---
name: "pki---issue"
section: "1"
platform: "linux"
package: "strongswan"
version: "6.1.0-2"
release: "Arch Linux 2026-11-01"
platforms: ["linux"]
url: "https://new.carta.tech/pki---issue"
---

# pki---issue(1)

Issue a certificate using a CA certificate and key

## NAME

pki --issue - Issue a certificate using a CA certificate and key

## SYNOPSIS

**pki --issue** \[**--in** *file*\] \[**--type** *type*\] **--cakey** *file***\|--cakeyid** *hex* **--cacert** *file* \[**--dn** *subject-dn*\] \[**--san** *subjectAltName*\] \[**--lifetime** *days*\] \[**--not-before** *datetime*\] \[**--not-after** *datetime*\] \[**--serial** *hex*\] \[**--flag** *flag*\] \[**--digest** *digest*\] \[**--rsa-padding** *padding*\] \[**--ca**\] \[**--crl** *uri \[**--crlissuer** issuer\]*\] \[**--ocsp** *uri*\] \[**--pathlen** *len*\] \[**--addrblock** *block*\] \[**--nc-permitted** *name*\] \[**--nc-excluded** *name*\] \[**--critical** *oid*\] \[**--policy-mapping** *mapping*\] \[**--policy-explicit** *len*\] \[**--policy-inhibit** *len*\] \[**--policy-any** *len*\] \[**--cert-policy** *oid \[**--cps-uri** uri\] \[**--user-notice** text\]*\] \[**--outform** *encoding*\] \[**--debug** *level*\]

**pki --issue** **--options** *file*

**pki --issue** **-h** \| **--help**

## DESCRIPTION

This sub-command of [**pki**(1)](/pki/1.md) is used to issue a certificate using a CA certificate and private key.

## OPTIONS

- **-h, --help**

  Print usage information with a summary of the available options.

- **-v, --debug** *level*

  Set debug level, default: 1.

- **-+, --options** *file*

  Read command line options from *file*.

- **-i, --in** *file*

  Public key or PKCS#10 certificate request file to issue. If not given the key/request is read from *STDIN*.

- **-t, --type** *type*

  Type of the input. One of *pub* (public key), *priv* (private key), *rsa* (RSA private key), *ecdsa* (ECDSA private key), *ed25519* (Ed25519 private key), *ed448* (Ed448 private key) or *pkcs10* (PKCS#10 certificate request), defaults to *pub*.

- **-k, --cakey** *file*

  CA private key file. Either this or **--cakeyid** is required.

- **-x, --cakeyid** *hex*

  Smartcard or TPM CA private key object handle in hex format with an optional 0x prefix. Either this or **--cakey** is required.

- **-c, --cacert** *file*

  CA certificate file. Required.

- **-d, --dn** *subject-dn*

  Subject distinguished name (DN) of the issued certificate.

- **-a, --san** *subjectAltName*

  subjectAltName extension to include in certificate. Can be used multiple times.

- **-l, --lifetime** *days*

  Days the certificate is valid, default: 1095. Ignored if both an absolute start and end time are given.

- **-F, --not-before** *datetime*

  Absolute time when the validity of the certificate begins. The datetime format is defined by the **--dateform** option.

- **-T, --not-after** *datetime*

  Absolute time when the validity of the certificate ends. The datetime format is defined by the **--dateform** option.

- **-D, --dateform** *form*

  [strptime(3)](/strptime/3.md) format for the **--not-before** and **--not-after** options, default: **%d.%m.%y %T**

- **-s, --serial** *hex*

  Serial number in hex. It is randomly allocated by default.

- **-e, --flag** *flag*

  Add extendedKeyUsage flag. One of *serverAuth*, *clientAuth*, *crlSign*, *ocspSigning* or *msSmartcardLogon*. Can be used multiple times. Without modifiers, this overrides flags from PKCS#10 certificate requests. Prefixing a flag with *+* adds it to the set of flags read from the request, prefixing it with *-* removes it from that set.

- **-g, --digest** *digest*

  Digest to use for signature creation. One of *md5*, *sha1*, *sha224*, *sha256*, *sha384*, or *sha512*.  The default is determined based on the type and size of the signature key.

- **-R, --rsa-padding** *padding*

  Padding to use for RSA signatures. Either *pkcs1* or *pss*, defaults to *pkcs1*.

- **-f, --outform** *encoding*

  Encoding of the created certificate file. Either *der* (ASN.1 DER) or *pem* (Base64 PEM), defaults to *der*.

- **-b, --ca**

  Include CA basicConstraint extension in certificate.

- **-u, --crl** *uri*

  CRL distribution point URI to include in certificate. Can be used multiple times.

- **-I, --crlissuer** *issuer*

  Optional CRL issuer for the CRL at the preceding distribution point.

- **-o, --ocsp** *uri*

  OCSP AuthorityInfoAccess URI to include in certificate. Can be used multiple times.

- **-p, --pathlen** *len*

  Set path length constraint.

- **-B, --addrblock** *block*

  RFC 3779 address block to include in certificate. *block* is either a CIDR subnet (such as *10.0.0.0/8*) or an arbitrary address range (*192.168.1.7-192.168.1.13*). Can be repeated to include multiple blocks. Please note that the supplied blocks are included in the certificate as is, so for standards compliance, multiple blocks must be supplied in correct order and adjacent blocks must be combined. Refer to RFC 3779 for details.

- **-n, --nc-permitted** *name*

  Add permitted NameConstraint extension to certificate. For DNS or email constraints, the identity type is not always detectable by the given name. Use the **dns:** or **email:** prefix to force a constraint type.

- **-N, --nc-excluded** *name*

  Add excluded NameConstraint extension to certificate. For DNS or email constraints, the identity type is not always detectable by the given name. Use the **dns:** or **email:** prefix to force a constraint type.

- **-X, --critical** *oid*

  Add a critical extension with the given OID.

- **-M, --policy-mapping** *issuer-oid:subject-oid*

  Add policyMapping from issuer to subject OID.

- **-E, --policy-explicit** *len*

  Add requireExplicitPolicy constraint.

- **-H, --policy-inhibit** *len*

  Add inhibitPolicyMapping constraint.

- **-A, --policy-any** *len*

  Add inhibitAnyPolicy constraint.

### Certificate Policy

Multiple certificatePolicy extensions can be added. Each with the following information:

- **-P, --cert-policy** *oid*

  OID to include in certificatePolicy extension. Required.

- **-C, --cps-uri** *uri*

  Certification Practice statement URI for certificatePolicy.

- **-U, --user-notice** *text*

  User notice for certificatePolicy.

## EXAMPLES

To save repetitive typing, command line options can be stored in files. Lets assume *pki.opt* contains the following contents:

```
  --cacert ca_cert.der --cakey ca_key.der --digest sha256
  --flag serverAuth --lifetime 1460 --type pkcs10
```

Then the following command can be used to issue a certificate based on a given PKCS#10 certificate request and the options above:

```
  pki --issue --options pki.opt --in req.der > cert.der
```

## SEE ALSO

[**pki**(1)](/pki/1.md)