Visual Basic 6.0

Save a Private Key as a PKCS #8 PEM File

Demonstrates the Chilkat PrivateKey.SavePkcs8PemFile method, which saves the key as unencrypted PKCS #8 PEM (the PRIVATE KEY label) 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: This writes the widely-compatible unencrypted .pem that most modern tooling reads — the text (Base64) form of PKCS #8. It is convenient and portable, but unprotected, so keep the file access-controlled or prefer the encrypted variant for anything that leaves a trusted location.

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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 PEM (the "PRIVATE KEY" label).
success = privKey.SavePkcs8PemFile("qa_output/private_pkcs8.pem")
If (success = 0) Then
    Debug.Print privKey.LastErrorText
    Exit Sub
End If

Debug.Print "Saved."