Visual Basic 6.0

Save a Private Key as a PKCS #8 DER File

Demonstrates the Chilkat PrivateKey.SavePkcs8File method, which saves the key as unencrypted PKCS #8 DER to a file. The only argument is the destination path.

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: The file-writing counterpart to GetPkcs8ENC/GetPkcs8Pem, producing a compact binary .der in the algorithm-independent PKCS #8 container. Because it is unencrypted, the file itself is the only protection for the key — store it with restrictive permissions, or use SavePkcs8EncryptedFile to add a passphrase.

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Visual Basic 6.0

Dim success As Long
success = 0

'  Load a private key to export.
Dim privKey As New PrivateKey
success = privKey.LoadPemFile("qa_data/private.pem")
If (success = 0) Then
    Debug.Print privKey.LastErrorText
    Exit Sub
End If

'  Save as unencrypted PKCS #8 DER.
success = privKey.SavePkcs8File("qa_output/private_pkcs8.der")
If (success = 0) Then
    Debug.Print privKey.LastErrorText
    Exit Sub
End If

Debug.Print "Saved."