pki(1) PKI Command-Line Interface (CLI) Tools pki(1)
NAME
pki - Command-Line Interface Tool for accessing Certificate System Servers.
SYNOPSIS
pki [CLI options] <command> [command arguments]
DESCRIPTION
pki provides a command-line interface to Certificate System Servers, allowing administrators to manage certificates, groups, keys, security
domains, and users.
OPTIONS
-c <database password>
Specifies the certificate database password.
-d <database>
Specifies the certificate database to be used.
-h <hostname>
Specifies the hostname (default: localhost).
--help Prints additional help information.
-n <nickname>
Specifies the certificate nickname.
-P <protocol>
Specifies the protocol (default: http).
-p <port>
Specifies the port (default: 8080).
-t <type>
Specifies the type of subsystem (default: ca).
-U <uri>
Specifies the server URI.
-u <username>
Specifies the username.
-v Displays verbose information.
--version
Displays 'pki' CLI version information.
-w <password>
Specifies the user password.
OPERATIONS
To view available commands and options, simply type pki. Some commands have sub-commands. To view the sub-commands, type pki <command>.
To view each command's usage, type pki <command> --help.
Connection
By default, pki connects to the non-secure (HTTP) port of a CA server running on localhost on port 8080. To specify a different server
location, use the appropriate arguements to give a different host (-h), port (-p), connection protocol (-P), or subsystem type (-t).
pki -P <protocol> -h <hostname> -p <port> -t <subsystem> <command>
Alternatively, the connection parameters can be specified as a URL:
pki -U <subsystem URL> <command>
where the URL is of the format https://<hostname>:<port>/<subsystem>.
Authentication
Some commands require authentication. These are commands that are restricted to particular sets of users (such as agents or admins) or
those operations involving certificate profiles that require authentication.
To execute a command without authentication:
pki <command>
To authenticate with a username and password:
pki -u <username> -w <password> <command>
To authenticate with a client certificate:
pki -d <certificate database directory> -c <certificate database password> -n <certificate nickname> <command>
Viewing Certificates
Certificates can be viewed anonymously.
To list all certificates:
pki cert-find
It is also possible to search for and list specific certificates by adding a search filter. Use pki cert-find --help to see options. For
example, to search based on issuance date:
pki cert-find --issuedOnFrom 2012-06-15
To view a particular certificate:
pki cert-show <certificate ID>
Revoking Certificates
Revoking, holding, or releasing a certificate must be executed as an agent user. To revoke a certificate:
pki <agent authentication> cert-revoke <certificate ID>
To place a certificate on hold temporarily:
pki <agent authentication> cert-hold <certificate ID>
To release a certificate that has been placed on hold:
pki <agent authentication> cert-release-hold <certificate ID>
Certificate Requests
To request a certificate, first generate a certificate request in PKCS #10 or CRMF, and store this request in an XML file. For example:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="yes"?>
<CertEnrollmentRequest>
<profileId>caUserCert</profileId>
<isRenewal>false</isRenewal>
<Input>
<InputAttrs>
<InputAttr name="cert_request_type">crmf</InputAttr>
<InputAttr name="cert_request">MIIBozCCAZ8wggEFA ...
CSR in Base 64 ... </InputAttr>
</InputAttrs>
<inputId>KeyGenInput</inputId>
</Input>
<Input>
<InputAttrs>
<InputAttr name="sn_uid">testuser</InputAttr>
<InputAttr name="sn_e">testuser@example.com</InputAttr>
<InputAttr name="sn_c">US</InputAttr>
<InputAttr name="sn_ou">Engineering</InputAttr>
<InputAttr name="sn_cn">Test User</InputAttr>
<InputAttr name="sn_o">Example</InputAttr>
</InputAttrs>
<inputId>SubjectNameInput</inputId>
</Input>
<Input>
<InputAttrs>
<InputAttr name="requestor_name">admin</InputAttr>
<InputAttr name="requestor_email">admin@example.com
</InputAttr>
<InputAttr name="requestor_phone">123-456-7890</InputAttr>
</InputAttrs>
<inputId>SubmitterInfoInput</inputId>
</Input>
</CertEnrollmentRequest>
Then submit the request for review. This can be done without authentication.
pki cert-request-submit <request file>
Then, an agent needs to review the request by running the following command:
pki <agent authentication> cert-request-review <request ID> --output <request review file>
The request, as well as the defaults and constraints of the enrollment profile, will be stored in the output file. The agent can examine
the file and override any values if necessary. To process the request, enter the appropriate action when prompted:
Action (approve/reject/cancel/update/validate/assign/unassign):
Alternatively, the agent can process the request in a single step with the following command:
pki <agent authentication> cert-request-review <request ID> --action <action>
Group Management Commands
All group commands must be executed as an administrator. Some representative commands are shown below. Type pki group to get a list of
additional commands.
To list groups, use pki group-find. It is possible to select the page size to limit the number of entries returned. To list all groups:
pki <admin authentication> group-find
To view a particular group:
pki <admin authentication> group-show <group ID>
To add a group:
pki <admin authentication> group-add <group ID> --description description
To delete a group:
pki <admin authentication> group-del <group ID>
To add a user to a group:
pki <admin authentication> group-member-add <group ID> <Member ID>
To delete a user from a group:
pki <admin authentication> group-member-del <group ID> <Member ID>
Security Domain Commands
pki can be used to access certain information from the security domain.
To get an installation token (used when installing a new subsystem within a security domain):
pki <security domain admin authentication> securitydomain-get-install-token --hostname <hostname> --subsystem <subsystem>
To show the contents of the security domain:
pki <security domain admin authentication> securitydomain-show
User Management Commands
All user commands must be executed as an administrator. Some representative commands are shown below. Type pki user to get a list of addi-
tional commands.
To list users, use pki user-find. It is possible to select the page size to limit the size of the results. To list all users:
pki <admin authentication> user-find
To view a particular user:
pki <admin authentication> user-show <user ID>
To add a user:
pki <admin authentication> user-add <user ID> --fullName <full name>
To delete a user:
pki <admin authentication> user-del <user ID>
FILES
/usr/bin/pki
AUTHORS
Ade Lee <alee@redhat.com>, Endi Dewata <edewata@redhat.com>, and Matthew Harmsen <mharmsen@redhat.com>. pki was written by the Dogtag
project.
COPYRIGHT
Copyright (c) 2012 Red Hat, Inc. This is licensed under the GNU General Public License, version 2 (GPLv2). A copy of this license is avail-
able at http://www.gnu.org/licenses/old-licenses/gpl-2.0.txt.
version 1.0 December 13, 2012 pki(1)