How to Retrieve the key Only with OpenSSL Command

Learn how to efficiently extract just the `key` value using OpenSSL commands in the Linux environment. This guide provides clear steps to streamline your data.
---
This video is based on the question https://stackoverflow.com/q/72085079/ asked by the user 'titanic' ( https://stackoverflow.com/u/17492541/ ) and on the answer https://stackoverflow.com/a/72085115/ provided by the user 'philiptomk' ( https://stackoverflow.com/u/18897256/ ) at 'Stack Overflow' website. Thanks to these great users and Stackexchange community for their contributions.

Visit these links for original content and any more details, such as alternate solutions, latest updates/developments on topic, comments, revision history etc. For example, the original title of the Question was: How to get key only with openssl command?

Also, Content (except music) licensed under CC BY-SA https://meta.stackexchange.com/help/licensing
The original Question post is licensed under the 'CC BY-SA 4.0' ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/ ) license, and the original Answer post is licensed under the 'CC BY-SA 4.0' ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/ ) license.

If anything seems off to you, please feel free to write me at vlogize [AT] gmail [DOT] com.
---
How to Retrieve the key Only with OpenSSL Command: A Step-by-Step Guide

If you're working with encryption in Linux, you might find yourself using the OpenSSL command often. One common task is extracting the key value from OpenSSL's output. This can be particularly useful when setting up encrypted connections or securely storing keys. In this guide, we'll walk through how to extract the key only from the OpenSSL command output in a helpful and straightforward manner.

Understanding the OpenSSL Command

First, let’s explore the command you're likely using:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

Breakdown of the Command:

enc: This tells OpenSSL to use its encoding capabilities.

-aes-128-cbc: This specifies the encryption cipher using the AES algorithm in CBC mode.

-k secret: Here, "secret" is used as a passphrase to derive keys.

-P: This flag prints the key and IV (Initialization Vector) values.

-md sha1: This specifies the hash function to use, in this case, SHA-1.

Sample Output:

You will likely receive an output resembling the following:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

In this output, you can see the salt, key, and iv values generated by the command.

How to Get Just the Key Value

To make your work more efficient, you might want to extract just the key value. Here’s how you can do it using basic command-line tools: grep and sed.

Steps to Extract the Key:

Pipe the Output: You need to execute the OpenSSL command and pipe its output to grep.

Filter the Key Line: Use grep to find the line starting with "key".

Clean Up the Output: Finally, use sed to remove everything except the key itself.

Example Command:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

Explanation of Each Part:

grep key: This command filters the output, showing only the line containing the key.

sed 's/.*=//': This sed command removes all characters before and including the = sign, leaving only the key itself.

Final Result:

The end output will simply be the key value, such as:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

Conclusion

Extracting only the key from an OpenSSL command can be easily accomplished with a combination of grep and sed. This simple technique not only streamlines your workflow but also helps you manage encryption keys efficiently and securely.

Next time you run your OpenSSL command, don’t forget this approach to retrieve just the information you need with minimal fuss!

Feel free to share your own tips or ask questions in the comments below!

Видео How to Retrieve the key Only with OpenSSL Command канала vlogize