Determining if crypto support is unavailable

It is possible for Node.js to be built without including support for the crypto module. In such cases, attempting to import from crypto or calling require('crypto') will result in an error being thrown.

When using CommonJS, the error thrown can be caught using try/catch:

let crypto;
try {
  crypto = require('crypto');
} catch (err) {
  console.log('crypto support is disabled!');
}

When using the lexical ESM import keyword, the error can only be caught if a handler for process.on('uncaughtException') is registered before any attempt to load the module is made -- using, for instance, a preload module.

When using ESM, if there is a chance that the code may be run on a build of Node.js where crypto support is not enabled, consider using the import() function instead of the lexical import keyword:

let crypto;
try {
  crypto = await import('crypto');
} catch (err) {
  console.log('crypto support is disabled!');
}

Class: Certificate

SPKAC is a Certificate Signing Request mechanism originally implemented by Netscape and was specified formally as part of HTML5's keygen element.

<keygen> is deprecated since HTML 5.2 and new projects should not use this element anymore.

The crypto module provides the Certificate class for working with SPKAC data. The most common usage is handling output generated by the HTML5 <keygen> element. Node.js uses OpenSSL's SPKAC implementation internally.

Static method: Certificate.exportChallenge(spkac[, encoding])

• spkac <string> | <ArrayBuffer> | <Buffer> | <TypedArray> | <DataView>
• encoding <string> The encoding of the spkac string.
• Returns: <Buffer> The challenge component of the spkac data structure, which includes a public key and a challenge.

MJS modules

const { Certificate } = await import('crypto');
const spkac = getSpkacSomehow();
const challenge = Certificate.exportChallenge(spkac);
console.log(challenge.toString('utf8'));
// Prints: the challenge as a UTF8 string

CJS modules

const { Certificate } = require('crypto');
const spkac = getSpkacSomehow();
const challenge = Certificate.exportChallenge(spkac);
console.log(challenge.toString('utf8'));
// Prints: the challenge as a UTF8 string

Static method: Certificate.exportPublicKey(spkac[, encoding])

• spkac <string> | <ArrayBuffer> | <Buffer> | <TypedArray> | <DataView>
• encoding <string> The encoding of the spkac string.
• Returns: <Buffer> The public key component of the spkac data structure, which includes a public key and a challenge.

MJS modules

const { Certificate } = await import('crypto');
const spkac = getSpkacSomehow();
const publicKey = Certificate.exportPublicKey(spkac);
console.log(publicKey);
// Prints: the public key as <Buffer ...>

CJS modules

const { Certificate } = require('crypto');
const spkac = getSpkacSomehow();
const publicKey = Certificate.exportPublicKey(spkac);
console.log(publicKey);
// Prints: the public key as <Buffer ...>

Static method: Certificate.verifySpkac(spkac[, encoding])

• spkac <string> | <ArrayBuffer> | <Buffer> | <TypedArray> | <DataView>
• encoding <string> The encoding of the spkac string.
• Returns: <boolean> true if the given spkac data structure is valid, false otherwise.

MJS modules

import { Buffer } from 'buffer';
const { Certificate } = await import('crypto');

const spkac = getSpkacSomehow();
console.log(Certificate.verifySpkac(Buffer.from(spkac)));
// Prints: true or false

CJS modules

const { Certificate } = require('crypto');
const { Buffer } = require('buffer');

const spkac = getSpkacSomehow();
console.log(Certificate.verifySpkac(Buffer.from(spkac)));
// Prints: true or false

Legacy API

As a legacy interface, it is possible to create new instances of the crypto.Certificate class as illustrated in the examples below.

new crypto.Certificate()

Instances of the Certificate class can be created using the new keyword or by calling crypto.Certificate() as a function:

MJS modules

const { Certificate } = await import('crypto');

const cert1 = new Certificate();
const cert2 = Certificate();

CJS modules

const { Certificate } = require('crypto');

const cert1 = new Certificate();
const cert2 = Certificate();

certificate.exportChallenge(spkac[, encoding])

• spkac <string> | <ArrayBuffer> | <Buffer> | <TypedArray> | <DataView>
• encoding <string> The encoding of the spkac string.
• Returns: <Buffer> The challenge component of the spkac data structure, which includes a public key and a challenge.

MJS modules

const { Certificate } = await import('crypto');
const cert = Certificate();
const spkac = getSpkacSomehow();
const challenge = cert.exportChallenge(spkac);
console.log(challenge.toString('utf8'));
// Prints: the challenge as a UTF8 string

CJS modules

const { Certificate } = require('crypto');
const cert = Certificate();
const spkac = getSpkacSomehow();
const challenge = cert.exportChallenge(spkac);
console.log(challenge.toString('utf8'));
// Prints: the challenge as a UTF8 string

certificate.exportPublicKey(spkac[, encoding])

• spkac <string> | <ArrayBuffer> | <Buffer> | <TypedArray> | <DataView>
• encoding <string> The encoding of the spkac string.
• Returns: <Buffer> The public key component of the spkac data structure, which includes a public key and a challenge.

MJS modules

const { Certificate } = await import('crypto');
const cert = Certificate();
const spkac = getSpkacSomehow();
const publicKey = cert.exportPublicKey(spkac);
console.log(publicKey);
// Prints: the public key as <Buffer ...>

CJS modules

const { Certificate } = require('crypto');
const cert = Certificate();
const spkac = getSpkacSomehow();
const publicKey = cert.exportPublicKey(spkac);
console.log(publicKey);
// Prints: the public key as <Buffer ...>

certificate.verifySpkac(spkac[, encoding])

• spkac <string> | <ArrayBuffer> | <Buffer> | <TypedArray> | <DataView>
• encoding <string> The encoding of the spkac string.
• Returns: <boolean> true if the given spkac data structure is valid, false otherwise.

MJS modules

import { Buffer } from 'buffer';
const { Certificate } = await import('crypto');

const cert = Certificate();
const spkac = getSpkacSomehow();
console.log(cert.verifySpkac(Buffer.from(spkac)));
// Prints: true or false

CJS modules

const { Certificate } = require('crypto');
const { Buffer } = require('buffer');

const cert = Certificate();
const spkac = getSpkacSomehow();
console.log(cert.verifySpkac(Buffer.from(spkac)));
// Prints: true or false

Class: Cipher

• Extends: <stream.Transform>

Instances of the Cipher class are used to encrypt data. The class can be used in one of two ways:

• As a stream that is both readable and writable, where plain unencrypted data is written to produce encrypted data on the readable side, or
• Using the cipher.update() and cipher.final() methods to produce the encrypted data.

The crypto.createCipher() or crypto.createCipheriv() methods are used to create Cipher instances. Cipher objects are not to be created directly using the new keyword.

Example: Using Cipher objects as streams:

MJS modules

const {
  scrypt,
  randomFill,
  createCipheriv
} = await import('crypto');

const algorithm = 'aes-192-cbc';
const password = 'Password used to generate key';

// First, we'll generate the key. The key length is dependent on the algorithm.
// In this case for aes192, it is 24 bytes (192 bits).
scrypt(password, 'salt', 24, (err, key) => {
  if (err) throw err;
  // Then, we'll generate a random initialization vector
  randomFill(new Uint8Array(16), (err, iv) => {
    if (err) throw err;

    // Once we have the key and iv, we can create and use the cipher...
    const cipher = createCipheriv(algorithm, key, iv);

    let encrypted = '';
    cipher.setEncoding('hex');

    cipher.on('data', (chunk) => encrypted += chunk);
    cipher.on('end', () => console.log(encrypted));

    cipher.write('some clear text data');
    cipher.end();
  });
});

CJS modules

const {
  scrypt,
  randomFill,
  createCipheriv
} = require('crypto');

const algorithm = 'aes-192-cbc';
const password = 'Password used to generate key';

// First, we'll generate the key. The key length is dependent on the algorithm.
// In this case for aes192, it is 24 bytes (192 bits).
scrypt(password, 'salt', 24, (err, key) => {
  if (err) throw err;
  // Then, we'll generate a random initialization vector
  randomFill(new Uint8Array(16), (err, iv) => {
    if (err) throw err;

    // Once we have the key and iv, we can create and use the cipher...
    const cipher = createCipheriv(algorithm, key, iv);

    let encrypted = '';
    cipher.setEncoding('hex');

    cipher.on('data', (chunk) => encrypted += chunk);
    cipher.on('end', () => console.log(encrypted));

    cipher.write('some clear text data');
    cipher.end();
  });
});

Example: Using Cipher and piped streams:

MJS modules

import {
  createReadStream,
  createWriteStream,
} from 'fs';

import {
  pipeline
} from 'stream';

const {
  scrypt,
  randomFill,
  createCipheriv
} = await import('crypto');

const algorithm = 'aes-192-cbc';
const password = 'Password used to generate key';

// First, we'll generate the key. The key length is dependent on the algorithm.
// In this case for aes192, it is 24 bytes (192 bits).
scrypt(password, 'salt', 24, (err, key) => {
  if (err) throw err;
  // Then, we'll generate a random initialization vector
  randomFill(new Uint8Array(16), (err, iv) => {
    if (err) throw err;

    const cipher = createCipheriv(algorithm, key, iv);

    const input = createReadStream('test.js');
    const output = createWriteStream('test.enc');

    pipeline(input, cipher, output, (err) => {
      if (err) throw err;
    });
  });
});

CJS modules

const {
  createReadStream,
  createWriteStream,
} = require('fs');

const {
  pipeline
} = require('stream');

const {
  scrypt,
  randomFill,
  createCipheriv,
} = require('crypto');

const algorithm = 'aes-192-cbc';
const password = 'Password used to generate key';

// First, we'll generate the key. The key length is dependent on the algorithm.
// In this case for aes192, it is 24 bytes (192 bits).
scrypt(password, 'salt', 24, (err, key) => {
  if (err) throw err;
  // Then, we'll generate a random initialization vector
  randomFill(new Uint8Array(16), (err, iv) => {
    if (err) throw err;

    const cipher = createCipheriv(algorithm, key, iv);

    const input = createReadStream('test.js');
    const output = createWriteStream('test.enc');

    pipeline(input, cipher, output, (err) => {
      if (err) throw err;
    });
  });
});

Example: Using the cipher.update() and cipher.final() methods:

MJS modules

const {
  scrypt,
  randomFill,
  createCipheriv
} = await import('crypto');

const algorithm = 'aes-192-cbc';
const password = 'Password used to generate key';

// First, we'll generate the key. The key length is dependent on the algorithm.
// In this case for aes192, it is 24 bytes (192 bits).
scrypt(password, 'salt', 24, (err, key) => {
  if (err) throw err;
  // Then, we'll generate a random initialization vector
  randomFill(new Uint8Array(16), (err, iv) => {
    if (err) throw err;

    const cipher = createCipheriv(algorithm, key, iv);

    let encrypted = cipher.update('some clear text data', 'utf8', 'hex');
    encrypted += cipher.final('hex');
    console.log(encrypted);
  });
});

CJS modules

const {
  scrypt,
  randomFill,
  createCipheriv,
} = require('crypto');

const algorithm = 'aes-192-cbc';
const password = 'Password used to generate key';

// First, we'll generate the key. The key length is dependent on the algorithm.
// In this case for aes192, it is 24 bytes (192 bits).
scrypt(password, 'salt', 24, (err, key) => {
  if (err) throw err;
  // Then, we'll generate a random initialization vector
  randomFill(new Uint8Array(16), (err, iv) => {
    if (err) throw err;

    const cipher = createCipheriv(algorithm, key, iv);

    let encrypted = cipher.update('some clear text data', 'utf8', 'hex');
    encrypted += cipher.final('hex');
    console.log(encrypted);
  });
});

cipher.final([outputEncoding])

• outputEncoding <string> The encoding of the return value.
• Returns: <Buffer> | <string> Any remaining enciphered contents. If outputEncoding is specified, a string is returned. If an outputEncoding is not provided, a Buffer is returned.

Once the cipher.final() method has been called, the Cipher object can no longer be used to encrypt data. Attempts to call cipher.final() more than once will result in an error being thrown.

cipher.getAuthTag()

• Returns: <Buffer> When using an authenticated encryption mode (GCM, CCM and OCB are currently supported), the cipher.getAuthTag() method returns a Buffer containing the authentication tag that has been computed from the given data.

The cipher.getAuthTag() method should only be called after encryption has been completed using the cipher.final() method.

cipher.setAAD(buffer[, options])

• buffer <string> | <ArrayBuffer> | <Buffer> | <TypedArray> | <DataView>
• options <Object> stream.transform options
  • plaintextLength <number>
  • encoding <string> The string encoding to use when buffer is a string.
• Returns: <Cipher> for method chaining.

When using an authenticated encryption mode (GCM, CCM and OCB are currently supported), the cipher.setAAD() method sets the value used for the additional authenticated data (AAD) input parameter.

The plaintextLength option is optional for GCM and OCB. When using CCM, the plaintextLength option must be specified and its value must match the length of the plaintext in bytes. See CCM mode.

The cipher.setAAD() method must be called before cipher.update().

cipher.setAutoPadding([autoPadding])

• autoPadding <boolean> Default: true
• Returns: <Cipher> for method chaining.

When using block encryption algorithms, the Cipher class will automatically add padding to the input data to the appropriate block size. To disable the default padding call cipher.setAutoPadding(false).

When autoPadding is false, the length of the entire input data must be a multiple of the cipher's block size or cipher.final() will throw an error. Disabling automatic padding is useful for non-standard padding, for instance using 0x0 instead of PKCS padding.

The cipher.setAutoPadding() method must be called before cipher.final().

cipher.update(data[, inputEncoding][, outputEncoding])

• data <string> | <Buffer> | <TypedArray> | <DataView>
• inputEncoding <string> The encoding of the data.
• outputEncoding <string> The encoding of the return value.
• Returns: <Buffer> | <string>

Updates the cipher with data. If the inputEncoding argument is given, the data argument is a string using the specified encoding. If the inputEncoding argument is not given, data must be a Buffer, TypedArray, or DataView. If data is a Buffer, TypedArray, or DataView, then inputEncoding is ignored.

The outputEncoding specifies the output format of the enciphered data. If the outputEncoding is specified, a string using the specified encoding is returned. If no outputEncoding is provided, a Buffer is returned.

