# phpman > man > openssl-passphrase-options(1ssl)

[OPENSSL-PASSPHRASE-OPTIONS(1SSL)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/OPENSSL-PASSPHRASE-OPTIONS/1SSL/markdown)               OpenSSL              [OPENSSL-PASSPHRASE-OPTIONS(1SSL)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/OPENSSL-PASSPHRASE-OPTIONS/1SSL/markdown)



## NAME
       openssl-passphrase-options - Pass phrase options

## SYNOPSIS
       **openssl** _command_ [ _options_ ... ] [ _parameters_ ... ]

## DESCRIPTION
       Several OpenSSL commands accept password arguments, typically using **-passin** and **-passout** for
       input and output passwords respectively. These allow the password to be obtained from a
       variety of sources. Both of these options take a single argument whose format is described
       below. If no password argument is given and a password is required then the user is prompted
       to enter one: this will typically be read from the current terminal with echoing turned off.

       Note that character encoding may be relevant, please see [**passphrase-encoding**(7)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/passphrase-encoding/7/markdown).

## OPTIONS
### Pass Phrase Option Arguments
       Pass phrase arguments can be formatted as follows.

       **pass:**_password_
           The actual password is _password_. Since the password is visible to utilities (like 'ps'
           under Unix) this form should only be used where security is not important.

       **env:**_var_
           Obtain the password from the environment variable _var_. Since the environment of other
           processes is visible on certain platforms (e.g. ps under certain Unix OSes) this option
           should be used with caution.

       **file:**_pathname_
           The first line of _pathname_ is the password. If the same _pathname_ argument is supplied to
           **-passin** and **-passout** arguments then the first line will be used for the input password
           and the next line for the output password. _pathname_ need not refer to a regular file: it
           could for example refer to a device or named pipe.

       **fd:**_number_
           Read the password from the file descriptor _number_. This can be used to send the data via
           a pipe for example.

### stdin
           Read the password from standard input.

## COPYRIGHT
       Copyright 2000-2020 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 <<https://www.openssl.org/source/license.html>>.



3.0.2                                        2026-06-02             [OPENSSL-PASSPHRASE-OPTIONS(1SSL)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/OPENSSL-PASSPHRASE-OPTIONS/1SSL/markdown)