DNSSEC-KEYFROMLABEL(1) BIND 9 DNSSEC-KEYFROMLABEL(1)
NAME
dnssec-keyfromlabel - DNSSEC key generation tool
SYNOPSIS
dnssec-keyfromlabel {-l label} [-3] [-a algorithm] [-A date/offset] [-c
class] [-D date/offset] [-D sync date/offset] [-E engine] [-f flag] [-G]
[-I date/offset] [-i interval] [-k] [-K directory] [-L ttl] [-M
tag_min:tag_max] [-n nametype] [-P date/offset] [-P sync date/offset]
[-p protocol] [-R date/offset] [-S key] [-t type] [-v level] [-V] [-y]
{name}
DESCRIPTION
dnssec-keyfromlabel generates a pair of key files that reference a key
object stored in a cryptographic hardware service module (HSM). The pri-
vate key file can be used for DNSSEC signing of zone data as if it were
a conventional signing key created by dnssec-keygen, but the key mater-
ial is stored within the HSM and the actual signing takes place there.
The name of the key is specified on the command line. This must match
the name of the zone for which the key is being generated.
OPTIONS
-a algorithm
This option selects the cryptographic algorithm. The value of al-
gorithm must be one of RSASHA1 (deprecated), NSEC3RSASHA1 (depre-
cated), RSASHA256, RSASHA512, ECDSAP256SHA256, ECDSAP384SHA384,
ED25519, or ED448.
These values are case-insensitive. In some cases, abbreviations
are supported, such as ECDSA256 for ECDSAP256SHA256 and ECDSA384
for ECDSAP384SHA384. If RSASHA1 (deprecated) is specified along
with the -3 option, then NSEC3RSASHA1 (deprecated) is used in-
stead.
This option is mandatory except when using the -S option, which
copies the algorithm from the predecessory key.
Changed in version 9.12.0: The default value RSASHA1 (deprecated)
for newly generated keys was removed.
-3 This option uses an NSEC3-capable algorithm to generate a DNSSEC
key. If this option is used with an algorithm that has both NSEC
and NSEC3 versions, then the NSEC3 version is used; for example,
dnssec-keygen -3a RSASHA1 specifies the NSEC3RSASHA1 (deprecated)
algorithm.
-E engine
This option specifies the cryptographic hardware to use.
When BIND 9 is built with OpenSSL, this needs to be set to the
OpenSSL engine identifier that drives the cryptographic accelera-
tor or hardware service module (usually pkcs11).
-l label
This option specifies the label for a key pair in the crypto
hardware.
When BIND 9 is built with OpenSSL-based PKCS#11 support, the la-
bel is an arbitrary string that identifies a particular key. It
may be preceded by an optional OpenSSL engine name, followed by a
colon, as in pkcs11:keylabel.
-n nametype
This option specifies the owner type of the key. The value of
nametype must either be ZONE (for a DNSSEC zone key
(KEY/DNSKEY)), HOST or ENTITY (for a key associated with a host
(KEY)), USER (for a key associated with a user (KEY)), or OTHER
(DNSKEY). These values are case-insensitive.
-C This option enables compatibility mode, which generates an
old-style key, without any metadata. By default, dnssec-keyfrom-
label includes the key's creation date in the metadata stored
with the private key; other dates may be set there as well, in-
cluding publication date, activation date, etc. Keys that include
this data may be incompatible with older versions of BIND; the -C
option suppresses them.
-c class
This option indicates that the DNS record containing the key
should have the specified class. If not specified, class IN is
used.
-f flag
This option sets the specified flag in the flag field of the
KEY/DNSKEY record. The only recognized flags are KSK (Key-Sign-
ing Key) and REVOKE.
-G This option generates a key, but does not publish it or sign with
it. This option is incompatible with -P and -A.
-h This option prints a short summary of the options and arguments
to dnssec-keyfromlabel.
-K directory
This option sets the directory in which the key files are to be
written.
-k This option generates KEY records rather than DNSKEY records.
-L ttl This option sets the default TTL to use for this key when it is
converted into a DNSKEY RR. This is the TTL used when the key is
imported into a zone, unless there was already a DNSKEY RRset in
place, in which case the existing TTL would take precedence. Set-
ting the default TTL to 0 or none removes it.
-M tag_min:tag_max
This option sets the range of key tag values that dnssec-keyfrom-
label will accept. If the key tag of the new key or the key tag
of the revoked version of the new key is outside this range, the
new key will be rejected. This is designed to be used when gen-
erating keys in a multi-signer scenario, where each operator is
given a range of key tags to prevent collisions among different
operators. The valid values for tag_min and tag_max are
[0..65535]. The default allows all key tag values to be ac-
cepted.