The cipher.update() method can be called multiple times with new data until cipher.final() is called. Calling cipher.update() after cipher.final() will result in an error being thrown.

Class: Decipher

• Extends: <stream.Transform>

Instances of the Decipher class are used to decrypt data. The class can be used in one of two ways:

• As a stream that is both readable and writable, where plain encrypted data is written to produce unencrypted data on the readable side, or
• Using the decipher.update() and decipher.final() methods to produce the unencrypted data.

The crypto.createDecipher() or crypto.createDecipheriv() methods are used to create Decipher instances. Decipher objects are not to be created directly using the new keyword.

Example: Using Decipher objects as streams:

MJS modules

import { Buffer } from 'buffer';
const {
  scryptSync,
  createDecipheriv
} = await import('crypto');

const algorithm = 'aes-192-cbc';
const password = 'Password used to generate key';
// Key length is dependent on the algorithm. In this case for aes192, it is
// 24 bytes (192 bits).
// Use the async `crypto.scrypt()` instead.
const key = scryptSync(password, 'salt', 24);
// The IV is usually passed along with the ciphertext.
const iv = Buffer.alloc(16, 0); // Initialization vector.

const decipher = createDecipheriv(algorithm, key, iv);

let decrypted = '';
decipher.on('readable', () => {
  while (null !== (chunk = decipher.read())) {
    decrypted += chunk.toString('utf8');
  }
});
decipher.on('end', () => {
  console.log(decrypted);
  // Prints: some clear text data
});

// Encrypted with same algorithm, key and iv.
const encrypted =
  'e5f79c5915c02171eec6b212d5520d44480993d7d622a7c4c2da32f6efda0ffa';
decipher.write(encrypted, 'hex');
decipher.end();

CJS modules

const {
  scryptSync,
  createDecipheriv,
} = require('crypto');
const { Buffer } = require('buffer');

const algorithm = 'aes-192-cbc';
const password = 'Password used to generate key';
// Key length is dependent on the algorithm. In this case for aes192, it is
// 24 bytes (192 bits).
// Use the async `crypto.scrypt()` instead.
const key = scryptSync(password, 'salt', 24);
// The IV is usually passed along with the ciphertext.
const iv = Buffer.alloc(16, 0); // Initialization vector.

const decipher = createDecipheriv(algorithm, key, iv);

let decrypted = '';
decipher.on('readable', () => {
  while (null !== (chunk = decipher.read())) {
    decrypted += chunk.toString('utf8');
  }
});
decipher.on('end', () => {
  console.log(decrypted);
  // Prints: some clear text data
});

// Encrypted with same algorithm, key and iv.
const encrypted =
  'e5f79c5915c02171eec6b212d5520d44480993d7d622a7c4c2da32f6efda0ffa';
decipher.write(encrypted, 'hex');
decipher.end();

Example: Using Decipher and piped streams:

MJS modules

import {
  createReadStream,
  createWriteStream,
} from 'fs';
import { Buffer } from 'buffer';
const {
  scryptSync,
  createDecipheriv
} = await import('crypto');

const algorithm = 'aes-192-cbc';
const password = 'Password used to generate key';
// Use the async `crypto.scrypt()` instead.
const key = scryptSync(password, 'salt', 24);
// The IV is usually passed along with the ciphertext.
const iv = Buffer.alloc(16, 0); // Initialization vector.

const decipher = createDecipheriv(algorithm, key, iv);

const input = createReadStream('test.enc');
const output = createWriteStream('test.js');

input.pipe(decipher).pipe(output);

CJS modules

const {
  createReadStream,
  createWriteStream,
} = require('fs');
const {
  scryptSync,
  createDecipheriv,
} = require('crypto');
const { Buffer } = require('buffer');

const algorithm = 'aes-192-cbc';
const password = 'Password used to generate key';
// Use the async `crypto.scrypt()` instead.
const key = scryptSync(password, 'salt', 24);
// The IV is usually passed along with the ciphertext.
const iv = Buffer.alloc(16, 0); // Initialization vector.

const decipher = createDecipheriv(algorithm, key, iv);

const input = createReadStream('test.enc');
const output = createWriteStream('test.js');

input.pipe(decipher).pipe(output);

Example: Using the decipher.update() and decipher.final() methods:

MJS modules

import { Buffer } from 'buffer';
const {
  scryptSync,
  createDecipheriv
} = await import('crypto');

const algorithm = 'aes-192-cbc';
const password = 'Password used to generate key';
// Use the async `crypto.scrypt()` instead.
const key = scryptSync(password, 'salt', 24);
// The IV is usually passed along with the ciphertext.
const iv = Buffer.alloc(16, 0); // Initialization vector.

const decipher = createDecipheriv(algorithm, key, iv);

// Encrypted using same algorithm, key and iv.
const encrypted =
  'e5f79c5915c02171eec6b212d5520d44480993d7d622a7c4c2da32f6efda0ffa';
let decrypted = decipher.update(encrypted, 'hex', 'utf8');
decrypted += decipher.final('utf8');
console.log(decrypted);
// Prints: some clear text data

CJS modules

const {
  scryptSync,
  createDecipheriv,
} = require('crypto');
const { Buffer } = require('buffer');

const algorithm = 'aes-192-cbc';
const password = 'Password used to generate key';
// Use the async `crypto.scrypt()` instead.
const key = scryptSync(password, 'salt', 24);
// The IV is usually passed along with the ciphertext.
const iv = Buffer.alloc(16, 0); // Initialization vector.

const decipher = createDecipheriv(algorithm, key, iv);

// Encrypted using same algorithm, key and iv.
const encrypted =
  'e5f79c5915c02171eec6b212d5520d44480993d7d622a7c4c2da32f6efda0ffa';
let decrypted = decipher.update(encrypted, 'hex', 'utf8');
decrypted += decipher.final('utf8');
console.log(decrypted);
// Prints: some clear text data

decipher.final([outputEncoding])

• outputEncoding <string> The encoding of the return value.
• Returns: <Buffer> | <string> Any remaining deciphered contents. If outputEncoding is specified, a string is returned. If an outputEncoding is not provided, a Buffer is returned.

Once the decipher.final() method has been called, the Decipher object can no longer be used to decrypt data. Attempts to call decipher.final() more than once will result in an error being thrown.

decipher.setAAD(buffer[, options])

• buffer <string> | <ArrayBuffer> | <Buffer> | <TypedArray> | <DataView>
• options <Object> stream.transform options
  • plaintextLength <number>
  • encoding <string> String encoding to use when buffer is a string.
• Returns: <Decipher> for method chaining.

When using an authenticated encryption mode (GCM, CCM and OCB are currently supported), the decipher.setAAD() method sets the value used for the additional authenticated data (AAD) input parameter.

The options argument is optional for GCM. When using CCM, the plaintextLength option must be specified and its value must match the length of the ciphertext in bytes. See CCM mode.

The decipher.setAAD() method must be called before decipher.update().

When passing a string as the buffer, please consider caveats when using strings as inputs to cryptographic APIs.

decipher.setAuthTag(buffer[, encoding])

• buffer <string> | <Buffer> | <ArrayBuffer> | <TypedArray> | <DataView>
• encoding <string> String encoding to use when buffer is a string.
• Returns: <Decipher> for method chaining.

When using an authenticated encryption mode (GCM, CCM and OCB are currently supported), the decipher.setAuthTag() method is used to pass in the received authentication tag. If no tag is provided, or if the cipher text has been tampered with, decipher.final() will throw, indicating that the cipher text should be discarded due to failed authentication. If the tag length is invalid according to NIST SP 800-38D or does not match the value of the authTagLength option, decipher.setAuthTag() will throw an error.

The decipher.setAuthTag() method must be called before decipher.update() for CCM mode or before decipher.final() for GCM and OCB modes. decipher.setAuthTag() can only be called once.

When passing a string as the authentication tag, please consider caveats when using strings as inputs to cryptographic APIs.

decipher.setAutoPadding([autoPadding])

• autoPadding <boolean> Default: true
• Returns: <Decipher> for method chaining.

When data has been encrypted without standard block padding, calling decipher.setAutoPadding(false) will disable automatic padding to prevent decipher.final() from checking for and removing padding.

Turning auto padding off will only work if the input data's length is a multiple of the ciphers block size.

The decipher.setAutoPadding() method must be called before decipher.final().

decipher.update(data[, inputEncoding][, outputEncoding])

• data <string> | <Buffer> | <TypedArray> | <DataView>
• inputEncoding <string> The encoding of the data string.
• outputEncoding <string> The encoding of the return value.
• Returns: <Buffer> | <string>

Updates the decipher with data. If the inputEncoding argument is given, the data argument is a string using the specified encoding. If the inputEncoding argument is not given, data must be a Buffer. If data is a Buffer then inputEncoding is ignored.

The outputEncoding specifies the output format of the enciphered data. If the outputEncoding is specified, a string using the specified encoding is returned. If no outputEncoding is provided, a Buffer is returned.

The decipher.update() method can be called multiple times with new data until decipher.final() is called. Calling decipher.update() after decipher.final() will result in an error being thrown.

Class: DiffieHellman

The DiffieHellman class is a utility for creating Diffie-Hellman key exchanges.

Instances of the DiffieHellman class can be created using the crypto.createDiffieHellman() function.

MJS modules

import assert from 'assert';

const {
  createDiffieHellman
} = await import('crypto');

// Generate Alice's keys...
const alice = createDiffieHellman(2048);
const aliceKey = alice.generateKeys();

// Generate Bob's keys...
const bob = createDiffieHellman(alice.getPrime(), alice.getGenerator());
const bobKey = bob.generateKeys();

// Exchange and generate the secret...
const aliceSecret = alice.computeSecret(bobKey);
const bobSecret = bob.computeSecret(aliceKey);

// OK
assert.strictEqual(aliceSecret.toString('hex'), bobSecret.toString('hex'));

CJS modules

const assert = require('assert');

const {
  createDiffieHellman,
} = require('crypto');

// Generate Alice's keys...
const alice = createDiffieHellman(2048);
const aliceKey = alice.generateKeys();

// Generate Bob's keys...
const bob = createDiffieHellman(alice.getPrime(), alice.getGenerator());
const bobKey = bob.generateKeys();

// Exchange and generate the secret...
const aliceSecret = alice.computeSecret(bobKey);
const bobSecret = bob.computeSecret(aliceKey);

// OK
assert.strictEqual(aliceSecret.toString('hex'), bobSecret.toString('hex'));

diffieHellman.computeSecret(otherPublicKey[, inputEncoding][, outputEncoding])

• otherPublicKey <string> | <ArrayBuffer> | <Buffer> | <TypedArray> | <DataView>
• inputEncoding <string> The encoding of an otherPublicKey string.
• outputEncoding <string> The encoding of the return value.
• Returns: <Buffer> | <string>

Computes the shared secret using otherPublicKey as the other party's public key and returns the computed shared secret. The supplied key is interpreted using the specified inputEncoding, and secret is encoded using specified outputEncoding. If the inputEncoding is not provided, otherPublicKey is expected to be a Buffer, TypedArray, or DataView.

If outputEncoding is given a string is returned; otherwise, a Buffer is returned.

diffieHellman.generateKeys([encoding])

• encoding <string> The encoding of the return value.
• Returns: <Buffer> | <string>

Generates private and public Diffie-Hellman key values, and returns the public key in the specified encoding. This key should be transferred to the other party. If encoding is provided a string is returned; otherwise a Buffer is returned.

diffieHellman.getGenerator([encoding])

• encoding <string> The encoding of the return value.
• Returns: <Buffer> | <string>

Returns the Diffie-Hellman generator in the specified encoding. If encoding is provided a string is returned; otherwise a Buffer is returned.

diffieHellman.getPrime([encoding])

• encoding <string> The encoding of the return value.
• Returns: <Buffer> | <string>

Returns the Diffie-Hellman prime in the specified encoding. If encoding is provided a string is returned; otherwise a Buffer is returned.

diffieHellman.getPrivateKey([encoding])

• encoding <string> The encoding of the return value.
• Returns: <Buffer> | <string>

Returns the Diffie-Hellman private key in the specified encoding. If encoding is provided a string is returned; otherwise a Buffer is returned.

diffieHellman.getPublicKey([encoding])

• encoding <string> The encoding of the return value.
• Returns: <Buffer> | <string>

Returns the Diffie-Hellman public key in the specified encoding. If encoding is provided a string is returned; otherwise a Buffer is returned.

diffieHellman.setPrivateKey(privateKey[, encoding])

• privateKey <string> | <ArrayBuffer> | <Buffer> | <TypedArray> | <DataView>
• encoding <string> The encoding of the privateKey string.

Sets the Diffie-Hellman private key. If the encoding argument is provided, privateKey is expected to be a string. If no encoding is provided, privateKey is expected to be a Buffer, TypedArray, or DataView.

diffieHellman.setPublicKey(publicKey[, encoding])

• publicKey <string> | <ArrayBuffer> | <Buffer> | <TypedArray> | <DataView>
• encoding <string> The encoding of the publicKey string.

Sets the Diffie-Hellman public key. If the encoding argument is provided, publicKey is expected to be a string. If no encoding is provided, publicKey is expected to be a Buffer, TypedArray, or DataView.

diffieHellman.verifyError

A bit field containing any warnings and/or errors resulting from a check performed during initialization of the DiffieHellman object.

The following values are valid for this property (as defined in constants module):

• DH_CHECK_P_NOT_SAFE_PRIME
• DH_CHECK_P_NOT_PRIME
• DH_UNABLE_TO_CHECK_GENERATOR
• DH_NOT_SUITABLE_GENERATOR

Class: DiffieHellmanGroup

The DiffieHellmanGroup class takes a well-known modp group as its argument. It works the same as DiffieHellman, except that it does not allow changing its keys after creation. In other words, it does not implement setPublicKey() or setPrivateKey() methods.

