Provided by: botan_2.19.1+dfsg-2ubuntu1_amd64 
NAME
botan - Botan command line util
OUTLINE
The botan program is a command line tool for using a broad variety of functions of the
Botan library in the shell.
All commands follow the syntax botan <command> <command-options>.
If botan is run with an unknown command, or without any command, or with the --help
option, all available commands will be printed. If a particular command is run with the
--help option (like botan <command> --help) some information about the usage of the
command is printed.
Starting in version 2.9, commands that take a passphrase (such as gen_bcrypt or pkcs8)
will also accept the literal - to mean ask for the passphrase on the terminal. If
supported by the operating system, echo will be disabled while reading the passphrase.
Most arguments that take a path to a file will also accept the literal - to mean the file
content should be read from STDIN instead.
HASH FUNCTION
hash --algo=SHA-256 --buf-size=4096 --no-fsname --format=hex *files
Compute the algo digest over the data in any number of files. If no files are
listed on the command line, the input source defaults to standard input. Unless the
--no-fsname option is given, the filename is printed alongside the hash, in the
style of tools such as sha256sum.
PASSWORD HASH
gen_argon2 --mem=65536 --p=1 --t=1 password
Calculate the Argon2 password digest of password. mem is the amount of memory to
use in Kb, p the parallelization parameter and t the number of iterations to use.
check_argon2 password hash
Checks if the Argon2 hash of the passed password equals the passed hash value.
gen_bcrypt --work-factor=12 password
Calculate the bcrypt password digest of password. work-factor is an integer between
4 and 18. A higher work-factor value results in a more expensive hash calculation.
check_bcrypt password hash
Checks if the bcrypt hash of the passed password equals the passed hash value.
pbkdf_tune --algo=Scrypt --max-mem=256 --output-len=32 --check *times
Tunes the PBKDF algorithm specified with --algo= for the given times.
HMAC
hmac --hash=SHA-256 --buf-size=4096 --no-fsname key files
Compute the HMAC tag with the cryptographic hash function hash using the key in
file key over the data in files. files defaults to STDIN. Unless the --no-fsname
option is given, the filename is printed alongside the HMAC value.
ENCRYPTION
encryption --buf-size=4096 --decrypt --mode= --key= --iv= --ad=
Encrypt a given file with the specified mode. If --decrypt is provided the file is
decrypted instead.
PUBLIC KEY CRYPTOGRAPHY
keygen --algo=RSA --params= --passphrase= --pbe= --pbe-millis=300 --provider= --der-out
Generate a PKCS #8 algo private key. If der-out is passed, the pair is BER encoded.
Otherwise, PEM encoding is used. To protect the PKCS #8 formatted key, it is
recommended to encrypt it with a provided passphrase. pbe is the name of the
desired encryption algorithm, which uses pbe-millis milliseconds to derive the
encryption key from the passed passphrase. Algorithm specific parameters, as the
desired bit length of an RSA key, can be passed with params.
• For RSA params specifies the bit length of the RSA modulus. It defaults to
3072.
• For DH params specifies the DH parameters. It defaults to modp/ietf/2048.
• For DSA params specifies the DSA parameters. It defaults to dsa/botan/2048.
• For EC algorithms params specifies the elliptic curve. It defaults to
secp256r1.
The default pbe algorithm is "PBES2(AES-256/CBC,SHA-256)".
With PBES2 scheme, you can select any CBC or GCM mode cipher which has an OID
defined (such as 3DES, Camellia, SM4, Twofish or Serpent). However most other
implementations support only AES or 3DES in CBC mode. You can also choose Scrypt
instead of PBKDF2, by using "Scrypt" instead of the name of a hash function, for
example "PBES2(AES-256/CBC,Scrypt)". Scrypt is also supported by some other
implementations including OpenSSL.
pkcs8 --pass-in= --pub-out --der-out --pass-out= --pbe= --pbe-millis=300 key
Open a PKCS #8 formatted key at key. If key is encrypted, the passphrase must be
passed as pass-in. It is possible to (re)encrypt the read key with the passphrase
passed as pass-out. The parameters pbe-millis and pbe work similarly to keygen.
sign --der-format --passphrase= --hash=SHA-256 --emsa= --provider= key file
Sign the data in file using the PKCS #8 private key key. If key is encrypted, the
used passphrase must be passed as pass-in. emsa specifies the signature scheme and
hash the cryptographic hash function used in the scheme.
