEM (-----BEGIN ENCRYPTED PRIVATE KEY-----). The only argument is the password; the cipher is selected by the Pkcs8EncryptAlg property.

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 safe way to export a key for storage or transfer — the private material is encrypted under a passphrase, so a leaked file is not immediately usable. It is the format to reach for whenever a key leaves your process. Control the encryption cipher with Pkcs8EncryptAlg, and source the password securely rather than hard-coding it.

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Pascal (Lazarus/Delphi)

program ChilkatDemo;

// Demonstrates using the Chilkat Pascal wrapper via the C bridge DLL.
// Builds as a console application under Lazarus (FPC) or Delphi.

{$IFDEF FPC}
  {$MODE DELPHI}
{$ENDIF}
{$APPTYPE CONSOLE}

uses
  {$IFDEF UNIX}
  cthreads,
  {$ENDIF}
  SysUtils,
  CkDllLoader,
  Chilkat.PrivateKey;

// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------

procedure RunDemo;
var
  success: Boolean;
  privKey: TPrivateKey;
  password: string;
  pem: string;

begin
  success := False;

  //  Load a private key to export.
  privKey := TPrivateKey.Create;
  success := privKey.LoadPemFile('qa_data/private.pem');
  if (success = False) then
    begin
      WriteLn(privKey.LastErrorText);
      Exit;
    end;

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

  //  Export as password-protected PKCS #8 PEM ("-----BEGIN ENCRYPTED PRIVATE KEY-----").  The
  //  encryption cipher is selected by the Pkcs8EncryptAlg property.
  pem := privKey.GetPkcs8EncryptedPem(password);
  if (privKey.LastMethodSuccess = False) then
    begin
      WriteLn(privKey.LastErrorText);
      Exit;
    end;
  WriteLn(pem);


  privKey.Free;

end;

// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------

begin

  try
    RunDemo;
  except
    on E: Exception do
      WriteLn('Unhandled exception: ', E.ClassName, ': ', E.Message);
  end;

  WriteLn;
  {$IFDEF MSWINDOWS}
  WriteLn('Press Enter to exit...');
  ReadLn;
  {$ENDIF}
end.