MJS modules

const { createDiffieHellmanGroup } = await import('crypto');
const dh = createDiffieHellmanGroup('modp1');

CJS modules

const { createDiffieHellmanGroup } = require('crypto');
const dh = createDiffieHellmanGroup('modp1');

The name (e.g. 'modp1') is taken from RFC 2412 (modp1 and 2) and RFC 3526:

$ perl -ne 'print "$1\n" if /"(modp\d+)"/' src/node_crypto_groups.h
modp1  #  768 bits
modp2  # 1024 bits
modp5  # 1536 bits
modp14 # 2048 bits
modp15 # etc.
modp16
modp17
modp18

Class: ECDH

The ECDH class is a utility for creating Elliptic Curve Diffie-Hellman (ECDH) key exchanges.

Instances of the ECDH class can be created using the crypto.createECDH() function.

MJS modules

import assert from 'assert';

const {
  createECDH
} = await import('crypto');

// Generate Alice's keys...
const alice = createECDH('secp521r1');
const aliceKey = alice.generateKeys();

// Generate Bob's keys...
const bob = createECDH('secp521r1');
const bobKey = bob.generateKeys();

// Exchange and generate the secret...
const aliceSecret = alice.computeSecret(bobKey);
const bobSecret = bob.computeSecret(aliceKey);

assert.strictEqual(aliceSecret.toString('hex'), bobSecret.toString('hex'));
// OK

CJS modules

const assert = require('assert');

const {
  createECDH,
} = require('crypto');

// Generate Alice's keys...
const alice = createECDH('secp521r1');
const aliceKey = alice.generateKeys();

// Generate Bob's keys...
const bob = createECDH('secp521r1');
const bobKey = bob.generateKeys();

// Exchange and generate the secret...
const aliceSecret = alice.computeSecret(bobKey);
const bobSecret = bob.computeSecret(aliceKey);

assert.strictEqual(aliceSecret.toString('hex'), bobSecret.toString('hex'));
// OK

Static method: ECDH.convertKey(key, curve[, inputEncoding[, outputEncoding[, format]]])

• key <string> | <ArrayBuffer> | <Buffer> | <TypedArray> | <DataView>
• curve <string>
• inputEncoding <string> The encoding of the key string.
• outputEncoding <string> The encoding of the return value.
• format <string> Default: 'uncompressed'
• Returns: <Buffer> | <string>

Converts the EC Diffie-Hellman public key specified by key and curve to the format specified by format. The format argument specifies point encoding and can be 'compressed', 'uncompressed' or 'hybrid'. The supplied key is interpreted using the specified inputEncoding, and the returned key is encoded using the specified outputEncoding.

Use crypto.getCurves() to obtain a list of available curve names. On recent OpenSSL releases, openssl ecparam -list_curves will also display the name and description of each available elliptic curve.

If format is not specified the point will be returned in 'uncompressed' format.

If the inputEncoding is not provided, key is expected to be a Buffer, TypedArray, or DataView.

Example (uncompressing a key):

MJS modules

const {
  createECDH,
  ECDH
} = await import('crypto');

const ecdh = createECDH('secp256k1');
ecdh.generateKeys();

const compressedKey = ecdh.getPublicKey('hex', 'compressed');

const uncompressedKey = ECDH.convertKey(compressedKey,
                                        'secp256k1',
                                        'hex',
                                        'hex',
                                        'uncompressed');

// The converted key and the uncompressed public key should be the same
console.log(uncompressedKey === ecdh.getPublicKey('hex'));

CJS modules

const {
  createECDH,
  ECDH,
} = require('crypto');

const ecdh = createECDH('secp256k1');
ecdh.generateKeys();

const compressedKey = ecdh.getPublicKey('hex', 'compressed');

const uncompressedKey = ECDH.convertKey(compressedKey,
                                        'secp256k1',
                                        'hex',
                                        'hex',
                                        'uncompressed');

// The converted key and the uncompressed public key should be the same
console.log(uncompressedKey === ecdh.getPublicKey('hex'));

ecdh.computeSecret(otherPublicKey[, inputEncoding][, outputEncoding])

• otherPublicKey <string> | <ArrayBuffer> | <Buffer> | <TypedArray> | <DataView>
• inputEncoding <string> The encoding of the otherPublicKey string.
• outputEncoding <string> The encoding of the return value.
• Returns: <Buffer> | <string>

Computes the shared secret using otherPublicKey as the other party's public key and returns the computed shared secret. The supplied key is interpreted using specified inputEncoding, and the returned secret is encoded using the specified outputEncoding. If the inputEncoding is not provided, otherPublicKey is expected to be a Buffer, TypedArray, or DataView.

If outputEncoding is given a string will be returned; otherwise a Buffer is returned.

ecdh.computeSecret will throw an ERR_CRYPTO_ECDH_INVALID_PUBLIC_KEY error when otherPublicKey lies outside of the elliptic curve. Since otherPublicKey is usually supplied from a remote user over an insecure network, be sure to handle this exception accordingly.

ecdh.generateKeys([encoding[, format]])

• encoding <string> The encoding of the return value.
• format <string> Default: 'uncompressed'
• Returns: <Buffer> | <string>

Generates private and public EC Diffie-Hellman key values, and returns the public key in the specified format and encoding. This key should be transferred to the other party.

The format argument specifies point encoding and can be 'compressed' or 'uncompressed'. If format is not specified, the point will be returned in 'uncompressed' format.

If encoding is provided a string is returned; otherwise a Buffer is returned.

ecdh.getPrivateKey([encoding])

• encoding <string> The encoding of the return value.
• Returns: <Buffer> | <string> The EC Diffie-Hellman in the specified encoding.

If encoding is specified, a string is returned; otherwise a Buffer is returned.

ecdh.getPublicKey([encoding][, format])

• encoding <string> The encoding of the return value.
• format <string> Default: 'uncompressed'
• Returns: <Buffer> | <string> The EC Diffie-Hellman public key in the specified encoding and format.

The format argument specifies point encoding and can be 'compressed' or 'uncompressed'. If format is not specified the point will be returned in 'uncompressed' format.

If encoding is specified, a string is returned; otherwise a Buffer is returned.

ecdh.setPrivateKey(privateKey[, encoding])

• privateKey <string> | <ArrayBuffer> | <Buffer> | <TypedArray> | <DataView>
• encoding <string> The encoding of the privateKey string.

Sets the EC Diffie-Hellman private key. If encoding is provided, privateKey is expected to be a string; otherwise privateKey is expected to be a Buffer, TypedArray, or DataView.

If privateKey is not valid for the curve specified when the ECDH object was created, an error is thrown. Upon setting the private key, the associated public point (key) is also generated and set in the ECDH object.

ecdh.setPublicKey(publicKey[, encoding])

• publicKey <string> | <ArrayBuffer> | <Buffer> | <TypedArray> | <DataView>
• encoding <string> The encoding of the publicKey string.

Sets the EC Diffie-Hellman public key. If encoding is provided publicKey is expected to be a string; otherwise a Buffer, TypedArray, or DataView is expected.

There is not normally a reason to call this method because ECDH only requires a private key and the other party's public key to compute the shared secret. Typically either ecdh.generateKeys() or ecdh.setPrivateKey() will be called. The ecdh.setPrivateKey() method attempts to generate the public point/key associated with the private key being set.

Example (obtaining a shared secret):

MJS modules

const {
  createECDH,
  createHash
} = await import('crypto');

const alice = createECDH('secp256k1');
const bob = createECDH('secp256k1');

// This is a shortcut way of specifying one of Alice's previous private
// keys. It would be unwise to use such a predictable private key in a real
// application.
alice.setPrivateKey(
  createHash('sha256').update('alice', 'utf8').digest()
);

// Bob uses a newly generated cryptographically strong
// pseudorandom key pair
bob.generateKeys();

const aliceSecret = alice.computeSecret(bob.getPublicKey(), null, 'hex');
const bobSecret = bob.computeSecret(alice.getPublicKey(), null, 'hex');

// aliceSecret and bobSecret should be the same shared secret value
console.log(aliceSecret === bobSecret);

CJS modules

const {
  createECDH,
  createHash,
} = require('crypto');

const alice = createECDH('secp256k1');
const bob = createECDH('secp256k1');

// This is a shortcut way of specifying one of Alice's previous private
// keys. It would be unwise to use such a predictable private key in a real
// application.
alice.setPrivateKey(
  createHash('sha256').update('alice', 'utf8').digest()
);

// Bob uses a newly generated cryptographically strong
// pseudorandom key pair
bob.generateKeys();

const aliceSecret = alice.computeSecret(bob.getPublicKey(), null, 'hex');
const bobSecret = bob.computeSecret(alice.getPublicKey(), null, 'hex');

// aliceSecret and bobSecret should be the same shared secret value
console.log(aliceSecret === bobSecret);

Class: Hash

• Extends: <stream.Transform>

The Hash class is a utility for creating hash digests of data. It can be used in one of two ways:

• As a stream that is both readable and writable, where data is written to produce a computed hash digest on the readable side, or
• Using the hash.update() and hash.digest() methods to produce the computed hash.

The crypto.createHash() method is used to create Hash instances. Hash objects are not to be created directly using the new keyword.

Example: Using Hash objects as streams:

MJS modules

const {
  createHash
} = await import('crypto');

const hash = createHash('sha256');

hash.on('readable', () => {
  // Only one element is going to be produced by the
  // hash stream.
  const data = hash.read();
  if (data) {
    console.log(data.toString('hex'));
    // Prints:
    //   6a2da20943931e9834fc12cfe5bb47bbd9ae43489a30726962b576f4e3993e50
  }
});

hash.write('some data to hash');
hash.end();

CJS modules

const {
  createHash,
} = require('crypto');

const hash = createHash('sha256');

hash.on('readable', () => {
  // Only one element is going to be produced by the
  // hash stream.
  const data = hash.read();
  if (data) {
    console.log(data.toString('hex'));
    // Prints:
    //   6a2da20943931e9834fc12cfe5bb47bbd9ae43489a30726962b576f4e3993e50
  }
});

hash.write('some data to hash');
hash.end();

Example: Using Hash and piped streams:

MJS modules

import { createReadStream } from 'fs';
import { stdout } from 'process';
const { createHash } = await import('crypto');

const hash = createHash('sha256');

const input = createReadStream('test.js');
input.pipe(hash).setEncoding('hex').pipe(stdout);

CJS modules

const { createReadStream } = require('fs');
const { createHash } = require('crypto');
const { stdout } = require('process');

const hash = createHash('sha256');

const input = createReadStream('test.js');
input.pipe(hash).setEncoding('hex').pipe(stdout);

Example: Using the hash.update() and hash.digest() methods:

MJS modules

const {
  createHash
} = await import('crypto');

const hash = createHash('sha256');

hash.update('some data to hash');
console.log(hash.digest('hex'));
// Prints:
//   6a2da20943931e9834fc12cfe5bb47bbd9ae43489a30726962b576f4e3993e50

CJS modules

const {
  createHash,
} = require('crypto');

const hash = createHash('sha256');

hash.update('some data to hash');
console.log(hash.digest('hex'));
// Prints:
//   6a2da20943931e9834fc12cfe5bb47bbd9ae43489a30726962b576f4e3993e50

hash.copy([options])

• options <Object> stream.transform options
• Returns: <Hash>

Creates a new Hash object that contains a deep copy of the internal state of the current Hash object.

The optional options argument controls stream behavior. For XOF hash functions such as 'shake256', the outputLength option can be used to specify the desired output length in bytes.

An error is thrown when an attempt is made to copy the Hash object after its hash.digest() method has been called.

MJS modules

// Calculate a rolling hash.
const {
  createHash
} = await import('crypto');

const hash = createHash('sha256');

hash.update('one');
console.log(hash.copy().digest('hex'));

hash.update('two');
console.log(hash.copy().digest('hex'));

hash.update('three');
console.log(hash.copy().digest('hex'));

// Etc.

CJS modules

// Calculate a rolling hash.
const {
  createHash,
} = require('crypto');

const hash = createHash('sha256');

hash.update('one');
console.log(hash.copy().digest('hex'));

hash.update('two');
console.log(hash.copy().digest('hex'));

hash.update('three');
console.log(hash.copy().digest('hex'));

// Etc.

hash.digest([encoding])

• encoding <string> The encoding of the return value.
• Returns: <Buffer> | <string>

Calculates the digest of all of the data passed to be hashed (using the hash.update() method). If encoding is provided a string will be returned; otherwise a Buffer is returned.

The Hash object can not be used again after hash.digest() method has been called. Multiple calls will cause an error to be thrown.

hash.update(data[, inputEncoding])

• data <string> | <Buffer> | <TypedArray> | <DataView>
• inputEncoding <string> The encoding of the data string.

Updates the hash content with the given data, the encoding of which is given in inputEncoding. If encoding is not provided, and the data is a string, an encoding of 'utf8' is enforced. If data is a Buffer, TypedArray, or DataView, then inputEncoding is ignored.

This can be called many times with new data as it is streamed.

Class: Hmac

• Extends: <stream.Transform>

The Hmac class is a utility for creating cryptographic HMAC digests. It can be used in one of two ways:

• As a stream that is both readable and writable, where data is written to produce a computed HMAC digest on the readable side, or
• Using the hmac.update() and hmac.digest() methods to produce the computed HMAC digest.

The crypto.createHmac() method is used to create Hmac instances. Hmac objects are not to be created directly using the new keyword.