• For RSA signatures EMSA4 (RSA-PSS) is the default scheme.
• For ECDSA and DSA emsa defaults to EMSA1 (signing the hash directly)
For ECDSA and DSA, the option --der-format outputs the signature as an ASN.1
encoded blob. Some other tools (including openssl) default to this format.
The signature is formatted for your screen using base64.
verify --der-format --hash=SHA-256 --emsa= pubkey file signature
Verify the authenticity of the data in file with the provided signature signature
and the public key pubkey. Similarly to the signing process, emsa specifies the
signature scheme and hash the cryptographic hash function used in the scheme.
gen_dl_group --pbits=1024 --qbits=0 --seed= --type=subgroup
Generate ANSI X9.42 encoded Diffie-Hellman group parameters.
• If type=subgroup is passed, the size of the prime subgroup q is sampled as a
prime of qbits length and p is pbits long. If qbits is not passed, its length
is estimated from pbits as described in RFC 3766.
• If type=strong is passed, p is sampled as a safe prime with length pbits and
the prime subgroup has size q with pbits-1 length.
• If type=dsa is used, p and q are generated by the algorithm specified in FIPS
186-4. If the --seed parameter is used, it allows to select the seed value,
instead of one being randomly generated. If the seed does not in fact generate
a valid DSA group, the command will fail.
dl_group_info --pem name
Print raw Diffie-Hellman parameters (p,g) of the standardized DH group name. If pem
is set, the X9.42 encoded group is printed.
ec_group_info --pem name
Print raw elliptic curve domain parameters of the standardized curve name. If pem
is set, the encoded domain is printed.
pk_encrypt --aead=AES-256/GCM rsa_pubkey datafile
Encrypts datafile using the specified AEAD algorithm, under a key protected by the
specified RSA public key.
pk_decrypt rsa_privkey datafile
Decrypts a file encrypted with pk_encrypt. If the key is encrypted using a
password, it will be prompted for on the terminal.
fingerprint --no-fsname --algo=SHA-256 *keys
Calculate the public key fingerprint of the keys.
pk_workfactor --type=rsa bits
Provide an estimate of the strength of a public key based on it's size. --type=
can be "rsa", "dl" or "dl_exp".
X.509
gen_pkcs10 key CN --country= --organization= --ca --path-limit=1 --email= --dns= --ext-ku=
--key-pass= --hash=SHA-256 --emsa=
Generate a PKCS #10 certificate signing request (CSR) using the passed PKCS #8
private key key. If the private key is encrypted, the decryption passphrase
key-pass has to be passed.*emsa* specifies the padding scheme to be used when
calculating the signature.
• For RSA keys EMSA4 (RSA-PSS) is the default scheme.
• For ECDSA, DSA, ECGDSA, ECKCDSA and GOST-34.10 keys emsa defaults to EMSA1.
gen_self_signed key CN --country= --dns= --organization= --email= --path-limit=1
--days=365 --key-pass= --ca --hash=SHA-256 --emsa= --der
Generate a self signed X.509 certificate using the PKCS #8 private key key. If the
private key is encrypted, the decryption passphrase key-pass has to be passed. If
ca is passed, the certificate is marked for certificate authority (CA) usage. emsa
specifies the padding scheme to be used when calculating the signature.
• For RSA keys EMSA4 (RSA-PSS) is the default scheme.
