---
name: "nvme-rpmb-program-key"
section: "1"
platform: "linux"
package: "nvme-cli"
version: "3.2-1"
release: "Arch Linux 2026-11-01"
platforms: ["linux"]
url: "https://new.carta.tech/nvme-rpmb-program-key"
---

# nvme-rpmb-program-key(1)

Program the RPMB authentication key

## NAME

nvme-rpmb-program-key - Program the RPMB authentication key

## SYNOPSIS

```
nvme [<global-options>] rpmb program-key <device>
                        [--key=<key> | -k <key>]
                        [--keyfile=<key-file> | -g <key-file>]
                        [--target=<target-id> | -t <target-id>]
```

## DESCRIPTION

Programs the given authentication key to the specified RPMB target. As per the RPMB specification, this is a one time action per target which cannot be undone.

The \<device\> parameter is mandatory and an NVMe character device (ex: /dev/nvme0) must be specified.

## OPTIONS

- \-t \<target\>, --target=\<target\>

  RPMB target id. This should be one of the supported RPMB targets as reported by *nvme rpmb info*. If nothing is given, the default of 0 is used as the RPMB target.

- \-k \<key\>, --key=\<key\>, -g \<key-file\>, --keyfile=\<key-file\>

  Authentication key to program. The key can be specified on the command line using --key or -k, or read from a file using --keyfile or -g. The key size must be between 1 and 223 bytes.

## GLOBAL OPTIONS

The following options are defined at the top-level nvme command and are available to this subcommand:

- \--dry-run

  Print the command that would be executed, but do not actually execute it.

- \--no-ioctl-probing

  Disable probing for 64-bit IOCTL support.

- \--no-retries

  Disable retry logic on transient errors.

- \-o \<fmt\>, --output-format=\<fmt\>

  Set the reporting format to *normal*, *tabular, 'json*, or *binary*. Only one output format may be used at a time.

- \--output-format-version=\<version\>

  Select the output format version. Version *1* uses the original field naming, while version *2* (default) provides more consistent and script-friendly field names. Other versions are rejected.

- \--quiet

  Suppress informational messages. Errors are still reported, and --quiet cancels any --verbose for the library log level.

- \--set-options=\<key=value\>\[,\<key=value\>...\]

  Set libnvme library options for this invocation. Supported keys are *force-4k*, *mi-probe-enabled*, *test-base-dir* and *test-sysfs-dir*.

- \--timeout=\<ms\>

  Set the timeout for the command in milliseconds. *infinite* or *-1* waits without a time limit (0xffffffff).

- \-v, --verbose

  Increase the level of detail in the output. May be specified multiple times to further increase verbosity.

These options can also be set as machine-wide defaults in [nvme-cli.conf(5)](/nvme-cli.conf/5.md). A command-line flag always overrides the file.

## EXAMPLES

• Program *SecretKey* as authentication key for target 1

```
# nvme rpmb program-key /dev/nvme0 --key='SecretKey' --target=1
```

## NVME

Part of the nvme-user suite