Example: Using Hmac objects as streams:

MJS modules

const {
  createHmac
} = await import('crypto');

const hmac = createHmac('sha256', 'a secret');

hmac.on('readable', () => {
  // Only one element is going to be produced by the
  // hash stream.
  const data = hmac.read();
  if (data) {
    console.log(data.toString('hex'));
    // Prints:
    //   7fd04df92f636fd450bc841c9418e5825c17f33ad9c87c518115a45971f7f77e
  }
});

hmac.write('some data to hash');
hmac.end();

CJS modules

const {
  createHmac,
} = require('crypto');

const hmac = createHmac('sha256', 'a secret');

hmac.on('readable', () => {
  // Only one element is going to be produced by the
  // hash stream.
  const data = hmac.read();
  if (data) {
    console.log(data.toString('hex'));
    // Prints:
    //   7fd04df92f636fd450bc841c9418e5825c17f33ad9c87c518115a45971f7f77e
  }
});

hmac.write('some data to hash');
hmac.end();

Example: Using Hmac and piped streams:

MJS modules

import { createReadStream } from 'fs';
import { stdout } from 'process';
const {
  createHmac
} = await import('crypto');

const hmac = createHmac('sha256', 'a secret');

const input = createReadStream('test.js');
input.pipe(hmac).pipe(stdout);

CJS modules

const {
  createReadStream,
} = require('fs');
const {
  createHmac,
} = require('crypto');
const { stdout } = require('process');

const hmac = createHmac('sha256', 'a secret');

const input = createReadStream('test.js');
input.pipe(hmac).pipe(stdout);

Example: Using the hmac.update() and hmac.digest() methods:

MJS modules

const {
  createHmac
} = await import('crypto');

const hmac = createHmac('sha256', 'a secret');

hmac.update('some data to hash');
console.log(hmac.digest('hex'));
// Prints:
//   7fd04df92f636fd450bc841c9418e5825c17f33ad9c87c518115a45971f7f77e

CJS modules

const {
  createHmac,
} = require('crypto');

const hmac = createHmac('sha256', 'a secret');

hmac.update('some data to hash');
console.log(hmac.digest('hex'));
// Prints:
//   7fd04df92f636fd450bc841c9418e5825c17f33ad9c87c518115a45971f7f77e

hmac.digest([encoding])

• encoding <string> The encoding of the return value.
• Returns: <Buffer> | <string>

Calculates the HMAC digest of all of the data passed using hmac.update(). If encoding is provided a string is returned; otherwise a Buffer is returned;

The Hmac object can not be used again after hmac.digest() has been called. Multiple calls to hmac.digest() will result in an error being thrown.

hmac.update(data[, inputEncoding])

• data <string> | <Buffer> | <TypedArray> | <DataView>
• inputEncoding <string> The encoding of the data string.

Updates the Hmac content with the given data, the encoding of which is given in inputEncoding. If encoding is not provided, and the data is a string, an encoding of 'utf8' is enforced. If data is a Buffer, TypedArray, or DataView, then inputEncoding is ignored.

This can be called many times with new data as it is streamed.

Class: KeyObject

Node.js uses a KeyObject class to represent a symmetric or asymmetric key, and each kind of key exposes different functions. The crypto.createSecretKey(), crypto.createPublicKey() and crypto.createPrivateKey() methods are used to create KeyObject instances. KeyObject objects are not to be created directly using the new keyword.

Most applications should consider using the new KeyObject API instead of passing keys as strings or Buffers due to improved security features.

KeyObject instances can be passed to other threads via postMessage(). The receiver obtains a cloned KeyObject, and the KeyObject does not need to be listed in the transferList argument.

Static method: KeyObject.from(key)

• key <CryptoKey>
• Returns: <KeyObject>

Example: Converting a CryptoKey instance to a KeyObject:

MJS modules

const { webcrypto, KeyObject } = await import('crypto');
const { subtle } = webcrypto;

const key = await subtle.generateKey({
  name: 'HMAC',
  hash: 'SHA-256',
  length: 256
}, true, ['sign', 'verify']);

const keyObject = KeyObject.from(key);
console.log(keyObject.symmetricKeySize);
// Prints: 32 (symmetric key size in bytes)

CJS modules

const {
  webcrypto: {
    subtle,
  },
  KeyObject,
} = require('crypto');

(async function() {
  const key = await subtle.generateKey({
    name: 'HMAC',
    hash: 'SHA-256',
    length: 256
  }, true, ['sign', 'verify']);

  const keyObject = KeyObject.from(key);
  console.log(keyObject.symmetricKeySize);
  // Prints: 32 (symmetric key size in bytes)
})();

keyObject.asymmetricKeyDetails

• <Object>
  • modulusLength: <number> Key size in bits (RSA, DSA).
  • publicExponent: <bigint> Public exponent (RSA).
  • hashAlgorithm: <string> Name of the message digest (RSA-PSS).
  • mgf1HashAlgorithm: <string> Name of the message digest used by MGF1 (RSA-PSS).
  • saltLength: <number> Minimal salt length in bytes (RSA-PSS).
  • divisorLength: <number> Size of q in bits (DSA).
  • namedCurve: <string> Name of the curve (EC).

This property exists only on asymmetric keys. Depending on the type of the key, this object contains information about the key. None of the information obtained through this property can be used to uniquely identify a key or to compromise the security of the key.

For RSA-PSS keys, if the key material contains a RSASSA-PSS-params sequence, the hashAlgorithm, mgf1HashAlgorithm, and saltLength properties will be set.

Other key details might be exposed via this API using additional attributes.

keyObject.asymmetricKeyType

• <string>

For asymmetric keys, this property represents the type of the key. Supported key types are:

• 'rsa' (OID 1.2.840.113549.1.1.1)
• 'rsa-pss' (OID 1.2.840.113549.1.1.10)
• 'dsa' (OID 1.2.840.10040.4.1)
• 'ec' (OID 1.2.840.10045.2.1)
• 'x25519' (OID 1.3.101.110)
• 'x448' (OID 1.3.101.111)
• 'ed25519' (OID 1.3.101.112)
• 'ed448' (OID 1.3.101.113)
• 'dh' (OID 1.2.840.113549.1.3.1)

This property is undefined for unrecognized KeyObject types and symmetric keys.

keyObject.export([options])

• options: <Object>
• Returns: <string> | <Buffer> | <Object>

For symmetric keys, the following encoding options can be used:

• format: <string> Must be 'buffer' (default) or 'jwk'.

For public keys, the following encoding options can be used:

• type: <string> Must be one of 'pkcs1' (RSA only) or 'spki'.
• format: <string> Must be 'pem', 'der', or 'jwk'.

For private keys, the following encoding options can be used:

• type: <string> Must be one of 'pkcs1' (RSA only), 'pkcs8' or 'sec1' (EC only).
• format: <string> Must be 'pem', 'der', or 'jwk'.
• cipher: <string> If specified, the private key will be encrypted with the given cipher and passphrase using PKCS#5 v2.0 password based encryption.
• passphrase: <string> | <Buffer> The passphrase to use for encryption, see cipher.

The result type depends on the selected encoding format, when PEM the result is a string, when DER it will be a buffer containing the data encoded as DER, when JWK it will be an object.

When JWK encoding format was selected, all other encoding options are ignored.

PKCS#1, SEC1, and PKCS#8 type keys can be encrypted by using a combination of the cipher and format options. The PKCS#8 type can be used with any format to encrypt any key algorithm (RSA, EC, or DH) by specifying a cipher. PKCS#1 and SEC1 can only be encrypted by specifying a cipher when the PEM format is used. For maximum compatibility, use PKCS#8 for encrypted private keys. Since PKCS#8 defines its own encryption mechanism, PEM-level encryption is not supported when encrypting a PKCS#8 key. See RFC 5208 for PKCS#8 encryption and RFC 1421 for PKCS#1 and SEC1 encryption.

keyObject.symmetricKeySize

• <number>

For secret keys, this property represents the size of the key in bytes. This property is undefined for asymmetric keys.

keyObject.type

• <string>

Depending on the type of this KeyObject, this property is either 'secret' for secret (symmetric) keys, 'public' for public (asymmetric) keys or 'private' for private (asymmetric) keys.

Class: Sign

• Extends: <stream.Writable>

The Sign class is a utility for generating signatures. It can be used in one of two ways:

• As a writable stream, where data to be signed is written and the sign.sign() method is used to generate and return the signature, or
• Using the sign.update() and sign.sign() methods to produce the signature.

The crypto.createSign() method is used to create Sign instances. The argument is the string name of the hash function to use. Sign objects are not to be created directly using the new keyword.

Example: Using Sign and Verify objects as streams:

MJS modules

const {
  generateKeyPairSync,
  createSign,
  createVerify
} = await import('crypto');

const { privateKey, publicKey } = generateKeyPairSync('ec', {
  namedCurve: 'sect239k1'
});

const sign = createSign('SHA256');
sign.write('some data to sign');
sign.end();
const signature = sign.sign(privateKey, 'hex');

const verify = createVerify('SHA256');
verify.write('some data to sign');
verify.end();
console.log(verify.verify(publicKey, signature, 'hex'));
// Prints: true

CJS modules

const {
  generateKeyPairSync,
  createSign,
  createVerify,
} = require('crypto');

const { privateKey, publicKey } = generateKeyPairSync('ec', {
  namedCurve: 'sect239k1'
});

const sign = createSign('SHA256');
sign.write('some data to sign');
sign.end();
const signature = sign.sign(privateKey, 'hex');

const verify = createVerify('SHA256');
verify.write('some data to sign');
verify.end();
console.log(verify.verify(publicKey, signature, 'hex'));
// Prints: true

Example: Using the sign.update() and verify.update() methods:

MJS modules

const {
  generateKeyPairSync,
  createSign,
  createVerify
} = await import('crypto');

const { privateKey, publicKey } = generateKeyPairSync('rsa', {
  modulusLength: 2048,
});

const sign = createSign('SHA256');
sign.update('some data to sign');
sign.end();
const signature = sign.sign(privateKey);

const verify = createVerify('SHA256');
verify.update('some data to sign');
verify.end();
console.log(verify.verify(publicKey, signature));
// Prints: true

CJS modules

const {
  generateKeyPairSync,
  createSign,
  createVerify,
} = require('crypto');

const { privateKey, publicKey } = generateKeyPairSync('rsa', {
  modulusLength: 2048,
});

const sign = createSign('SHA256');
sign.update('some data to sign');
sign.end();
const signature = sign.sign(privateKey);

const verify = createVerify('SHA256');
verify.update('some data to sign');
verify.end();
console.log(verify.verify(publicKey, signature));
// Prints: true

sign.sign(privateKey[, outputEncoding])

• privateKey <Object> | <string> | <ArrayBuffer> | <Buffer> | <TypedArray> | <DataView> | <KeyObject> | <CryptoKey>
  • dsaEncoding <string>
  • padding <integer>
  • saltLength <integer>
• outputEncoding <string> The encoding of the return value.
• Returns: <Buffer> | <string>

Calculates the signature on all the data passed through using either sign.update() or sign.write().

If privateKey is not a KeyObject, this function behaves as if privateKey had been passed to crypto.createPrivateKey(). If it is an object, the following additional properties can be passed:

• dsaEncoding <string> For DSA and ECDSA, this option specifies the format of the generated signature. It can be one of the following:

  • 'der' (default): DER-encoded ASN.1 signature structure encoding (r, s).
  • 'ieee-p1363': Signature format r || s as proposed in IEEE-P1363.

• padding <integer> Optional padding value for RSA, one of the following:

  • crypto.constants.RSA_PKCS1_PADDING (default)
  • crypto.constants.RSA_PKCS1_PSS_PADDING

  RSA_PKCS1_PSS_PADDING will use MGF1 with the same hash function used to sign the message as specified in section 3.1 of RFC 4055, unless an MGF1 hash function has been specified as part of the key in compliance with section 3.3 of RFC 4055.

• saltLength <integer> Salt length for when padding is RSA_PKCS1_PSS_PADDING. The special value crypto.constants.RSA_PSS_SALTLEN_DIGEST sets the salt length to the digest size, crypto.constants.RSA_PSS_SALTLEN_MAX_SIGN (default) sets it to the maximum permissible value.

If outputEncoding is provided a string is returned; otherwise a Buffer is returned.

The Sign object can not be again used after sign.sign() method has been called. Multiple calls to sign.sign() will result in an error being thrown.

sign.update(data[, inputEncoding])

• data <string> | <Buffer> | <TypedArray> | <DataView>
• inputEncoding <string> The encoding of the data string.

Updates the Sign content with the given data, the encoding of which is given in inputEncoding. If encoding is not provided, and the data is a string, an encoding of 'utf8' is enforced. If data is a Buffer, TypedArray, or DataView, then inputEncoding is ignored.

This can be called many times with new data as it is streamed.

Class: Verify

• Extends: <stream.Writable>

The Verify class is a utility for verifying signatures. It can be used in one of two ways:

• As a writable stream where written data is used to validate against the supplied signature, or
• Using the verify.update() and verify.verify() methods to verify the signature.

The crypto.createVerify() method is used to create Verify instances. Verify objects are not to be created directly using the new keyword.

See Sign for examples.

verify.update(data[, inputEncoding])

• data <string> | <Buffer> | <TypedArray> | <DataView>
• inputEncoding <string> The encoding of the data string.

Updates the Verify content with the given data, the encoding of which is given in inputEncoding. If inputEncoding is not provided, and the data is a string, an encoding of 'utf8' is enforced. If data is a Buffer, TypedArray, or DataView, then inputEncoding is ignored.

This can be called many times with new data as it is streamed.

verify.verify(object, signature[, signatureEncoding])

• object <Object> | <string> | <ArrayBuffer> | <Buffer> | <TypedArray> | <DataView> | <KeyObject> | <CryptoKey>
  • dsaEncoding <string>
  • padding <integer>
  • saltLength <integer>
• signature <string> | <ArrayBuffer> | <Buffer> | <TypedArray> | <DataView>
• signatureEncoding <string> The encoding of the signature string.
• Returns: <boolean> true or false depending on the validity of the signature for the data and public key.

Verifies the provided data using the given object and signature.

If object is not a KeyObject, this function behaves as if object had been passed to crypto.createPublicKey(). If it is an object, the following additional properties can be passed:

• dsaEncoding <string> For DSA and ECDSA, this option specifies the format of the signature. It can be one of the following:

  • 'der' (default): DER-encoded ASN.1 signature structure encoding (r, s).
  • 'ieee-p1363': Signature format r || s as proposed in IEEE-P1363.

• padding <integer> Optional padding value for RSA, one of the following:

  • crypto.constants.RSA_PKCS1_PADDING (default)
  • crypto.constants.RSA_PKCS1_PSS_PADDING

  RSA_PKCS1_PSS_PADDING will use MGF1 with the same hash function used to verify the message as specified in section 3.1 of RFC 4055, unless an MGF1 hash function has been specified as part of the key in compliance with section 3.3 of RFC 4055.

• saltLength <integer> Salt length for when padding is RSA_PKCS1_PSS_PADDING. The special value crypto.constants.RSA_PSS_SALTLEN_DIGEST sets the salt length to the digest size, crypto.constants.RSA_PSS_SALTLEN_AUTO (default) causes it to be determined automatically.

The signature argument is the previously calculated signature for the data, in the signatureEncoding. If a signatureEncoding is specified, the signature is expected to be a string; otherwise signature is expected to be a Buffer, TypedArray, or DataView.

