Xbase++

Save a Private Key as an Encrypted PKCS #8 DER File

Demonstrates the Chilkat PrivateKey.SavePkcs8EncryptedFile method, which saves the key as password-protected PKCS #8 DER. The first argument is the password and the second is the destination path. The cipher is selected by Pkcs8EncryptAlg.

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 recommended way to persist a key to disk: the binary .der is encrypted under a passphrase, so a stolen file is useless without it. Reach for it whenever a key is stored or shipped. Choose the encryption cipher with Pkcs8EncryptAlg and source the password securely.

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LOCAL nSuccess
LOCAL oPrivKey
LOCAL cPassword

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"

//  Save as password-protected PKCS #8 DER.  The 1st argument is the password and the 2nd is the
//  destination path.  The cipher is selected by the Pkcs8EncryptAlg property.
nSuccess := oPrivKey:SavePkcs8EncryptedFile(cPassword, "qa_output/private_pkcs8_enc.der")
IF (nSuccess == 0)
    ? oPrivKey:LastErrorText
    oPrivKey:destroy()
    RETURN
ENDIF

? "Saved (encrypted)."

oPrivKey:destroy()