genrsa - generate an RSA private key
-
=head1 SYNOPSIS
B<openssl> B<genrsa>
[B<-out filename>]
+[B<-passout arg>]
[B<-des>]
[B<-des3>]
[B<-idea>]
=over 4
+=item B<-out filename>
+
+the output filename. If this argument is not specified then standard output is
+used.
+
+=item B<-passout arg>
+
+the output file password source. For more information about the format of B<arg>
+see the B<PASS PHRASE ARGUMENTS> section in L<openssl(1)|openssl(1)>.
+
=item B<-des|-des3|-idea>
These options encrypt the private key with the DES, triple DES, or the
-IDEA ciphers respectively before outputting it. A pass phrase is prompted for.
-If none of these options is specified no encryption is used.
+IDEA ciphers respectively before outputting it. If none of these options is
+specified no encryption is used. If encryption is used a pass phrase is prompted
+for if it is not supplied via the B<-passout> argument.
=item B<-F4|-3>
=item B<-rand file(s)>
a file or files containing random data used to seed the random number
-generator. Multiple files can be specified separated by a OS-dependent
-character. For MS-Windows, the separator is B<;>. For OpenVMS, it's
-B<,>. For all others, it's B<:>.
+generator, or an EGD socket (see L<RAND_egd(3)|RAND_egd(3)>).
+Multiple files can be specified separated by a OS-dependent character.
+The separator is B<;> for MS-Windows, B<,> for OpenVSM, and B<:> for
+all others.
=item B<numbits>
RSA private key generation essentially involves the generation of two prime
numbers. When generating a private key various symbols will be output to
-indicate the progress of the generation. A B<.> represents each number tested.
-A B<+> means a number has passed a single primality test. A newline means that
-the number has passed all the prime tests (currently set to 5 single tests).
+indicate the progress of the generation. A B<.> represents each number which
+has passed an initial sieve test, B<+> means a number has passed a single
+round of the Miller-Rabin primality test. A newline means that the number has
+passed all the prime tests (the actual number depends on the key size).
Because key generation is a random process the time taken to generate a key
may vary somewhat.
=head1 SEE ALSO
-gendsa(1)
+L<gendsa(1)|gendsa(1)>
+
+=cut
+