The verify object can not be used again after verify.verify() has been called. Multiple calls to verify.verify() will result in an error being thrown.

Because public keys can be derived from private keys, a private key may be passed instead of a public key.

Class: X509Certificate

Encapsulates an X509 certificate and provides read-only access to its information.

MJS modules

const { X509Certificate } = await import('crypto');

const x509 = new X509Certificate('{... pem encoded cert ...}');

console.log(x509.subject);

CJS modules

const { X509Certificate } = require('crypto');

const x509 = new X509Certificate('{... pem encoded cert ...}');

console.log(x509.subject);

new X509Certificate(buffer)

• buffer <string> | <TypedArray> | <Buffer> | <DataView> A PEM or DER encoded X509 Certificate.

x509.ca

• Type: <boolean> Will be true if this is a Certificate Authority (ca) certificate.

x509.checkEmail(email[, options])

• email <string>
• options <Object>
  • subject <string> 'always' or 'never'. Default: 'always'.
  • wildcards <boolean> Default: true.
  • partialWildcards <boolean> Default: true.
  • multiLabelWildcards <boolean> Default: false.
  • singleLabelSubdomains <boolean> Default: false.
• Returns: <string> | <undefined> Returns email if the certificate matches, undefined if it does not.

Checks whether the certificate matches the given email address.

x509.checkHost(name[, options])

• name <string>
• options <Object>
  • subject <string> 'always' or 'never'. Default: 'always'.
  • wildcards <boolean> Default: true.
  • partialWildcards <boolean> Default: true.
  • multiLabelWildcards <boolean> Default: false.
  • singleLabelSubdomains <boolean> Default: false.
• Returns: <string> | <undefined> Returns name if the certificate matches, undefined if it does not.

Checks whether the certificate matches the given host name.

x509.checkIP(ip[, options])

• ip <string>
• options <Object>
  • subject <string> 'always' or 'never'. Default: 'always'.
  • wildcards <boolean> Default: true.
  • partialWildcards <boolean> Default: true.
  • multiLabelWildcards <boolean> Default: false.
  • singleLabelSubdomains <boolean> Default: false.
• Returns: <string> | <undefined> Returns ip if the certificate matches, undefined if it does not.

Checks whether the certificate matches the given IP address (IPv4 or IPv6).

x509.checkIssued(otherCert)

• otherCert <X509Certificate>
• Returns: <boolean>

Checks whether this certificate was issued by the given otherCert.

x509.checkPrivateKey(privateKey)

• privateKey <KeyObject> A private key.
• Returns: <boolean>

Checks whether the public key for this certificate is consistent with the given private key.

x509.fingerprint

• Type: <string>

The SHA-1 fingerprint of this certificate.

x509.fingerprint256

• Type: <string>

The SHA-256 fingerprint of this certificate.

x509.infoAccess

• Type: <string>

The information access content of this certificate.

x509.issuer

• Type: <string>

The issuer identification included in this certificate.

x509.issuerCertificate

• Type: <X509Certificate>

The issuer certificate or undefined if the issuer certificate is not available.

x509.keyUsage

• Type: <string[]>

An array detailing the key usages for this certificate.

x509.publicKey

• Type: <KeyObject>

The public key <KeyObject> for this certificate.

x509.raw

• Type: <Buffer>

A Buffer containing the DER encoding of this certificate.

x509.serialNumber

• Type: <string>

The serial number of this certificate.

x509.subject

• Type: <string>

The complete subject of this certificate.

x509.subjectAltName

• Type: <string>

The subject alternative name specified for this certificate.

x509.toJSON()

• Type: <string>

There is no standard JSON encoding for X509 certificates. The toJSON() method returns a string containing the PEM encoded certificate.

x509.toLegacyObject()

• Type: <Object>

Returns information about this certificate using the legacy certificate object encoding.

x509.toString()

• Type: <string>

Returns the PEM-encoded certificate.

x509.validFrom

• Type: <string>

The date/time from which this certificate is considered valid.

x509.validTo

• Type: <string>

The date/time until which this certificate is considered valid.

x509.verify(publicKey)

• publicKey <KeyObject> A public key.
• Returns: <boolean>

Verifies that this certificate was signed by the given public key. Does not perform any other validation checks on the certificate.

crypto module methods and properties

crypto.constants

• Returns: <Object> An object containing commonly used constants for crypto and security related operations. The specific constants currently defined are described in Crypto constants.

crypto.DEFAULT_ENCODING

The default encoding to use for functions that can take either strings or buffers. The default value is 'buffer', which makes methods default to Buffer objects.

The crypto.DEFAULT_ENCODING mechanism is provided for backward compatibility with legacy programs that expect 'latin1' to be the default encoding.

New applications should expect the default to be 'buffer'.

This property is deprecated.

crypto.fips

Property for checking and controlling whether a FIPS compliant crypto provider is currently in use. Setting to true requires a FIPS build of Node.js.

This property is deprecated. Please use crypto.setFips() and crypto.getFips() instead.

crypto.checkPrime(candidate[, options, [callback]])

• candidate <ArrayBuffer> | <SharedArrayBuffer> | <TypedArray> | <Buffer> | <DataView> | <bigint> A possible prime encoded as a sequence of big endian octets of arbitrary length.
• options <Object>
  • checks <number> The number of Miller-Rabin probabilistic primality iterations to perform. When the value is 0 (zero), a number of checks is used that yields a false positive rate of at most 2^-64 for random input. Care must be used when selecting a number of checks. Refer to the OpenSSL documentation for the BN_is_prime_ex function nchecks options for more details. Default: 0
• callback <Function>
  • err <Error> Set to an <Error> object if an error occurred during check.
  • result <boolean> true if the candidate is a prime with an error probability less than 0.25 ** options.checks.

Checks the primality of the candidate.

crypto.checkPrimeSync(candidate[, options])

• candidate <ArrayBuffer> | <SharedArrayBuffer> | <TypedArray> | <Buffer> | <DataView> | <bigint> A possible prime encoded as a sequence of big endian octets of arbitrary length.
• options <Object>
  • checks <number> The number of Miller-Rabin probabilistic primality iterations to perform. When the value is 0 (zero), a number of checks is used that yields a false positive rate of at most 2^-64 for random input. Care must be used when selecting a number of checks. Refer to the OpenSSL documentation for the BN_is_prime_ex function nchecks options for more details. Default: 0
• Returns: <boolean> true if the candidate is a prime with an error probability less than 0.25 ** options.checks.

Checks the primality of the candidate.

crypto.createCipher(algorithm, password[, options])

• algorithm <string>
• password <string> | <ArrayBuffer> | <Buffer> | <TypedArray> | <DataView>
• options <Object> stream.transform options
• Returns: <Cipher>

Creates and returns a Cipher object that uses the given algorithm and password.

The options argument controls stream behavior and is optional except when a cipher in CCM or OCB mode is used (e.g. 'aes-128-ccm'). In that case, the authTagLength option is required and specifies the length of the authentication tag in bytes, see CCM mode. In GCM mode, the authTagLength option is not required but can be used to set the length of the authentication tag that will be returned by getAuthTag() and defaults to 16 bytes.

The algorithm is dependent on OpenSSL, examples are 'aes192', etc. On recent OpenSSL releases, openssl list -cipher-algorithms (openssl list-cipher-algorithms for older versions of OpenSSL) will display the available cipher algorithms.

The password is used to derive the cipher key and initialization vector (IV). The value must be either a 'latin1' encoded string, a Buffer, a TypedArray, or a DataView.

The implementation of crypto.createCipher() derives keys using the OpenSSL function EVP_BytesToKey with the digest algorithm set to MD5, one iteration, and no salt. The lack of salt allows dictionary attacks as the same password always creates the same key. The low iteration count and non-cryptographically secure hash algorithm allow passwords to be tested very rapidly.

In line with OpenSSL's recommendation to use a more modern algorithm instead of EVP_BytesToKey it is recommended that developers derive a key and IV on their own using crypto.scrypt() and to use crypto.createCipheriv() to create the Cipher object. Users should not use ciphers with counter mode (e.g. CTR, GCM, or CCM) in crypto.createCipher(). A warning is emitted when they are used in order to avoid the risk of IV reuse that causes vulnerabilities. For the case when IV is reused in GCM, see Nonce-Disrespecting Adversaries for details.

crypto.createCipheriv(algorithm, key, iv[, options])

• algorithm <string>
• key <string> | <ArrayBuffer> | <Buffer> | <TypedArray> | <DataView> | <KeyObject> | <CryptoKey>
• iv <string> | <ArrayBuffer> | <Buffer> | <TypedArray> | <DataView> | <null>
• options <Object> stream.transform options
• Returns: <Cipher>

Creates and returns a Cipher object, with the given algorithm, key and initialization vector (iv).

The options argument controls stream behavior and is optional except when a cipher in CCM or OCB mode is used (e.g. 'aes-128-ccm'). In that case, the authTagLength option is required and specifies the length of the authentication tag in bytes, see CCM mode. In GCM mode, the authTagLength option is not required but can be used to set the length of the authentication tag that will be returned by getAuthTag() and defaults to 16 bytes.

The algorithm is dependent on OpenSSL, examples are 'aes192', etc. On recent OpenSSL releases, openssl list -cipher-algorithms (openssl list-cipher-algorithms for older versions of OpenSSL) will display the available cipher algorithms.

The key is the raw key used by the algorithm and iv is an initialization vector. Both arguments must be 'utf8' encoded strings, Buffers, TypedArray, or DataViews. The key may optionally be a KeyObject of type secret. If the cipher does not need an initialization vector, iv may be null.

When passing strings for key or iv, please consider caveats when using strings as inputs to cryptographic APIs.

Initialization vectors should be unpredictable and unique; ideally, they will be cryptographically random. They do not have to be secret: IVs are typically just added to ciphertext messages unencrypted. It may sound contradictory that something has to be unpredictable and unique, but does not have to be secret; remember that an attacker must not be able to predict ahead of time what a given IV will be.

crypto.createDecipher(algorithm, password[, options])

• algorithm <string>
• password <string> | <ArrayBuffer> | <Buffer> | <TypedArray> | <DataView>
• options <Object> stream.transform options
• Returns: <Decipher>

Creates and returns a Decipher object that uses the given algorithm and password (key).

The options argument controls stream behavior and is optional except when a cipher in CCM or OCB mode is used (e.g. 'aes-128-ccm'). In that case, the authTagLength option is required and specifies the length of the authentication tag in bytes, see CCM mode.

The implementation of crypto.createDecipher() derives keys using the OpenSSL function EVP_BytesToKey with the digest algorithm set to MD5, one iteration, and no salt. The lack of salt allows dictionary attacks as the same password always creates the same key. The low iteration count and non-cryptographically secure hash algorithm allow passwords to be tested very rapidly.

In line with OpenSSL's recommendation to use a more modern algorithm instead of EVP_BytesToKey it is recommended that developers derive a key and IV on their own using crypto.scrypt() and to use crypto.createDecipheriv() to create the Decipher object.

crypto.createDecipheriv(algorithm, key, iv[, options])

• algorithm <string>
• key <string> | <ArrayBuffer> | <Buffer> | <TypedArray> | <DataView> | <KeyObject> | <CryptoKey>
• iv <string> | <ArrayBuffer> | <Buffer> | <TypedArray> | <DataView> | <null>
• options <Object> stream.transform options
• Returns: <Decipher>

Creates and returns a Decipher object that uses the given algorithm, key and initialization vector (iv).

The options argument controls stream behavior and is optional except when a cipher in CCM or OCB mode is used (e.g. 'aes-128-ccm'). In that case, the authTagLength option is required and specifies the length of the authentication tag in bytes, see CCM mode. In GCM mode, the authTagLength option is not required but can be used to restrict accepted authentication tags to those with the specified length.

The algorithm is dependent on OpenSSL, examples are 'aes192', etc. On recent OpenSSL releases, openssl list -cipher-algorithms (openssl list-cipher-algorithms for older versions of OpenSSL) will display the available cipher algorithms.

The key is the raw key used by the algorithm and iv is an initialization vector. Both arguments must be 'utf8' encoded strings, Buffers, TypedArray, or DataViews. The key may optionally be a KeyObject of type secret. If the cipher does not need an initialization vector, iv may be null.

When passing strings for key or iv, please consider caveats when using strings as inputs to cryptographic APIs.

Initialization vectors should be unpredictable and unique; ideally, they will be cryptographically random. They do not have to be secret: IVs are typically just added to ciphertext messages unencrypted. It may sound contradictory that something has to be unpredictable and unique, but does not have to be secret; remember that an attacker must not be able to predict ahead of time what a given IV will be.

crypto.createDiffieHellman(prime[, primeEncoding][, generator][, generatorEncoding])

• prime <string> | <ArrayBuffer> | <Buffer> | <TypedArray> | <DataView>
• primeEncoding <string> The encoding of the prime string.
• generator <number> | <string> | <ArrayBuffer> | <Buffer> | <TypedArray> | <DataView> Default: 2
• generatorEncoding <string> The encoding of the generator string.
• Returns: <DiffieHellman>

Creates a DiffieHellman key exchange object using the supplied prime and an optional specific generator.

The generator argument can be a number, string, or Buffer. If generator is not specified, the value 2 is used.

If primeEncoding is specified, prime is expected to be a string; otherwise a Buffer, TypedArray, or DataView is expected.

If generatorEncoding is specified, generator is expected to be a string; otherwise a number, Buffer, TypedArray, or DataView is expected.

crypto.createDiffieHellman(primeLength[, generator])

• primeLength <number>
• generator <number> Default: 2
• Returns: <DiffieHellman>

Creates a DiffieHellman key exchange object and generates a prime of primeLength bits using an optional specific numeric generator. If generator is not specified, the value 2 is used.

crypto.createDiffieHellmanGroup(name)

• name <string>
• Returns: <DiffieHellmanGroup>

An alias for crypto.getDiffieHellman()

crypto.createECDH(curveName)

• curveName <string>
• Returns: <ECDH>

Creates an Elliptic Curve Diffie-Hellman (ECDH) key exchange object using a predefined curve specified by the curveName string. Use crypto.getCurves() to obtain a list of available curve names. On recent OpenSSL releases, openssl ecparam -list_curves will also display the name and description of each available elliptic curve.

crypto.createHash(algorithm[, options])

• algorithm <string>
• options <Object> stream.transform options
• Returns: <Hash>

Creates and returns a Hash object that can be used to generate hash digests using the given algorithm. Optional options argument controls stream behavior. For XOF hash functions such as 'shake256', the outputLength option can be used to specify the desired output length in bytes.

