---
name: "pkcs15-crypt"
section: "1"
platform: "linux"
package: "opensc"
version: "0.27.1-2"
release: "Arch Linux 2026-11-01"
platforms: ["linux"]
url: "https://new.carta.tech/pkcs15-crypt"
---

# pkcs15-crypt(1)

perform crypto operations using PKCS#15 smart cards

## NAME

pkcs15-crypt - perform crypto operations using PKCS#15 smart cards

## SYNOPSIS

**pkcs15-crypt** \[*OPTIONS*\]

## DESCRIPTION

The **pkcs15-crypt** utility can be used from the command line to perform cryptographic operations such as computing digital signatures or decrypting data, using keys stored on a PKCS#15 compliant smart card.

## OPTIONS

**--version**,

Print the OpenSC package release version.

- **--aid** *aid*

  Specify the AID of the on-card PKCS#15 application to bind to. The *aid* must be in hexadecimal form.

- **--decipher**, **-c**

  Decrypt the contents of the file specified by the **--input** option. The result of the decryption operation is written to the file specified by the **--output** option. If this option is not given, the decrypted data is printed to standard output, displaying non-printable characters using their hex notation xNN (see also **--raw**).

- **--input** *file*, **-i** *file*

  Specifies the input file to use. Defaults to stdin if not specified.

- **--key** *id*, **-k** *id*

  Selects the ID of the key to use.

- **--output** *file*, **-o** *file*

  Any output will be sent to the specified file. Defaults to stdout if not specified.

- **--pin** *pin*, **-p** *pin*

  When the cryptographic operation requires a PIN to access the key, **pkcs15-crypt** will prompt the user for the PIN on the terminal. Using this option allows you to specify the PIN on the command line.

  Note that on most operating systems, the command line of a process can be displayed by any user using the [ps(1)](/ps/1.md) command. It is therefore a security risk to specify secret information such as PINs on the command line. If you specify '-' as PIN, it will be read from STDIN.

- **--pkcs1**

  By default, **pkcs15-crypt** assumes that input data has been padded to the correct length (i.e. when computing an RSA signature using a 1024 bit key, the input must be padded to 128 bytes to match the modulus length). When giving the **--pkcs1** option, however, **pkcs15-crypt** will perform the required padding using the algorithm outlined in the PKCS #1 standard version 1.5.

- **--raw**, **-R**

  Outputs raw 8 bit data.

- **--reader** *arg*, **-r** *arg*

  Number of the reader to use. By default, the first reader with a present card is used. If *arg* is an ATR, the reader with a matching card will be chosen.

- **--md5** **--sha-1** **--sha-224** **--sha-256** **--sha-384** **--sha-512**

  These options tell **pkcs15-crypt** that the input file is the result of the specified hash operation. By default, an MD5 hash is expected. Again, the data must be in binary representation.

- **--sign**, **-s**

  Perform digital signature operation on the data read from a file specified using the **--input** option. By default, the contents of the file are assumed to be the result of an MD5 hash operation. Note that **pkcs15-crypt** expects the data in binary representation, not ASCII.

  The digital signature is stored, in binary representation, in the file specified by the **--output** option. If this option is not given, the signature is printed on standard output, displaying non-printable characters using their hex notation x*NN* (see also **--raw**).

- **--signature-format**, **--f**

  When signing with ECDSA key this option indicates to **pkcs15-crypt** the signature output format. Possible values are 'rs'(default) -- two concatenated integers (PKCS#11), 'sequence' or 'openssl' -- DER encoded sequence of two integers (OpenSSL).

- **--wait**, **-w**

  Causes **pkcs15-crypt** to wait for a card insertion.

- **--verbose**, **-v**

  Causes **pkcs15-crypt** to be more verbose. Specify this flag several times to enable debug output in the OpenSC library.

## SEE ALSO

[**pkcs15-init**(1)](/pkcs15-init/1.md), [**pkcs15-tool**(1)](/pkcs15-tool/1.md)

## AUTHORS

**pkcs15-crypt** was written by Juha Yrjölä \<juha.yrjola@iki.fi\>.