• For ECDSA, DSA, ECGDSA, ECKCDSA and GOST-34.10 keys emsa defaults to EMSA1.
sign_cert --ca-key-pass= --hash=SHA-256 --duration=365 --emsa= ca_cert ca_key pkcs10_req
Create a CA signed X.509 certificate from the information contained in the PKCS #10
CSR pkcs10_req. The CA certificate is passed as ca_cert and the respective PKCS #8
private key as ca_key. If the private key is encrypted, the decryption passphrase
ca-key-pass has to be passed. The created certificate has a validity period of
duration days. emsa specifies the padding scheme to be used when calculating the
signature. emsa defaults to the padding scheme used in the CA certificate.
ocsp_check --timeout=3000 subject issuer
Verify an X.509 certificate against the issuers OCSP responder. Pass the
certificate to validate as subject and the CA certificate as issuer.
cert_info --fingerprint file
Parse X.509 PEM certificate and display data fields. If --fingerprint is used, the
certificate's fingerprint is also printed.
cert_verify subject *ca_certs
Verify if the provided X.509 certificate subject can be successfully validated. The
list of trusted CA certificates is passed with ca_certs, which is a list of one or
more certificates.
trust_roots --dn --dn-only --display
List the certificates in the system trust store.
TLS SERVER/CLIENT
The --policy= argument of the TLS commands specifies the TLS policy to use. The policy
can be any of the the strings "default", "suiteb_128", "suiteb_192", "bsi", "strict", or
"all" to denote built-in policies, or it can name a file from which a policy description
will be read.
tls_ciphers --policy=default --version=tls1.2
Prints the list of ciphersuites that will be offered under a particular
policy/version.
tls_client host --port=443 --print-certs --policy=default --tls1.0 --tls1.1 --tls1.2
--skip-system-cert-store --trusted-cas= --session-db= --session-db-pass= --next-protocols=
--type=tcp
Implements a testing TLS client, which connects to host via TCP or UDP on port
port. The TLS version can be set with the flags tls1.0, tls1.1 and tls1.2 of which
the lowest specified version is automatically chosen. If none of the TLS version
flags is set, the latest supported version is chosen. The client honors the TLS
policy specified with policy and prints all certificates in the chain, if
print-certs is passed. next-protocols is a comma separated list and specifies the
protocols to advertise with Application-Layer Protocol Negotiation (ALPN).
tls_server cert key --port=443 --type=tcp --policy=default --dump-traces= --max-clients=0
--socket-id=0
Implements a testing TLS server, which allows TLS clients to connect and which
echos any data that is sent to it. Binds to either TCP or UDP on port port. The
server uses the certificate cert and the respective PKCS #8 private key key. The
server honors the TLS policy specified with policy. socket-id is only available on
FreeBSD and sets the so_user_cookie value of the used socket.
tls_http_server cert key --port=443 --policy=default --threads=0 --max-clients=0
--session-db --session-db-pass=
Only available if Boost.Asio support was enabled. Provides a simple HTTP server
which replies to all requests with an informational text output. The server honors
the TLS policy specified with policy.
tls_proxy listen_port target_host target_port server_cert server_key--policy=default
--threads=0 --max-clients=0 --session-db= --session-db-pass=
Only available if Boost.Asio support was enabled. Listens on a port and forwards
all connects to a target server specified at target_host and target_port.
tls_client_hello --hex input
Parse and print a TLS client hello message.
NUMBER THEORY
is_prime --prob=56 n
Test if the integer n is composite or prime with a Miller-Rabin primality test with
(prob+2)/2 iterations.
factor n
Factor the integer n using a combination of trial division by small primes, and
Pollard's Rho algorithm. It can in reasonable time factor integers up to 110 bits
or so.
gen_prime --count=1 bits
Samples count primes with a length of bits bits.
mod_inverse n mod
Calculates a modular inverse.
PSK DATABASE
The PSK database commands are only available if sqlite3 support was compiled in.
psk_set db db_key name psk
Using the PSK database named db and encrypting under the (hex) key db_key, save the
provided psk (also hex) under name:
$ botan psk_set psk.db deadba55 bunny f00fee
psk_get db db_key name
Get back a value saved with psk_set:
$ botan psk_get psk.db deadba55 bunny
f00fee
psk_list db db_key
List all values saved to the database under the given key:
$ botan psk_list psk.db deadba55
bunny
SECRET SHARING
Split a file into several shares.
tss_split M N data_file --id= --share-prefix=share --share-suffix=tss --hash=SHA-256
Split a file into N pieces any M of which suffices to recover the original input.