The algorithm is dependent on the available algorithms supported by the version of OpenSSL on the platform. Examples are 'sha256', 'sha512', etc. On recent releases of OpenSSL, openssl list -digest-algorithms (openssl list-message-digest-algorithms for older versions of OpenSSL) will display the available digest algorithms.

Example: generating the sha256 sum of a file

MJS modules

import {
  createReadStream
} from 'fs';
import { argv } from 'process';
const {
  createHash
} = await import('crypto');

const filename = argv[2];

const hash = createHash('sha256');

const input = createReadStream(filename);
input.on('readable', () => {
  // Only one element is going to be produced by the
  // hash stream.
  const data = input.read();
  if (data)
    hash.update(data);
  else {
    console.log(`${hash.digest('hex')} ${filename}`);
  }
});

CJS modules

const {
  createReadStream,
} = require('fs');
const {
  createHash,
} = require('crypto');
const { argv } = require('process');

const filename = argv[2];

const hash = createHash('sha256');

const input = createReadStream(filename);
input.on('readable', () => {
  // Only one element is going to be produced by the
  // hash stream.
  const data = input.read();
  if (data)
    hash.update(data);
  else {
    console.log(`${hash.digest('hex')} ${filename}`);
  }
});

crypto.createHmac(algorithm, key[, options])

• algorithm <string>
• key <string> | <ArrayBuffer> | <Buffer> | <TypedArray> | <DataView> | <KeyObject> | <CryptoKey>
• options <Object> stream.transform options
  • encoding <string> The string encoding to use when key is a string.
• Returns: <Hmac>

Creates and returns an Hmac object that uses the given algorithm and key. Optional options argument controls stream behavior.

The algorithm is dependent on the available algorithms supported by the version of OpenSSL on the platform. Examples are 'sha256', 'sha512', etc. On recent releases of OpenSSL, openssl list -digest-algorithms (openssl list-message-digest-algorithms for older versions of OpenSSL) will display the available digest algorithms.

The key is the HMAC key used to generate the cryptographic HMAC hash. If it is a KeyObject, its type must be secret.

Example: generating the sha256 HMAC of a file

MJS modules

import {
  createReadStream
} from 'fs';
import { argv } from 'process';
const {
  createHmac
} = await import('crypto');

const filename = argv[2];

const hmac = createHmac('sha256', 'a secret');

const input = createReadStream(filename);
input.on('readable', () => {
  // Only one element is going to be produced by the
  // hash stream.
  const data = input.read();
  if (data)
    hmac.update(data);
  else {
    console.log(`${hmac.digest('hex')} ${filename}`);
  }
});

CJS modules

const {
  createReadStream,
} = require('fs');
const {
  createHmac,
} = require('crypto');
const { argv } = require('process');

const filename = argv[2];

const hmac = createHmac('sha256', 'a secret');

const input = createReadStream(filename);
input.on('readable', () => {
  // Only one element is going to be produced by the
  // hash stream.
  const data = input.read();
  if (data)
    hmac.update(data);
  else {
    console.log(`${hmac.digest('hex')} ${filename}`);
  }
});

crypto.createPrivateKey(key)

• key <Object> | <string> | <ArrayBuffer> | <Buffer> | <TypedArray> | <DataView>
  • key: <string> | <ArrayBuffer> | <Buffer> | <TypedArray> | <DataView> | <Object> The key material, either in PEM, DER, or JWK format.
  • format: <string> Must be 'pem', 'der', or ''jwk'. Default: 'pem'.
  • type: <string> Must be 'pkcs1', 'pkcs8' or 'sec1'. This option is required only if the format is 'der' and ignored otherwise.
  • passphrase: <string> | <Buffer> The passphrase to use for decryption.
  • encoding: <string> The string encoding to use when key is a string.
• Returns: <KeyObject>

Creates and returns a new key object containing a private key. If key is a string or Buffer, format is assumed to be 'pem'; otherwise, key must be an object with the properties described above.

If the private key is encrypted, a passphrase must be specified. The length of the passphrase is limited to 1024 bytes.

crypto.createPublicKey(key)

• key <Object> | <string> | <ArrayBuffer> | <Buffer> | <TypedArray> | <DataView>
  • key: <string> | <ArrayBuffer> | <Buffer> | <TypedArray> | <DataView> | <Object> The key material, either in PEM, DER, or JWK format.
  • format: <string> Must be 'pem', 'der', or 'jwk'. Default: 'pem'.
  • type: <string> Must be 'pkcs1' or 'spki'. This option is required only if the format is 'der' and ignored otherwise.
  • encoding <string> The string encoding to use when key is a string.
• Returns: <KeyObject>

Creates and returns a new key object containing a public key. If key is a string or Buffer, format is assumed to be 'pem'; if key is a KeyObject with type 'private', the public key is derived from the given private key; otherwise, key must be an object with the properties described above.

If the format is 'pem', the 'key' may also be an X.509 certificate.

Because public keys can be derived from private keys, a private key may be passed instead of a public key. In that case, this function behaves as if crypto.createPrivateKey() had been called, except that the type of the returned KeyObject will be 'public' and that the private key cannot be extracted from the returned KeyObject. Similarly, if a KeyObject with type 'private' is given, a new KeyObject with type 'public' will be returned and it will be impossible to extract the private key from the returned object.

crypto.createSecretKey(key[, encoding])

• key <string> | <ArrayBuffer> | <Buffer> | <TypedArray> | <DataView>
• encoding <string> The string encoding when key is a string.
• Returns: <KeyObject>

Creates and returns a new key object containing a secret key for symmetric encryption or Hmac.

crypto.createSign(algorithm[, options])

• algorithm <string>
• options <Object> stream.Writable options
• Returns: <Sign>

Creates and returns a Sign object that uses the given algorithm. Use crypto.getHashes() to obtain the names of the available digest algorithms. Optional options argument controls the stream.Writable behavior.

In some cases, a Sign instance can be created using the name of a signature algorithm, such as 'RSA-SHA256', instead of a digest algorithm. This will use the corresponding digest algorithm. This does not work for all signature algorithms, such as 'ecdsa-with-SHA256', so it is best to always use digest algorithm names.

crypto.createVerify(algorithm[, options])

• algorithm <string>
• options <Object> stream.Writable options
• Returns: <Verify>

Creates and returns a Verify object that uses the given algorithm. Use crypto.getHashes() to obtain an array of names of the available signing algorithms. Optional options argument controls the stream.Writable behavior.

In some cases, a Verify instance can be created using the name of a signature algorithm, such as 'RSA-SHA256', instead of a digest algorithm. This will use the corresponding digest algorithm. This does not work for all signature algorithms, such as 'ecdsa-with-SHA256', so it is best to always use digest algorithm names.

crypto.diffieHellman(options)

• options: <Object>
  • privateKey: <KeyObject>
  • publicKey: <KeyObject>
• Returns: <Buffer>

Computes the Diffie-Hellman secret based on a privateKey and a publicKey. Both keys must have the same asymmetricKeyType, which must be one of 'dh' (for Diffie-Hellman), 'ec' (for ECDH), 'x448', or 'x25519' (for ECDH-ES).

crypto.generateKey(type, options, callback)

• type: <string> The intended use of the generated secret key. Currently accepted values are 'hmac' and 'aes'.
• options: <Object>
  • length: <number> The bit length of the key to generate. This must be a value greater than 0.
    • If type is 'hmac', the minimum is 1, and the maximum length is 2³¹-1. If the value is not a multiple of 8, the generated key will be truncated to Math.floor(length / 8).
    • If type is 'aes', the length must be one of 128, 192, or 256.
• callback: <Function>
  • err: <Error>
  • key: <KeyObject>

Asynchronously generates a new random secret key of the given length. The type will determine which validations will be performed on the length.

MJS modules

const {
  generateKey
} = await import('crypto');

generateKey('hmac', { length: 64 }, (err, key) => {
  if (err) throw err;
  console.log(key.export().toString('hex'));  // 46e..........620
});

CJS modules

const {
  generateKey,
} = require('crypto');

generateKey('hmac', { length: 64 }, (err, key) => {
  if (err) throw err;
  console.log(key.export().toString('hex'));  // 46e..........620
});

crypto.generateKeyPair(type, options, callback)

• type: <string> Must be 'rsa', 'rsa-pss', 'dsa', 'ec', 'ed25519', 'ed448', 'x25519', 'x448', or 'dh'.
• options: <Object>
  • modulusLength: <number> Key size in bits (RSA, DSA).
  • publicExponent: <number> Public exponent (RSA). Default: 0x10001.
  • hashAlgorithm: <string> Name of the message digest (RSA-PSS).
  • mgf1HashAlgorithm: <string> Name of the message digest used by MGF1 (RSA-PSS).
  • saltLength: <number> Minimal salt length in bytes (RSA-PSS).
  • divisorLength: <number> Size of q in bits (DSA).
  • namedCurve: <string> Name of the curve to use (EC).
  • prime: <Buffer> The prime parameter (DH).
  • primeLength: <number> Prime length in bits (DH).
  • generator: <number> Custom generator (DH). Default: 2.
  • groupName: <string> Diffie-Hellman group name (DH). See crypto.getDiffieHellman().
  • publicKeyEncoding: <Object> See keyObject.export().
  • privateKeyEncoding: <Object> See keyObject.export().
• callback: <Function>
  • err: <Error>
  • publicKey: <string> | <Buffer> | <KeyObject>
  • privateKey: <string> | <Buffer> | <KeyObject>

Generates a new asymmetric key pair of the given type. RSA, RSA-PSS, DSA, EC, Ed25519, Ed448, X25519, X448, and DH are currently supported.

If a publicKeyEncoding or privateKeyEncoding was specified, this function behaves as if keyObject.export() had been called on its result. Otherwise, the respective part of the key is returned as a KeyObject.

It is recommended to encode public keys as 'spki' and private keys as 'pkcs8' with encryption for long-term storage:

MJS modules

const {
  generateKeyPair
} = await import('crypto');

generateKeyPair('rsa', {
  modulusLength: 4096,
  publicKeyEncoding: {
    type: 'spki',
    format: 'pem'
  },
  privateKeyEncoding: {
    type: 'pkcs8',
    format: 'pem',
    cipher: 'aes-256-cbc',
    passphrase: 'top secret'
  }
}, (err, publicKey, privateKey) => {
  // Handle errors and use the generated key pair.
});

CJS modules

const {
  generateKeyPair,
} = require('crypto');

generateKeyPair('rsa', {
  modulusLength: 4096,
  publicKeyEncoding: {
    type: 'spki',
    format: 'pem'
  },
  privateKeyEncoding: {
    type: 'pkcs8',
    format: 'pem',
    cipher: 'aes-256-cbc',
    passphrase: 'top secret'
  }
}, (err, publicKey, privateKey) => {
  // Handle errors and use the generated key pair.
});

On completion, callback will be called with err set to undefined and publicKey / privateKey representing the generated key pair.

If this method is invoked as its util.promisify()ed version, it returns a Promise for an Object with publicKey and privateKey properties.

crypto.generateKeyPairSync(type, options)

• type: <string> Must be 'rsa', 'rsa-pss', 'dsa', 'ec', 'ed25519', 'ed448', 'x25519', 'x448', or 'dh'.
• options: <Object>
  • modulusLength: <number> Key size in bits (RSA, DSA).
  • publicExponent: <number> Public exponent (RSA). Default: 0x10001.
  • hashAlgorithm: <string> Name of the message digest (RSA-PSS).
  • mgf1HashAlgorithm: <string> Name of the message digest used by MGF1 (RSA-PSS).
  • saltLength: <number> Minimal salt length in bytes (RSA-PSS).
  • divisorLength: <number> Size of q in bits (DSA).
  • namedCurve: <string> Name of the curve to use (EC).
  • prime: <Buffer> The prime parameter (DH).
  • primeLength: <number> Prime length in bits (DH).
  • generator: <number> Custom generator (DH). Default: 2.
  • groupName: <string> Diffie-Hellman group name (DH). See crypto.getDiffieHellman().
  • publicKeyEncoding: <Object> See keyObject.export().
  • privateKeyEncoding: <Object> See keyObject.export().
• Returns: <Object>
  • publicKey: <string> | <Buffer> | <KeyObject>
  • privateKey: <string> | <Buffer> | <KeyObject>

Generates a new asymmetric key pair of the given type. RSA, RSA-PSS, DSA, EC, Ed25519, Ed448, X25519, X448, and DH are currently supported.

If a publicKeyEncoding or privateKeyEncoding was specified, this function behaves as if keyObject.export() had been called on its result. Otherwise, the respective part of the key is returned as a KeyObject.

When encoding public keys, it is recommended to use 'spki'. When encoding private keys, it is recommended to use 'pkcs8' with a strong passphrase, and to keep the passphrase confidential.

MJS modules

const {
  generateKeyPairSync
} = await import('crypto');

const {
  publicKey,
  privateKey,
} = generateKeyPairSync('rsa', {
  modulusLength: 4096,
  publicKeyEncoding: {
    type: 'spki',
    format: 'pem'
  },
  privateKeyEncoding: {
    type: 'pkcs8',
    format: 'pem',
    cipher: 'aes-256-cbc',
    passphrase: 'top secret'
  }
});

CJS modules

const {
  generateKeyPairSync,
} = require('crypto');

const {
  publicKey,
  privateKey,
} = generateKeyPairSync('rsa', {
  modulusLength: 4096,
  publicKeyEncoding: {
    type: 'spki',
    format: 'pem'
  },
  privateKeyEncoding: {
    type: 'pkcs8',
    format: 'pem',
    cipher: 'aes-256-cbc',
    passphrase: 'top secret'
  }
});

The return value { publicKey, privateKey } represents the generated key pair. When PEM encoding was selected, the respective key will be a string, otherwise it will be a buffer containing the data encoded as DER.

crypto.generateKeySync(type, options)

• type: <string> The intended use of the generated secret key. Currently accepted values are 'hmac' and 'aes'.
• options: <Object>
  • length: <number> The bit length of the key to generate.
    • If type is 'hmac', the minimum is 1, and the maximum length is 2³¹-1. If the value is not a multiple of 8, the generated key will be truncated to Math.floor(length / 8).
    • If type is 'aes', the length must be one of 128, 192, or 256.
• Returns: <KeyObject>

Synchronously generates a new random secret key of the given length. The type will determine which validations will be performed on the length.