-p protocol
This option sets the protocol value for the key. The protocol is
a number between 0 and 255. The default is 3 (DNSSEC). Other pos-
sible values for this argument are listed in ]8;;https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc2535.html\RFC 2535]8;;\ and its
successors.
-S key This option generates a key as an explicit successor to an exist-
ing key. The name, algorithm, size, and type of the key are set
to match the predecessor. The activation date of the new key is
set to the inactivation date of the existing one. The publication
date is set to the activation date minus the prepublication in-
terval, which defaults to 30 days.
-t type
This option indicates the type of the key. type must be one of
AUTHCONF, NOAUTHCONF, NOAUTH, or NOCONF. The default is AUTHCONF.
AUTH refers to the ability to authenticate data, and CONF to the
ability to encrypt data.
-v level
This option sets the debugging level.
-V This option prints version information.
-y This option allows DNSSEC key files to be generated even if the
key ID would collide with that of an existing key, in the event
of either key being revoked. (This is only safe to enable if ]8;;https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc5011.html\RFC
5011]8;;\ trust anchor maintenance is not used with either of the keys
involved.)
TIMING OPTIONS
Dates can be expressed in the format YYYYMMDD or YYYYMMDDHHMMSS (which
is the format used inside key files), or 'Day Mon DD HH:MM:SS YYYY' (as
printed by dnssec-settime -p), or UNIX epoch time (as printed by
dnssec-settime -up), or the literal now.
The argument can be followed by + or - and an offset from the given
time. The literal now can be omitted before an offset. The offset can be
followed by one of the suffixes y, mo, w, d, h, or mi, so that it is
computed in years (defined as 365 24-hour days, ignoring leap years),
months (defined as 30 24-hour days), weeks, days, hours, or minutes, re-
spectively. Without a suffix, the offset is computed in seconds.
To explicitly prevent a date from being set, use none, never, or unset.
All these formats are case-insensitive.
-P date/offset
This option sets the date on which a key is to be published to
the zone. After that date, the key is included in the zone but is
not used to sign it. If not set, and if the -G option has not
been used, the default is the current date.
sync date/offset
This option sets the date on which CDS and CDNSKEY records
that match this key are to be published to the zone.
-A date/offset
This option sets the date on which the key is to be activated.
After that date, the key is included in the zone and used to sign
it. If not set, and if the -G option has not been used, the de-
fault is the current date.
-R date/offset
This option sets the date on which the key is to be revoked. Af-
ter that date, the key is flagged as revoked. It is included in
the zone and is used to sign it.
-I date/offset
This option sets the date on which the key is to be retired. Af-
ter that date, the key is still included in the zone, but it is
not used to sign it.
-D date/offset
This option sets the date on which the key is to be deleted. Af-
ter that date, the key is no longer included in the zone. (How-
ever, it may remain in the key repository.)
sync date/offset
This option sets the date on which the CDS and CDNSKEY
records that match this key are to be deleted.
-i interval
This option sets the prepublication interval for a key. If set,
then the publication and activation dates must be separated by at
least this much time. If the activation date is specified but the
publication date is not, the publication date defaults to this
much time before the activation date; conversely, if the publica-
tion date is specified but not the activation date, activation is
set to this much time after publication.
If the key is being created as an explicit successor to another
key, then the default prepublication interval is 30 days; other-
wise it is zero.
As with date offsets, if the argument is followed by one of the
suffixes y, mo, w, d, h, or mi, the interval is measured in
years, months, weeks, days, hours, or minutes, respectively.
Without a suffix, the interval is measured in seconds.
GENERATED KEY FILES
When dnssec-keyfromlabel completes successfully, it prints a string of
the form Knnnn.+aaa+iiiii to the standard output. This is an identifica-
tion string for the key files it has generated.
• nnnn is the key name.
• aaa is the numeric representation of the algorithm.
• iiiii is the key identifier (or footprint).
dnssec-keyfromlabel creates two files, with names based on the printed
string. Knnnn.+aaa+iiiii.key contains the public key, and Knnnn.+aaa+ii-
iii.private contains the private key.
The .key file contains a DNS KEY record that can be inserted into a zone
file (directly or with an $INCLUDE statement).
The .private file contains algorithm-specific fields. For obvious secu-
rity reasons, this file does not have general read permission.
SEE ALSO
dnssec-keygen(8), dnssec-signzone(8), BIND 9 Administrator Reference
Manual, ]8;;https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc4034.html\RFC 4034]8;;\, ]8;;https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc7512.html\RFC 7512]8;;\.
AUTHOR
Internet Systems Consortium
COPYRIGHT
2025, Internet Systems Consortium
9.20.15-1~deb13u1-Debian 2025-10-18 DNSSEC-KEYFROMLABEL(1)
Generated by dwww version 1.16 on Tue Dec 16 06:05:15 CET 2025.