rsa-key

Node.js library to convert between RSA key formats and get information about the key. No OpenSSL needed. Detecting input format type, so you don't need to specify or even know the format in which your RSA key is stored.

Quickstart

Installation:

npm install rsa-key

Usage examples:

var RSAKey = require('rsa-key');
var keyInAnyFormat = /* your RSA key in any supported format, in string or buffer */;
 
/* Import the key */
var key = new RSAKey(keyInAnyFormat);
 
/* Export key in default format (PEM PKCS8) */
var output = key.exportKey();
 
/* Export key in a specified format; see details in usage docs */
var output = key.exportKey('public', 'pem', 'pkcs1');
var output = key.exportKey('der');
 
/* Get key fingerprint */
var fingerprint = key.getFingerprint();

Usage in old versions of Node (4 and 6)

You should use ES5 version of the library which is in a separate NPM package:

var RSAKey = require('rsa-key-es5');

Supported formats

Currently supported formats are PEM, DER. Supported syntaxes are PKCS1 and PKCS8. I might add JWK at some time in the future.

Usage

Creating instance

var RSAKey = require('rsa-key');
var emptyKey = new RSAKey();

You can provide key in any supported format as constructor argument (same as in importKey below).

var RSAKey = require('rsa-key');
var key = new RSAKey(keyData);

Importing and exporting keys

key.importKey(keyData)

Imports key into the object. It's equivalent to creating the object providing keyData in constructor argument.

keyData can be in any of the supported formats. It can be a string or a buffer or another RSAKey object. If buffer is provided, it's converted to a string with utf8 encoding when testing for PEM key and base64 encoding when testing for DER key.

key.importKey(keyData);

You can call importKey multiple times to reuse the object. Each call wipes the object and replaces with new key data.

key.exportKey([param, ..., param])

Exports key into the format specified by params provided as arguments. Arguments are strings specifying key format, syntax and key type (private or public). Valid values are:

• pem, der to specify output key format, default: pem
• pkcs1, pkcs8 to specify output syntax for PEM and DER keys, default: pkcs8
• private, public to specify key type to export (default: actual stored key type)

Params can be specified in any order:

// These are equivalent
var output = key.exportKey('der', 'pkcs1', 'public');
var output = key.exportKey('pkcs1', 'public', 'der');

If conflicting params are provided, the latter overwrites the earlier:

var output = key.exportKey('private', 'pem', 'pkcs8', 'der'); // exports in DER format (PEM is overwritten)

You can skip any params to use defaults:

var output = key.exportKey('der');  // 'pkcs8' is applied as default
var output = key.exportKey();       // 'pem' and 'pkcs8' are applied as defaults

If key object stores a private key, the private key will be exported if no key type params were specified (public or private). If key object stores a public key, the public key will be exported. If you specify private param for an object storing only the public key, an error will be thrown.

var privKey = new RSAKey(privateKeyData);   // importing private key
var output = privKey.exportKey();           // private key is exported
var output = privKey.exportKey('public');   // public key is exported
 
var pubKey = new RSAKey(publicKeyData);     // importing public key
var output = pubKey.exportKey();            // public key is exported
var output = pubKey.exportKey('private');   // error is thrown

If you know you want to export a public key, it's recommended to always specify public param, to avoid mistakes (when you think the object has only public key stored, but it mistakenly has the private key). Calling without key type params is useful if you want to convert the key to desired format regardless of key type.

Returned value type is:

• string for PEM export
• Buffer object for DER export

Getting key information

key.getFingerprint()

Returns string with key fingerprint. It's always the same for the same key, regardless of input format which you used when importing the key (fingerprint is made on the public key in DER format using PKCS8 syntax, just as OpenSSL's standard fingerprint).

var fingerprint = key.getFingerprint();

key.hasKey() and key.isEmpty()

Checks if key is loaded into the object. Returns boolean value.

var key = new RSAKey();         // no key imported
var isEmpty = key.isEmpty();    // true
var hasKey = key.hasKey();      // false

key.getType()

Returns string private or public, depending on which key was imported. For empty key returns null.

key.isPrivate()

Checks if key object has private key stored. Returns boolean value. For empty key returns false.

key.isPublic([strict = false])

Checks if key has public key stored. Returns boolean value. For empty key returns false. For private key returns true (because it can be converted to public key), unless optional argument is set to true.

var key = new RSAKey(privateKey);           // importing private key
var hasPublicKey = key.isPublic();          // true
var isExactlyPublic = key.isPublic(true);   // false

key.getKeySize()

Returns key size in bits. For empty key, returns 0.

License

MIT License