Xbase++

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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LOCAL nSuccess
LOCAL oPrivKey
LOCAL cPassword
LOCAL cPem

nSuccess := 0

//  Load a private key to export.
oPrivKey := CreateObject("Chilkat.PrivateKey")
nSuccess := oPrivKey:LoadPemFile("qa_data/private.pem")
IF (nSuccess == 0)
    ? oPrivKey:LastErrorText
    oPrivKey:destroy()
    RETURN
ENDIF

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

//  Export as password-protected PKCS #8 PEM ("-----BEGIN ENCRYPTED PRIVATE KEY-----").  The
//  encryption cipher is selected by the Pkcs8EncryptAlg property.
cPem := oPrivKey:GetPkcs8EncryptedPem(cPassword)
IF (oPrivKey:LastMethodSuccess == 0)
    ? oPrivKey:LastErrorText
    oPrivKey:destroy()
    RETURN
ENDIF

? cPem

oPrivKey:destroy()