MJS modules

const {
  generateKeySync
} = await import('crypto');

const key = generateKeySync('hmac', { length: 64 });
console.log(key.export().toString('hex'));  // e89..........41e

CJS modules

const {
  generateKeySync,
} = require('crypto');

const key = generateKeySync('hmac', { length: 64 });
console.log(key.export().toString('hex'));  // e89..........41e

crypto.generatePrime(size[, options[, callback]])

• size <number> The size (in bits) of the prime to generate.
• options <Object>
  • add <ArrayBuffer> | <SharedArrayBuffer> | <TypedArray> | <Buffer> | <DataView> | <bigint>
  • rem <ArrayBuffer> | <SharedArrayBuffer> | <TypedArray> | <Buffer> | <DataView> | <bigint>
  • safe <boolean> Default: false.
  • bigint <boolean> When true, the generated prime is returned as a bigint.
• callback <Function>
  • err <Error>
  • prime <ArrayBuffer> | <bigint>

Generates a pseudorandom prime of size bits.

If options.safe is true, the prime will be a safe prime -- that is, (prime - 1) / 2 will also be a prime.

The options.add and options.rem parameters can be used to enforce additional requirements, e.g., for Diffie-Hellman:

• If options.add and options.rem are both set, the prime will satisfy the condition that prime % add = rem.
• If only options.add is set and options.safe is not true, the prime will satisfy the condition that prime % add = 1.
• If only options.add is set and options.safe is set to true, the prime will instead satisfy the condition that prime % add = 3. This is necessary because prime % add = 1 for options.add > 2 would contradict the condition enforced by options.safe.
• options.rem is ignored if options.add is not given.

Both options.add and options.rem must be encoded as big-endian sequences if given as an ArrayBuffer, SharedArrayBuffer, TypedArray, Buffer, or DataView.

By default, the prime is encoded as a big-endian sequence of octets in an <ArrayBuffer>. If the bigint option is true, then a <bigint> is provided.

crypto.generatePrimeSync(size[, options])

• size <number> The size (in bits) of the prime to generate.
• options <Object>
  • add <ArrayBuffer> | <SharedArrayBuffer> | <TypedArray> | <Buffer> | <DataView> | <bigint>
  • rem <ArrayBuffer> | <SharedArrayBuffer> | <TypedArray> | <Buffer> | <DataView> | <bigint>
  • safe <boolean> Default: false.
  • bigint <boolean> When true, the generated prime is returned as a bigint.
• Returns: <ArrayBuffer> | <bigint>

Generates a pseudorandom prime of size bits.

If options.safe is true, the prime will be a safe prime -- that is, (prime - 1) / 2 will also be a prime.

The options.add and options.rem parameters can be used to enforce additional requirements, e.g., for Diffie-Hellman:

• If options.add and options.rem are both set, the prime will satisfy the condition that prime % add = rem.
• If only options.add is set and options.safe is not true, the prime will satisfy the condition that prime % add = 1.
• If only options.add is set and options.safe is set to true, the prime will instead satisfy the condition that prime % add = 3. This is necessary because prime % add = 1 for options.add > 2 would contradict the condition enforced by options.safe.
• options.rem is ignored if options.add is not given.

Both options.add and options.rem must be encoded as big-endian sequences if given as an ArrayBuffer, SharedArrayBuffer, TypedArray, Buffer, or DataView.

By default, the prime is encoded as a big-endian sequence of octets in an <ArrayBuffer>. If the bigint option is true, then a <bigint> is provided.

crypto.getCipherInfo(nameOrNid[, options])

• nameOrNid: <string> | <number> The name or nid of the cipher to query.
• options: <Object>
  • keyLength: <number> A test key length.
  • ivLength: <number> A test IV length.
• Returns: <Object>
  • name <string> The name of the cipher
  • nid <number> The nid of the cipher
  • blockSize <number> The block size of the cipher in bytes. This property is omitted when mode is 'stream'.
  • ivLength <number> The expected or default initialization vector length in bytes. This property is omitted if the cipher does not use an initialization vector.
  • keyLength <number> The expected or default key length in bytes.
  • mode <string> The cipher mode. One of 'cbc', 'ccm', 'cfb', 'ctr', 'ecb', 'gcm', 'ocb', 'ofb', 'stream', 'wrap', 'xts'.

Returns information about a given cipher.

Some ciphers accept variable length keys and initialization vectors. By default, the crypto.getCipherInfo() method will return the default values for these ciphers. To test if a given key length or iv length is acceptable for given cipher, use the keyLength and ivLength options. If the given values are unacceptable, undefined will be returned.

crypto.getCiphers()

• Returns: <string[]> An array with the names of the supported cipher algorithms.

MJS modules

const {
  getCiphers
} = await import('crypto');

console.log(getCiphers()); // ['aes-128-cbc', 'aes-128-ccm', ...]

CJS modules

const {
  getCiphers,
} = require('crypto');

console.log(getCiphers()); // ['aes-128-cbc', 'aes-128-ccm', ...]

crypto.getCurves()

• Returns: <string[]> An array with the names of the supported elliptic curves.

MJS modules

const {
  getCurves
} = await import('crypto');

console.log(getCurves()); // ['Oakley-EC2N-3', 'Oakley-EC2N-4', ...]

CJS modules

const {
  getCurves,
} = require('crypto');

console.log(getCurves()); // ['Oakley-EC2N-3', 'Oakley-EC2N-4', ...]

crypto.getDiffieHellman(groupName)

• groupName <string>
• Returns: <DiffieHellmanGroup>

Creates a predefined DiffieHellmanGroup key exchange object. The supported groups are: 'modp1', 'modp2', 'modp5' (defined in RFC 2412, but see Caveats) and 'modp14', 'modp15', 'modp16', 'modp17', 'modp18' (defined in RFC 3526). The returned object mimics the interface of objects created by crypto.createDiffieHellman(), but will not allow changing the keys (with diffieHellman.setPublicKey(), for example). The advantage of using this method is that the parties do not have to generate nor exchange a group modulus beforehand, saving both processor and communication time.

Example (obtaining a shared secret):

MJS modules

const {
  getDiffieHellman
} = await import('crypto');
const alice = getDiffieHellman('modp14');
const bob = getDiffieHellman('modp14');

alice.generateKeys();
bob.generateKeys();

const aliceSecret = alice.computeSecret(bob.getPublicKey(), null, 'hex');
const bobSecret = bob.computeSecret(alice.getPublicKey(), null, 'hex');

/* aliceSecret and bobSecret should be the same */
console.log(aliceSecret === bobSecret);

CJS modules

const {
  getDiffieHellman,
} = require('crypto');

const alice = getDiffieHellman('modp14');
const bob = getDiffieHellman('modp14');

alice.generateKeys();
bob.generateKeys();

const aliceSecret = alice.computeSecret(bob.getPublicKey(), null, 'hex');
const bobSecret = bob.computeSecret(alice.getPublicKey(), null, 'hex');

/* aliceSecret and bobSecret should be the same */
console.log(aliceSecret === bobSecret);

crypto.getFips()

• Returns: <number> 1 if and only if a FIPS compliant crypto provider is currently in use, 0 otherwise. A future semver-major release may change the return type of this API to a <boolean>.

crypto.getHashes()

• Returns: <string[]> An array of the names of the supported hash algorithms, such as 'RSA-SHA256'. Hash algorithms are also called "digest" algorithms.

MJS modules

const {
  getHashes
} = await import('crypto');

console.log(getHashes()); // ['DSA', 'DSA-SHA', 'DSA-SHA1', ...]

CJS modules

const {
  getHashes,
} = require('crypto');

console.log(getHashes()); // ['DSA', 'DSA-SHA', 'DSA-SHA1', ...]

crypto.hkdf(digest, ikm, salt, info, keylen, callback)

• digest <string> The digest algorithm to use.
• ikm <string> | <ArrayBuffer> | <Buffer> | <TypedArray> | <DataView> | <KeyObject> The input keying material. It must be at least one byte in length.
• salt <string> | <ArrayBuffer> | <Buffer> | <TypedArray> | <DataView> The salt value. Must be provided but can be zero-length.
• info <string> | <ArrayBuffer> | <Buffer> | <TypedArray> | <DataView> Additional info value. Must be provided but can be zero-length, and cannot be more than 1024 bytes.
• keylen <number> The length of the key to generate. Must be greater than 0. The maximum allowable value is 255 times the number of bytes produced by the selected digest function (e.g. sha512 generates 64-byte hashes, making the maximum HKDF output 16320 bytes).
• callback <Function>
  • err <Error>
  • derivedKey <ArrayBuffer>

HKDF is a simple key derivation function defined in RFC 5869. The given ikm, salt and info are used with the digest to derive a key of keylen bytes.

The supplied callback function is called with two arguments: err and derivedKey. If an errors occurs while deriving the key, err will be set; otherwise err will be null. The successfully generated derivedKey will be passed to the callback as an <ArrayBuffer>. An error will be thrown if any of the input arguments specify invalid values or types.

MJS modules

import { Buffer } from 'buffer';
const {
  hkdf
} = await import('crypto');

hkdf('sha512', 'key', 'salt', 'info', 64, (err, derivedKey) => {
  if (err) throw err;
  console.log(Buffer.from(derivedKey).toString('hex'));  // '24156e2...5391653'
});

CJS modules

const {
  hkdf,
} = require('crypto');
const { Buffer } = require('buffer');

hkdf('sha512', 'key', 'salt', 'info', 64, (err, derivedKey) => {
  if (err) throw err;
  console.log(Buffer.from(derivedKey).toString('hex'));  // '24156e2...5391653'
});

crypto.hkdfSync(digest, ikm, salt, info, keylen)

• digest <string> The digest algorithm to use.
• ikm <string> | <ArrayBuffer> | <Buffer> | <TypedArray> | <DataView> | <KeyObject> The input keying material. It must be at least one byte in length.
• salt <string> | <ArrayBuffer> | <Buffer> | <TypedArray> | <DataView> The salt value. Must be provided but can be zero-length.
• info <string> | <ArrayBuffer> | <Buffer> | <TypedArray> | <DataView> Additional info value. Must be provided but can be zero-length, and cannot be more than 1024 bytes.
• keylen <number> The length of the key to generate. Must be greater than 0. The maximum allowable value is 255 times the number of bytes produced by the selected digest function (e.g. sha512 generates 64-byte hashes, making the maximum HKDF output 16320 bytes).
• Returns: <ArrayBuffer>

Provides a synchronous HKDF key derivation function as defined in RFC 5869. The given ikm, salt and info are used with the digest to derive a key of keylen bytes.

The successfully generated derivedKey will be returned as an <ArrayBuffer>.

An error will be thrown if any of the input arguments specify invalid values or types, or if the derived key cannot be generated.

MJS modules

import { Buffer } from 'buffer';
const {
  hkdfSync
} = await import('crypto');

const derivedKey = hkdfSync('sha512', 'key', 'salt', 'info', 64);
console.log(Buffer.from(derivedKey).toString('hex'));  // '24156e2...5391653'

CJS modules

const {
  hkdfSync,
} = require('crypto');
const { Buffer } = require('buffer');

const derivedKey = hkdfSync('sha512', 'key', 'salt', 'info', 64);
console.log(Buffer.from(derivedKey).toString('hex'));  // '24156e2...5391653'

crypto.pbkdf2(password, salt, iterations, keylen, digest, callback)

• password <string> | <ArrayBuffer> | <Buffer> | <TypedArray> | <DataView>
• salt <string> | <ArrayBuffer> | <Buffer> | <TypedArray> | <DataView>
• iterations <number>
• keylen <number>
• digest <string>
• callback <Function>
  • err <Error>
  • derivedKey <Buffer>

Provides an asynchronous Password-Based Key Derivation Function 2 (PBKDF2) implementation. A selected HMAC digest algorithm specified by digest is applied to derive a key of the requested byte length (keylen) from the password, salt and iterations.

The supplied callback function is called with two arguments: err and derivedKey. If an error occurs while deriving the key, err will be set; otherwise err will be null. By default, the successfully generated derivedKey will be passed to the callback as a Buffer. An error will be thrown if any of the input arguments specify invalid values or types.

If digest is null, 'sha1' will be used. This behavior is deprecated, please specify a digest explicitly.

The iterations argument must be a number set as high as possible. The higher the number of iterations, the more secure the derived key will be, but will take a longer amount of time to complete.

The salt should be as unique as possible. It is recommended that a salt is random and at least 16 bytes long. See NIST SP 800-132 for details.

When passing strings for password or salt, please consider caveats when using strings as inputs to cryptographic APIs.

MJS modules

const {
  pbkdf2
} = await import('crypto');

pbkdf2('secret', 'salt', 100000, 64, 'sha512', (err, derivedKey) => {
  if (err) throw err;
  console.log(derivedKey.toString('hex'));  // '3745e48...08d59ae'
});

CJS modules

const {
  pbkdf2,
} = require('crypto');

pbkdf2('secret', 'salt', 100000, 64, 'sha512', (err, derivedKey) => {
  if (err) throw err;
  console.log(derivedKey.toString('hex'));  // '3745e48...08d59ae'
});

The crypto.DEFAULT_ENCODING property can be used to change the way the derivedKey is passed to the callback. This property, however, has been deprecated and use should be avoided.

MJS modules

import crypto from 'crypto';
crypto.DEFAULT_ENCODING = 'hex';
crypto.pbkdf2('secret', 'salt', 100000, 512, 'sha512', (err, derivedKey) => {
  if (err) throw err;
  console.log(derivedKey);  // '3745e48...aa39b34'
});

CJS modules

const crypto = require('crypto');
crypto.DEFAULT_ENCODING = 'hex';
crypto.pbkdf2('secret', 'salt', 100000, 512, 'sha512', (err, derivedKey) => {
  if (err) throw err;
  console.log(derivedKey);  // '3745e48...aa39b34'
});

An array of supported digest functions can be retrieved using crypto.getHashes().

