openssl_privatekey – Generate OpenSSL private keys¶
Synopsis¶
- This module allows one to (re)generate OpenSSL private keys.
- One can generate RSA, DSA, ECC or EdDSA private keys.
- Keys are generated in PEM format.
- Please note that the module regenerates private keys if they don’t match the module’s options. In particular, if you provide another passphrase (or specify none), change the keysize, etc., the private key will be regenerated. If you are concerned that this could overwrite your private key, consider using the backup option.
- The module can use the cryptography Python library, or the pyOpenSSL Python library. By default, it tries to detect which one is available. This can be overridden with the select_crypto_backend option. Please note that the PyOpenSSL backend was deprecated in Ansible 2.9 and will be removed in Ansible 2.13.”
Requirements¶
The below requirements are needed on the host that executes this module.
- Either cryptography >= 1.2.3 (older versions might work as well)
- Or pyOpenSSL
Parameters¶
| Parameter | Choices/Defaults | Comments | 
|---|---|---|
| attributes 
                    string
                                                                 | The attributes the resulting file or directory should have. To get supported flags look at the man page for chattr on the target system. This string should contain the attributes in the same order as the one displayed by lsattr. The  =operator is assumed as default, otherwise+or-operators need to be included in the string.aliases: attr | |
| backup 
                    boolean
                                                                 added in 2.8 | 
 | Create a backup file including a timestamp so you can get the original private key back if you overwrote it with a new one by accident. | 
| cipher 
                    string
                                                                 added in 2.4 | The cipher to encrypt the private key. (Valid values can be found by running `openssl list -cipher-algorithms` or `openssl list-cipher-algorithms`, depending on your OpenSSL version.) When using the  cryptographybackend, useauto. | |
| curve 
                    string
                                                                 added in 2.8 | 
 | Note that not all curves are supported by all versions of  cryptography.For maximal interoperability,  secp384r1orsecp256r1should be used.We use the curve names as defined in the IANA registry for TLS. | 
| force 
                    boolean
                                                                 | 
 | Should the key be regenerated even if it already exists. | 
| group 
                    string
                                                                 | Name of the group that should own the file/directory, as would be fed to chown. | |
| mode 
                    string
                                                                 | The permissions the resulting file or directory should have. For those used to /usr/bin/chmod remember that modes are actually octal numbers. You must either add a leading zero so that Ansible's YAML parser knows it is an octal number (like  0644or01777) or quote it (like'644'or'1777') so Ansible receives a string and can do its own conversion from string into number.Giving Ansible a number without following one of these rules will end up with a decimal number which will have unexpected results. As of Ansible 1.8, the mode may be specified as a symbolic mode (for example,  u+rwxoru=rw,g=r,o=r).As of Ansible 2.6, the mode may also be the special string  preserve.When set to  preservethe file will be given the same permissions as the source file. | |
| owner 
                    string
                                                                 | Name of the user that should own the file/directory, as would be fed to chown. | |
| passphrase 
                    string
                                                                 added in 2.4 | The passphrase for the private key. | |
| path 
                    path
                                             / required                     | Name of the file in which the generated TLS/SSL private key will be written. It will have 0600 mode. | |
| select_crypto_backend 
                    string
                                                                 added in 2.8 | 
 | Determines which crypto backend to use. The default choice is  auto, which tries to usecryptographyif available, and falls back topyopenssl.If set to  pyopenssl, will try to use the pyOpenSSL library.If set to  cryptography, will try to use the cryptography library.Please note that the  pyopensslbackend has been deprecated in Ansible 2.9, and will be removed in Ansible 2.13. From that point on, only thecryptographybackend will be available. | 
| selevel 
                    string
                                                                 | Default: "s0" | The level part of the SELinux file context. This is the MLS/MCS attribute, sometimes known as the  range.When set to  _default, it will use thelevelportion of the policy if available. | 
| serole 
                    string
                                                                 | The role part of the SELinux file context. When set to  _default, it will use theroleportion of the policy if available. | |
| setype 
                    string
                                                                 | The type part of the SELinux file context. When set to  _default, it will use thetypeportion of the policy if available. | |
| seuser 
                    string
                                                                 | The user part of the SELinux file context. By default it uses the  systempolicy, where applicable.When set to  _default, it will use theuserportion of the policy if available. | |
| size 
                    integer
                                                                 | Default: 4096 | Size (in bits) of the TLS/SSL key to generate. | 
| state 
                    string
                                                                 | 
 | Whether the private key should exist or not, taking action if the state is different from what is stated. | 
| type 
                    string
                                                                 | 
 | The algorithm used to generate the TLS/SSL private key. Note that  ECC,X25519,X448,Ed25519andEd448require thecryptographybackend.X25519needs cryptography 2.5 or newer, whileX448,Ed25519andEd448require cryptography 2.6 or newer. ForECC, the minimal cryptography version required depends on the curve option. | 
| unsafe_writes 
                    boolean
                                                                 | 
 | Influence when to use atomic operation to prevent data corruption or inconsistent reads from the target file. By default this module uses atomic operations to prevent data corruption or inconsistent reads from the target files, but sometimes systems are configured or just broken in ways that prevent this. One example is docker mounted files, which cannot be updated atomically from inside the container and can only be written in an unsafe manner. This option allows Ansible to fall back to unsafe methods of updating files when atomic operations fail (however, it doesn't force Ansible to perform unsafe writes). IMPORTANT! Unsafe writes are subject to race conditions and can lead to data corruption. | 
See Also¶
See also
- openssl_certificate – Generate and/or check OpenSSL certificates
- The official documentation on the openssl_certificate module.
- openssl_csr – Generate OpenSSL Certificate Signing Request (CSR)
- The official documentation on the openssl_csr module.
- openssl_dhparam – Generate OpenSSL Diffie-Hellman Parameters
- The official documentation on the openssl_dhparam module.
- openssl_pkcs12 – Generate OpenSSL PKCS#12 archive
- The official documentation on the openssl_pkcs12 module.
- openssl_publickey – Generate an OpenSSL public key from its private key
- The official documentation on the openssl_publickey module.
Examples¶
- name: Generate an OpenSSL private key with the default values (4096 bits, RSA)
  openssl_privatekey:
    path: /etc/ssl/private/ansible.com.pem
- name: Generate an OpenSSL private key with the default values (4096 bits, RSA) and a passphrase
  openssl_privatekey:
    path: /etc/ssl/private/ansible.com.pem
    passphrase: ansible
    cipher: aes256
- name: Generate an OpenSSL private key with a different size (2048 bits)
  openssl_privatekey:
    path: /etc/ssl/private/ansible.com.pem
    size: 2048
- name: Force regenerate an OpenSSL private key if it already exists
  openssl_privatekey:
    path: /etc/ssl/private/ansible.com.pem
    force: yes
- name: Generate an OpenSSL private key with a different algorithm (DSA)
  openssl_privatekey:
    path: /etc/ssl/private/ansible.com.pem
    type: DSA
Return Values¶
Common return values are documented here, the following are the fields unique to this module:
Status¶
- This module is not guaranteed to have a backwards compatible interface. [preview]
- This module is maintained by the Ansible Community. [community]
Authors¶
- Yanis Guenane (@Spredzy)
- Felix Fontein (@felixfontein)
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