-N

Create new certificate and key databases.

-S

Create an individual certificate and add it to a certificate database.

-R

Create a certificate-request file that can be submitted to a Certificate Authority (CA) for processing into a finished certificate. Output defaults to standard out unless you use -o output-file argument.

Use the -a argument to specify ASCII output.

-C

Create a new binary certificate file from a binary certificate-request file. Use the -i argument to specify the certificate-request file. If this argument is not used Certificate Database Tool prompts for a filename.

-G

Generate a new public and private key pair within a key database. The key database should already exist; if one is not present, this option will initialize one by default.

Some smart cards (for example, the Litronic card) can store only one key pair. If you create a new key pair for such a card, the previous pair is overwritten.

-F

Delete a private key from a key database. Specify the key to delete with the -n argument. Specify the database from which to delete the key with the -d argument.

Use the -k argument to specify explicitly whether to delete a DSA or an RSA key. If you don't use the -k argument, the option looks for an RSA key matching the specified nickname.

When you delete keys, be sure to also remove any certificates associated with those keys from the certificate database, by using -D.

Some smart cards (for example, the Litronic card) do not let you remove a public key you have generated. In such a case, only the private key is deleted from the key pair. You can display the public key with the command certutil -K -h tokenname.

-K

List the keyID of keys in the key database. A keyID is the modulus of the RSA key or the publicValue of the DSA key. IDs are displayed in hexadecimal ("0x" is not shown).

-A

Add an existing certificate to a certificate database. The certificate database should already exist; if one is not present, this option will initialize one by default.

-D

Delete a certificate from the certificate database.

-L

List all the certificates, or display information about a named certificate, in a certificate database.

Use the -h tokenname argument to specify the certificate database on a particular hardware or software token.

-V

Check the validity of a certificate and its attributes.

-M

Modify a certificate's trust attributes using the values of the -t argument.

-H

Display a list of the options and arguments used by the Certificate Database Tool.

-W

Change the password to a key database.

-U

List all available modules or print a single named module.

Arguments

-a

Use ASCII format or allow the use of ASCII format for input or output. This formatting follows RFC #1113. For certificate requests, ASCII output defaults to standard output unless redirected.

-b validity-time

Specify a time at which a certificate is required to be valid. Use when checking certificate validity with the -V option. The format of the validity-time argument is "YYMMDDHHMMSS[+HHMM|-HHMM|Z]". Specifying seconds (SS) is optional. When specifying an explicit time, use "YYMMDDHHMMSSZ". When specifying an offset time, use "YYMMDDHHMMSS+HHMM" or "YYMMDDHHMMSS-HHMM". If this option is not used, the validity check defaults to the current system time.

-c issuer

Identify the certificate of the CA from which a new certificate will derive its authenticity. Use the exact nickname or alias of the CA certificate, or use the CA's email address. Bracket the issuer string with quotation marks if it contains spaces.

-d certdir

Specify a directory containing certificate and key database files. On Unix the Certificate Database Tool defaults to $HOME/.netscape (that is, ~/.netscape). On Windows NT the default is the current directory.

The cert7.db and key3.db database files must reside in the same directory.

-e

Check a certificate's signature during the process of validating a certificate.

-f password-file

Specify a file that will automatically supply the password to include in a certificate or to access a certificate database. This is a plain-text file containing one password. Be sure to prevent unauthorized access to this file.

-g keysize

Set a key size to use when generating new public and private key pairs. The minimum is 256 bits and the maximum is 1024 bits.The default is 1024 bits. Any size between the minimum and maximum is allowed.

-h tokenname

Specify the name of a token to use or act on. Unless specified otherwise the default token is an internal slot (specifically, internal slot 2). This slot can also be explicitly named with the string "internal". An internal slots is a virtual slot maintained in software, rather than a hardware device. Internal slot 2 is used by key and certificate services. Internal slot 1 is used by cryptographic services.

-i cert|cert-request-file

Specify a specific certificate, or a certificate-request file.

-k rsa|dsa|all

Specify the type of a key: RSA, DSA or both. The default value is rsa. By specifying the type of key you can avoid mistakes caused by duplicate nicknames.

-l

Display detailed information when validating a certificate with the -V option.

-m serial-number

Assign a unique serial number to a certificate being created. This operation should be performed by a CA. The default serial number is 0 (zero). Serial numbers are limited to integers.

-n nickname

Specify the nickname of a certificate or key to list, create, add to a database, modify, or validate. Bracket the nickname string with quotation marks if it contains spaces.

-o output-file

Specify the output file name for new certificates or binary certificate requests. Bracket the output-file string with quotation marks if it contains spaces. If this argument is not used the output destination defaults to standard output.

