# Importing and exporting RSA/DSA/EC keys

#### 2025-09-30

The `openssl` package implements a modern interface to libssl and libcrypto for R. It builds on the new `EVP` api which was introduced in OpenSSL 1.0 and provides a unified API to the various methods and formats. OpenSSL supports three major public key crypto systems:

- RSA : Most popular method. Supports both encryption and signatures.
- DSA : Digital Signature Algorithm. Mostly for signatures, not very popular anymore.
- ECDSA : Elliptic Curve DSA. Supports signatures and encryption via Diffie Hellman. Gaining popularity.

For each type there are several common formats for storing keys and certificates:

- DER: binary format, serialized ASN.1 structure
- PEM: base64 encoded DER + header wrapped in `===`
- SSH: single line of base64 with a header. Only for pubkeys.
- JWK: JSON Web key. Stores key data in a JSON object

The openssl package automatically detects the format when possible. However being able to recognize the various formats can be useful.

### The DER format

DER is the standard binary format using by protocols for storing and exchanging keys and certificates. It consists of a serialized ASN.1 structure which hold the key’s (very large) prime numbers.

    key <- ec_keygen()
    pubkey <- key$pubkey
    bin <- write_der(pubkey)
    print(bin)

     [1] 30 59 30 13 06 07 2a 86 48 ce 3d 02 01 06 08 2a 86 48 ce 3d 03 01 07 03 42
    [26] 00 04 15 a5 7a a1 dd ce b1 c8 a6 d9 ab c0 b6 92 8d 33 e8 7b 3c 40 5c 50 ef
    [51] 2d 93 39 04 23 a6 2e d2 e5 f8 f0 9a bb e2 dd d4 ea a6 4d c0 52 5c 5e 0c 90
    [76] e5 6e ec 9f 64 5c 5a 5f 28 50 3c 9c a8 8d 97 b1

To read a DER key use `read_key` or `read_pubkey` with `der = TRUE`.

    read_pubkey(bin, der = TRUE)

    [256-bit ecdsa public key]
    md5: 538ff1c18fe028db6efb555298fc8277
    sha256: 4e67fd3e3038116f9439f62eb8ee02a91cdc2439b3a4c28b45a50afb6be7e86f

Users typically don’t need to worry about the key’s underlying primes, but have a look at `key$data` if you are curious.

### The PEM format

In practice the user rarely encounters DER because it is mainly for internal use. When humans exchange keys and certificates they typically use the PEM format. PEM is simply base64 encoded DER data, plus a header. The header identifies the key (and possibly encryption) type.

    cat(write_pem(pubkey))

    -----BEGIN PUBLIC KEY-----
    MFkwEwYHKoZIzj0CAQYIKoZIzj0DAQcDQgAEFaV6od3Oscim2avAtpKNM+h7PEBc
    UO8tkzkEI6Yu0uX48Jq74t3U6qZNwFJcXgyQ5W7sn2RcWl8oUDycqI2XsQ==
    -----END PUBLIC KEY-----

    cat(write_pem(key, password = NULL))

    -----BEGIN PRIVATE KEY-----
    MIGHAgEAMBMGByqGSM49AgEGCCqGSM49AwEHBG0wawIBAQQgwbMpUm5ATu5oQ7sW
    RPb2C6EkkLVKgsTSYQPrbrYD+gihRANCAAQVpXqh3c6xyKbZq8C2ko0z6Hs8QFxQ
    7y2TOQQjpi7S5fjwmrvi3dTqpk3AUlxeDJDlbuyfZFxaXyhQPJyojZex
    -----END PRIVATE KEY-----

The PEM format allows for protecting private keys with a password. R will prompt you for the password when reading such a protected key.

    cat(write_pem(key, password = "supersecret"))

    -----BEGIN ENCRYPTED PRIVATE KEY-----
    MIHrMFYGCSqGSIb3DQEFDTBJMDEGCSqGSIb3DQEFDDAkBBBeWEJ8hBIp/ZdR9mED
    dQJ+AgIIADAMBggqhkiG9w0CCQUAMBQGCCqGSIb3DQMHBAituDHxNy388ASBkLym
    aQzUaneO022C5lNsMwnAeY2UZB2j4v9UchsRaH3mUu/qhZa8fXSUtzd44jlZ7vKp
    9bglo9OhxUyBBRZG3EX5WJawa3X0A30RJVsWudhEQVf9xeJIPVVKoSD6Y660ClkW
    iuEKxiB4uZYnoHMi5ST0Ai3ABGyr42kZH5oRhjl0skFd0j6Gg2rGN01KrFAUkQ==
    -----END ENCRYPTED PRIVATE KEY-----

### The OpenSSH format

For better or worse, OpenSSH uses a custom format for public keys. The advantage of this format is that it fits on a single line which is nice for e.g. your `~/.ssh/known_hosts` file. There is no special format for private keys, OpenSSH uses PEM as well.

    str <- write_ssh(pubkey)
    print(str)

    [1] "ecdsa-sha2-nistp256 AAAAE2VjZHNhLXNoYTItbmlzdHAyNTYAAAAIbmlzdHAyNTYAAABBBBWleqHdzrHIptmrwLaSjTPoezxAXFDvLZM5BCOmLtLl+PCau+Ld1OqmTcBSXF4MkOVu7J9kXFpfKFA8nKiNl7E="

The `read_pubkey` function will automatically detect if a file contains a `PEM` or `SSH` key.

    read_pubkey(str)

    [256-bit ecdsa public key]
    md5: 538ff1c18fe028db6efb555298fc8277
    sha256: 4e67fd3e3038116f9439f62eb8ee02a91cdc2439b3a4c28b45a50afb6be7e86f

### The JSON Web Key (JWK) format

Yet another recent format to store RSA or EC keys are JSON Web Keys (JWK). JWK is part of the Javascript Object Signing and Encryption (JOSE) specification. The `write_jwk` and `read_jwk` functions are implemented in a separate package which uses the `openssl` package.

    library(jose)
    json <- write_jwk(pubkey)
    jsonlite::prettify(json)

    {
        "kty": "EC",
        "crv": "P-256",
        "x": "FaV6od3Oscim2avAtpKNM-h7PEBcUO8tkzkEI6Yu0uU",
        "y": "-PCau-Ld1OqmTcBSXF4MkOVu7J9kXFpfKFA8nKiNl7E"
    }

Keys from `jose` and `openssl` are the same.

    mykey <- read_jwk(json)
    identical(mykey, pubkey)

    [1] TRUE

    print(mykey)

    [256-bit ecdsa public key]
    md5: 538ff1c18fe028db6efb555298fc8277
    sha256: 4e67fd3e3038116f9439f62eb8ee02a91cdc2439b3a4c28b45a50afb6be7e86f