The ID allows specifying a unique key ID which may be up to 16 bytes long, this
ensures that shares can be uniquely matched. If not specified a random 16 byte
value is used. A checksum can be appended to the data to help verify correct
recovery, this can be disabled using --hash=None.
tss_recover *shares
Recover some data split by tss_split. If insufficient number of shares are provided
an error is printed.
DATA ENCODING/DECODING
base32_dec file
Encode file to Base32.
base32_enc file
Decode Base32 encoded file.
base58_enc --check file
Encode file to Base58. If --check is provided Base58Check is used.
base58_dec --check file
Decode Base58 encoded file. If --check is provided Base58Check is used.
base64_dec file
Encode file to Base64.
base64_enc file
Decode Base64 encoded file.
hex_dec file
Encode file to Hex.
hex_enc file
Decode Hex encoded file.
MISCELLANEOUS COMMANDS
version --full
Print the version number. If option --full is provided, additional details are
printed.
has_command cmd
Test if the command cmd is available.
config info_type
Prints build information, useful for applications which want to build against the
library. The info_type argument can be any of prefix, cflags, ldflags, or libs.
This is similar to information provided by the pkg-config tool.
cpuid List available processor flags (AES-NI, SIMD extensions, ...).
cpu_clock --test-duration=500
Estimate the speed of the CPU cycle counter.
asn1print --skip-context-specific --print-limit=4096 --bin-limit=2048 --max-depth=64 --pem
file`
Decode and print file with ASN.1 Basic Encoding Rules (BER). If flag --pem is used,
or the filename ends in .pem, then PEM encoding is assumed. Otherwise the input is
assumed to be binary DER/BER.
http_get --redirects=1 --timeout=3000 url
Retrieve resource from the passed http url.
speed --msec=500 --format=default --ecc-groups= --provider= --buf-size=1024 --clear-cpuid=
--cpu-clock-speed=0 --cpu-clock-ratio=1.0 *algos
Measures the speed of the passed algos. If no algos are passed all available speed
tests are executed. msec (in milliseconds) sets the period of measurement for each
algorithm. The buf-size option allows testing the same algorithm on one or more
input sizes, for example speed --buf-size=136,1500 AES-128/GCM tests the
performance of GCM for small and large packet sizes. format can be "default",
"table" or "json".
timing_test test_type --test-data-file= --test-data-dir=src/tests/data/timing
--warmup-runs=1000 --measurement-runs=10000
Run various timing side channel tests.
rng --format=hex --system --rdrand --auto --entropy --drbg --drbg-seed= *bytes
Sample bytes random bytes from the specified random number generator. If system is
set, the system RNG is used. If rdrand is set, the hardware RDRAND instruction is
used. If auto is set, AutoSeeded_RNG is used, seeded with the system RNG if
available or the global entropy source otherwise. If entropy is set, AutoSeeded_RNG
is used, seeded with the global entropy source. If drbg is set, HMAC_DRBG is used
seeded with drbg-seed.
entropy --truncate-at=128 source
Sample a raw entropy source.
cc_encrypt CC passphrase --tweak=
Encrypt the passed valid credit card number CC using FPE encryption and the
passphrase passphrase. The key is derived from the passphrase using PBKDF2 with
SHA256. Due to the nature of FPE, the ciphertext is also a credit card number with
a valid checksum. tweak is public and parameterizes the encryption function.
cc_decrypt CC passphrase --tweak=
Decrypt the passed valid ciphertext CC using FPE decryption with the passphrase
passphrase and the tweak tweak.
roughtime_check --raw-time chain-file
Parse and validate a Roughtime chain file.
roughtime --raw-time --chain-file=roughtime-chain --max-chain-size=128
--check-local-clock=60 --host= --pubkey= --servers-file=
Retrieve time from a Roughtime server and store it in a chain file.
uuid Generate and print a random UUID.
compress --type=gzip --level=6 --buf-size=8192 file
Compress a given file.
decompress --buf-size=8192 file
Decompress a given compressed archive.
BOTAN(1)