# man > openssl-dsa(1) [_OPENSSL-DSA_(1SSL)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/OPENSSL-DSA/1SSL/markdown) OpenSSL [_OPENSSL-DSA_(1SSL)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/OPENSSL-DSA/1SSL/markdown) ## NAME openssl-dsa - DSA key processing ## SYNOPSIS **openssl dsa **[**-help**] [**-inform DER**|**PEM**] [**-outform DER**|**PEM**] [**-in _**filename_] [**-passin _**arg_] [**-out** _filename_] [**-passout _**arg_] [**-aes128**] [**-aes192**] [**-aes256**] [**-aria128**] [**-aria192**] [**-aria256**] [**-camellia128**] [**-camellia192**] [**-camellia256**] [**-des**] [**-des3**] [**-idea**] [**-text**] [**-noout**] [**-modulus**] [**-pubin**] [**-pubout**] [**-pvk-strong**] [**-pvk-weak**] [**-pvk-none**] [**-engine _**id_] [**-provider** _name_] [**-provider-path _**path_] [**-propquery _**propq_] ## DESCRIPTION This command processes DSA keys. They can be converted between various forms and their components printed out. **Note **This command uses the traditional SSLeay compatible format for private key encryption: newer applications should use the more secure PKCS#8 format using the ### pkcs8 ## OPTIONS ### -help Print out a usage message. ### -inform DER The key input format; unspecified by default. See [**openssl-format-options**(1)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/openssl-format-options/1/markdown) for details. ### -outform DER The key output format; the default is **PEM**. See [**openssl-format-options**(1)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/openssl-format-options/1/markdown) for details. Private keys are a sequence of **ASN.1 INTEGERS**: the version (zero), **p**, **q**, **g**, and the public and private key components. Public keys are a **SubjectPublicKeyInfo **structure with the **DSA **type. The **PEM **format also accepts PKCS#8 data. ### -in _ This specifies the input filename to read a key from or standard input if this option is not specified. If the key is encrypted a pass phrase will be prompted for. ### -out _ This specifies the output filename to write a key to or standard output by is not specified. If any encryption options are set then a pass phrase will be prompted for. The output filename should **not **be the same as the input filename. ### -passin _ -passout _ The password source for the input and output file. For more information about the format of **arg **see [**openssl-passphrase-options**(1)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/openssl-passphrase-options/1/markdown). ### -aes128 -aes192 -aes256 -aria128 -aria192 -aria256 -camellia128 -camellia192 ### -camellia256 -des -des3 -idea These options encrypt the private key with the specified cipher before outputting it. A pass phrase is prompted for. If none of these options is specified the key is written in plain text. This means that this command can be used to remove the pass phrase from a key by not giving any encryption option is given, or to add or change the pass phrase by setting them. These options can only be used with PEM format output files. ### -text Prints out the public, private key components and parameters. ### -noout This option prevents output of the encoded version of the key. ### -modulus This option prints out the value of the public key component of the key. ### -pubin By default, a private key is read from the input file. With this option a public key is read instead. ### -pubout By default, a private key is output. With this option a public key will be output instead. This option is automatically set if the input is a public key. ### -pvk-strong Enable 'Strong' PVK encoding level (default). ### -pvk-weak Enable 'Weak' PVK encoding level. ### -pvk-none Don't enforce PVK encoding. ### -engine _ See "Engine Options" in [**openssl**(1)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/openssl/1/markdown). This option is deprecated. ### -provider _ ### -provider-path _ ### -propquery _ See "Provider Options" in [**openssl**(1)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/openssl/1/markdown), [**provider**(7)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/provider/7/markdown), and [**property**(7)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/property/7/markdown). The [**openssl-pkey**(1)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/openssl-pkey/1/markdown) command is capable of performing all the operations this command can, as well as supporting other public key types. ## EXAMPLES The documentation for the [**openssl-pkey**(1)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/openssl-pkey/1/markdown) command contains examples equivalent to the ones listed here. To remove the pass phrase on a DSA private key: openssl dsa -in key.pem -out keyout.pem To encrypt a private key using triple DES: openssl dsa -in key.pem -des3 -out keyout.pem To convert a private key from PEM to DER format: openssl dsa -in key.pem -outform DER -out keyout.der To print out the components of a private key to standard output: openssl dsa -in key.pem -text -noout To just output the public part of a private key: openssl dsa -in key.pem -pubout -out pubkey.pem ## SEE ALSO [**openssl**(1)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/openssl/1/markdown), [**openssl-pkey**(1)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/openssl-pkey/1/markdown), [**openssl-dsaparam**(1)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/openssl-dsaparam/1/markdown), [**openssl-gendsa**(1)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/openssl-gendsa/1/markdown), [**openssl-rsa**(1)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/openssl-rsa/1/markdown), [**openssl-genrsa**(1)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/openssl-genrsa/1/markdown) ## HISTORY The **-engine **option was deprecated in OpenSSL 3.0. ## COPYRIGHT Copyright 2000-2021 The OpenSSL Project Authors. All Rights Reserved. Licensed under the Apache License 2.0 (the "License"). You may not use this file except in compliance with the License. You can obtain a copy in the file LICENSE in the source distribution or at <>. 3.0.13 2026-07-29 [_OPENSSL-DSA_(1SSL)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/OPENSSL-DSA/1SSL/markdown)