-p phone

Specify a contact telephone number to include in new certificates or certificate requests. Bracket this string with quotation marks if it contains spaces.

-q pqgfile

Read an alternate PQG value from the specified file when generating DSA key pairs. If this argument is not used, the Key Database Tool generates its own PQG value. PQG files are created with a separate DSA utility.

-r

Display a certificate's binary DER encoding when listing information about that certificate with the -L option.

-s subject

Identify a particular certificate owner for new certificates or certificate requests. Bracket this string with quotation marks if it contains spaces. The subject identification format follows RFC #1485.

-t trustargs

Specify the trust attributes to modify in an existing certificate or to apply to a certificate when creating it or adding it to a database.

There are three available trust categories for each certificate, expressed in this order: "SSL, email, object signing". In each category position use zero or more of the following attribute codes:

p    Valid peer
P    Trusted peer (implies p)
c    Valid CA
T    Trusted CA to issue client certificates (implies c)
C    Trusted CA to issue server certificates (SSL only)
      (implies c)
u    Certificate can be used for authentication or signing
w    Send warning (use with other attributes to include a warning when the certificate is used in that context)

The attribute codes for the categories are separated by commas, and the entire set of attributes enclosed by quotation marks. For example:

-t "TCu,Cu,Tuw"

Use the -L option to see a list of the current certificates and trust attributes in a certificate database.

-u certusage

Specify a usage context to apply when validating a certificate with the -V option. The contexts are the following:

C (as an SSL client)
V (as an SSL server)
S (as an email signer)
R (as an email recipient)

-v valid-months

Set the number of months a new certificate will be valid. The validity period begins at the current system time unless an offset is added or subtracted with the -w option. If this argument is not used, the default validity period is three months. When this argument is used, the default three-month period is automatically added to any value given in the valid-month argument. For example, using this option to set a value of 3 would cause 3 to be added to the three-month default, creating a validity period of six months. You can use negative values to reduce the default period. For example, setting a value of -2 would subtract 2 from the default and create a validity period of one month.

-w offset-months

Set an offset from the current system time, in months, for the beginning of a certificate's validity period. Use when creating the certificate or adding it to a database. Express the offset in integers, using a minus sign (-) to indicate a negative offset. If this argument is not used, the validity period begins at the current system time. The length of the validity period is set with the -v argument.

-x

Use the Certificate Database Tool to generate the signature for a certificate being created or added to a database, rather than obtaining a signature from a separate CA.

-y exp

Set an alternate exponent value to use in generating a new RSA public key for the database, instead of the default value of 65537. The available alternate values are 3 and 17.

-z noise-file

Read a seed value from the specified binary file to use in generating a new RSA private and public key pair. This argument makes it possible to use hardware-generated seed values and unnecessary to manually create a value from the keyboard. The minimum file size is 20 bytes.

-1

Add a key usage extension to a certificate that is being created or added to a database. This extension allows a certificate's key to be dedicated to supporting specific operations such as SSL server or object signing. The Certificate Database Tool will prompt you to select a particular usage for the certificate's key. These usages are described under Standard X.509 v3 Certifiate Extensions in Appendix C of Netscape Certificate Management System Installation and Deployment Guide.

-2

Add a basic constraint extension to a certificate that is being created or added to a database. This extension supports the certificate chain verification process. The Certificate Database Tool will prompt you to select the certificate constraint extension. Constraint extensions are described in Standard X.509 v3 Certifiate Extensions in Appendix C of Netscape Certificate Management System Installation and Deployment Guide.

-3

Add an authority keyID extension to a certificate that is being created or added to a database. This extension supports the identification of a particular certificate, from among multiple certificates associated with one subject name, as the correct issuer of a certificate. The Certificate Database Tool will prompt you to select the authority keyID extension. Authority key ID extensions are described under Standard X.509 v3 Certifiate Extensions in Appendix C of Netscape Certificate Management System Installation and Deployment Guide.

-4

Add a CRL distribution point extension to a certificate that is being created or added to a database. This extension identifies the URL of a certificate's associated certificate revocation list (CRL). The Certificate Database Tool prompts you to enter the URL. CRL distribution point extensions are described in Standard X.509 v3 Certifiate Extensions in Appendix C of Netscape Certificate Management System Installation and Deployment Guide.

-5

Add a Netscape certificate type extension to a certificate that is being created or added to the database. Netscape certificate type extensions are described in Standard X.509 v3 Certifiate Extensions in Appendix C of Netscape Certificate Management System Installation and Deployment Guide.

-6

Add an extended key usage extension to a certificate that is being created or added to the database. Extended key usage extensions are described in Standard X.509 v3 Certifiate Extensions in Appendix C of Netscape Certificate Management System Installation and Deployment Guide.