This API uses libuv's threadpool, which can have surprising and negative performance implications for some applications; see the UV_THREADPOOL_SIZE documentation for more information.

crypto.pbkdf2Sync(password, salt, iterations, keylen, digest)

• password <string> | <Buffer> | <TypedArray> | <DataView>
• salt <string> | <Buffer> | <TypedArray> | <DataView>
• iterations <number>
• keylen <number>
• digest <string>
• Returns: <Buffer>

Provides a synchronous Password-Based Key Derivation Function 2 (PBKDF2) implementation. A selected HMAC digest algorithm specified by digest is applied to derive a key of the requested byte length (keylen) from the password, salt and iterations.

If an error occurs an Error will be thrown, otherwise the derived key will be returned as a Buffer.

If digest is null, 'sha1' will be used. This behavior is deprecated, please specify a digest explicitly.

The iterations argument must be a number set as high as possible. The higher the number of iterations, the more secure the derived key will be, but will take a longer amount of time to complete.

The salt should be as unique as possible. It is recommended that a salt is random and at least 16 bytes long. See NIST SP 800-132 for details.

When passing strings for password or salt, please consider caveats when using strings as inputs to cryptographic APIs.

MJS modules

const {
  pbkdf2Sync
} = await import('crypto');

const key = pbkdf2Sync('secret', 'salt', 100000, 64, 'sha512');
console.log(key.toString('hex'));  // '3745e48...08d59ae'

CJS modules

const {
  pbkdf2Sync,
} = require('crypto');

const key = pbkdf2Sync('secret', 'salt', 100000, 64, 'sha512');
console.log(key.toString('hex'));  // '3745e48...08d59ae'

The crypto.DEFAULT_ENCODING property may be used to change the way the derivedKey is returned. This property, however, is deprecated and use should be avoided.

MJS modules

import crypto from 'crypto';
crypto.DEFAULT_ENCODING = 'hex';
const key = crypto.pbkdf2Sync('secret', 'salt', 100000, 512, 'sha512');
console.log(key);  // '3745e48...aa39b34'

CJS modules

const crypto = require('crypto');
crypto.DEFAULT_ENCODING = 'hex';
const key = crypto.pbkdf2Sync('secret', 'salt', 100000, 512, 'sha512');
console.log(key);  // '3745e48...aa39b34'

An array of supported digest functions can be retrieved using crypto.getHashes().

crypto.privateDecrypt(privateKey, buffer)

• privateKey <Object> | <string> | <ArrayBuffer> | <Buffer> | <TypedArray> | <DataView> | <KeyObject> | <CryptoKey>
  • oaepHash <string> The hash function to use for OAEP padding and MGF1. Default: 'sha1'
  • oaepLabel <string> | <ArrayBuffer> | <Buffer> | <TypedArray> | <DataView> The label to use for OAEP padding. If not specified, no label is used.
  • padding <crypto.constants> An optional padding value defined in crypto.constants, which may be: crypto.constants.RSA_NO_PADDING, crypto.constants.RSA_PKCS1_PADDING, or crypto.constants.RSA_PKCS1_OAEP_PADDING.
• buffer <string> | <ArrayBuffer> | <Buffer> | <TypedArray> | <DataView>
• Returns: <Buffer> A new Buffer with the decrypted content.

Decrypts buffer with privateKey. buffer was previously encrypted using the corresponding public key, for example using crypto.publicEncrypt().

If privateKey is not a KeyObject, this function behaves as if privateKey had been passed to crypto.createPrivateKey(). If it is an object, the padding property can be passed. Otherwise, this function uses RSA_PKCS1_OAEP_PADDING.

crypto.privateEncrypt(privateKey, buffer)

• privateKey <Object> | <string> | <ArrayBuffer> | <Buffer> | <TypedArray> | <DataView> | <KeyObject> | <CryptoKey>
  • key <string> | <ArrayBuffer> | <Buffer> | <TypedArray> | <DataView> | <KeyObject> | <CryptoKey> A PEM encoded private key.
  • passphrase <string> | <ArrayBuffer> | <Buffer> | <TypedArray> | <DataView> An optional passphrase for the private key.
  • padding <crypto.constants> An optional padding value defined in crypto.constants, which may be: crypto.constants.RSA_NO_PADDING or crypto.constants.RSA_PKCS1_PADDING.
  • encoding <string> The string encoding to use when buffer, key, or passphrase are strings.
• buffer <string> | <ArrayBuffer> | <Buffer> | <TypedArray> | <DataView>
• Returns: <Buffer> A new Buffer with the encrypted content.

Encrypts buffer with privateKey. The returned data can be decrypted using the corresponding public key, for example using crypto.publicDecrypt().

If privateKey is not a KeyObject, this function behaves as if privateKey had been passed to crypto.createPrivateKey(). If it is an object, the padding property can be passed. Otherwise, this function uses RSA_PKCS1_PADDING.

crypto.publicDecrypt(key, buffer)

• key <Object> | <string> | <ArrayBuffer> | <Buffer> | <TypedArray> | <DataView> | <KeyObject> | <CryptoKey>
  • passphrase <string> | <ArrayBuffer> | <Buffer> | <TypedArray> | <DataView> An optional passphrase for the private key.
  • padding <crypto.constants> An optional padding value defined in crypto.constants, which may be: crypto.constants.RSA_NO_PADDING or crypto.constants.RSA_PKCS1_PADDING.
  • encoding <string> The string encoding to use when buffer, key, or passphrase are strings.
• buffer <string> | <ArrayBuffer> | <Buffer> | <TypedArray> | <DataView>
• Returns: <Buffer> A new Buffer with the decrypted content.

Decrypts buffer with key.buffer was previously encrypted using the corresponding private key, for example using crypto.privateEncrypt().

If key is not a KeyObject, this function behaves as if key had been passed to crypto.createPublicKey(). If it is an object, the padding property can be passed. Otherwise, this function uses RSA_PKCS1_PADDING.

Because RSA public keys can be derived from private keys, a private key may be passed instead of a public key.

crypto.publicEncrypt(key, buffer)

• key <Object> | <string> | <ArrayBuffer> | <Buffer> | <TypedArray> | <DataView> | <KeyObject> | <CryptoKey>
  • key <string> | <ArrayBuffer> | <Buffer> | <TypedArray> | <DataView> | <KeyObject> | <CryptoKey> A PEM encoded public or private key, <KeyObject>, or <CryptoKey>.
  • oaepHash <string> The hash function to use for OAEP padding and MGF1. Default: 'sha1'
  • oaepLabel <string> | <ArrayBuffer> | <Buffer> | <TypedArray> | <DataView> The label to use for OAEP padding. If not specified, no label is used.
  • passphrase <string> | <ArrayBuffer> | <Buffer> | <TypedArray> | <DataView> An optional passphrase for the private key.
  • padding <crypto.constants> An optional padding value defined in crypto.constants, which may be: crypto.constants.RSA_NO_PADDING, crypto.constants.RSA_PKCS1_PADDING, or crypto.constants.RSA_PKCS1_OAEP_PADDING.
  • encoding <string> The string encoding to use when buffer, key, oaepLabel, or passphrase are strings.
• buffer <string> | <ArrayBuffer> | <Buffer> | <TypedArray> | <DataView>
• Returns: <Buffer> A new Buffer with the encrypted content.

Encrypts the content of buffer with key and returns a new Buffer with encrypted content. The returned data can be decrypted using the corresponding private key, for example using crypto.privateDecrypt().

If key is not a KeyObject, this function behaves as if key had been passed to crypto.createPublicKey(). If it is an object, the padding property can be passed. Otherwise, this function uses RSA_PKCS1_OAEP_PADDING.

Because RSA public keys can be derived from private keys, a private key may be passed instead of a public key.

crypto.randomBytes(size[, callback])

• size <number> The number of bytes to generate. The size must not be larger than 2**31 - 1.
• callback <Function>
  • err <Error>
  • buf <Buffer>
• Returns: <Buffer> if the callback function is not provided.

Generates cryptographically strong pseudorandom data. The size argument is a number indicating the number of bytes to generate.

If a callback function is provided, the bytes are generated asynchronously and the callback function is invoked with two arguments: err and buf. If an error occurs, err will be an Error object; otherwise it is null. The buf argument is a Buffer containing the generated bytes.

MJS modules

// Asynchronous
const {
  randomBytes
} = await import('crypto');

randomBytes(256, (err, buf) => {
  if (err) throw err;
  console.log(`${buf.length} bytes of random data: ${buf.toString('hex')}`);
});

CJS modules

// Asynchronous
const {
  randomBytes,
} = require('crypto');

randomBytes(256, (err, buf) => {
  if (err) throw err;
  console.log(`${buf.length} bytes of random data: ${buf.toString('hex')}`);
});

If the callback function is not provided, the random bytes are generated synchronously and returned as a Buffer. An error will be thrown if there is a problem generating the bytes.

MJS modules

// Synchronous
const {
  randomBytes
} = await import('crypto');

const buf = randomBytes(256);
console.log(
  `${buf.length} bytes of random data: ${buf.toString('hex')}`);

CJS modules

// Synchronous
const {
  randomBytes,
} = require('crypto');

const buf = randomBytes(256);
console.log(
  `${buf.length} bytes of random data: ${buf.toString('hex')}`);

The crypto.randomBytes() method will not complete until there is sufficient entropy available. This should normally never take longer than a few milliseconds. The only time when generating the random bytes may conceivably block for a longer period of time is right after boot, when the whole system is still low on entropy.

This API uses libuv's threadpool, which can have surprising and negative performance implications for some applications; see the UV_THREADPOOL_SIZE documentation for more information.

The asynchronous version of crypto.randomBytes() is carried out in a single threadpool request. To minimize threadpool task length variation, partition large randomBytes requests when doing so as part of fulfilling a client request.

crypto.randomFillSync(buffer[, offset][, size])

• buffer <ArrayBuffer> | <Buffer> | <TypedArray> | <DataView> Must be supplied. The size of the provided buffer must not be larger than 2**31 - 1.
• offset <number> Default: 0
• size <number> Default: buffer.length - offset. The size must not be larger than 2**31 - 1.
• Returns: <ArrayBuffer> | <Buffer> | <TypedArray> | <DataView> The object passed as buffer argument.

Synchronous version of crypto.randomFill().

MJS modules

import { Buffer } from 'buffer';
const { randomFillSync } = await import('crypto');

const buf = Buffer.alloc(10);
console.log(randomFillSync(buf).toString('hex'));

randomFillSync(buf, 5);
console.log(buf.toString('hex'));

// The above is equivalent to the following:
randomFillSync(buf, 5, 5);
console.log(buf.toString('hex'));

CJS modules

const { randomFillSync } = require('crypto');
const { Buffer } = require('buffer');

const buf = Buffer.alloc(10);
console.log(randomFillSync(buf).toString('hex'));

randomFillSync(buf, 5);
console.log(buf.toString('hex'));

// The above is equivalent to the following:
randomFillSync(buf, 5, 5);
console.log(buf.toString('hex'));

Any ArrayBuffer, TypedArray or DataView instance may be passed as buffer.

MJS modules

import { Buffer } from 'buffer';
const { randomFillSync } = await import('crypto');

const a = new Uint32Array(10);
console.log(Buffer.from(randomFillSync(a).buffer,
                        a.byteOffset, a.byteLength).toString('hex'));

const b = new DataView(new ArrayBuffer(10));
console.log(Buffer.from(randomFillSync(b).buffer,
                        b.byteOffset, b.byteLength).toString('hex'));

const c = new ArrayBuffer(10);
console.log(Buffer.from(randomFillSync(c)).toString('hex'));

CJS modules

const { randomFillSync } = require('crypto');
const { Buffer } = require('buffer');

const a = new Uint32Array(10);
console.log(Buffer.from(randomFillSync(a).buffer,
                        a.byteOffset, a.byteLength).toString('hex'));

const b = new DataView(new ArrayBuffer(10));
console.log(Buffer.from(randomFillSync(b).buffer,
                        b.byteOffset, b.byteLength).toString('hex'));

const c = new ArrayBuffer(10);
console.log(Buffer.from(randomFillSync(c)).toString('hex'));

crypto.randomFill(buffer[, offset][, size], callback)

• buffer <ArrayBuffer> | <Buffer> | <TypedArray> | <DataView> Must be supplied. The size of the provided buffer must not be larger than 2**31 - 1.
• offset <number> Default: 0
• size <number> Default: buffer.length - offset. The size must not be larger than 2**31 - 1.
• callback <Function> function(err, buf) {}.

This function is similar to crypto.randomBytes() but requires the first argument to be a Buffer that will be filled. It also requires that a callback is passed in.

If the callback function is not provided, an error will be thrown.

MJS modules

import { Buffer } from 'buffer';
const { randomFill } = await import('crypto');

const buf = Buffer.alloc(10);
randomFill(buf, (err, buf) => {
  if (err) throw err;
  console.log(buf.toString('hex'));
});

randomFill(buf, 5, (err, buf) => {
  if (err) throw err;
  console.log(buf.toString('hex'));
});

// The above is equivalent to the following:
randomFill(buf, 5, 5, (err, buf) => {
  if (err) throw err;
  console.log(buf.toString('hex'));
});

CJS modules

const { randomFill } = require('crypto');
const { Buffer } = require('buffer');

const buf = Buffer.alloc(10);
randomFill(buf, (err, buf) => {
  if (err) throw err;
  console.log(buf.toString('hex'));
});

randomFill(buf, 5, (err, buf) => {
  if (err) throw err;
  console.log(buf.toString('hex'));
});

// The above is equivalent to the following:
randomFill(buf, 5, 5, (err, buf) => {
  if (err) throw err;
  console.log(buf.toString('hex'));
});

Any ArrayBuffer, TypedArray, or DataView instance may be passed as buffer.

While this includes instances of Float32Array and Float64Array, this function should not be used to generate random floating-point numbers. The result may contain +Infinity, -Infinity, and NaN, and even if the array contains finite numbers only, they are not drawn from a uniform random distribution and have no meaningful lower or upper bounds.

MJS modules

import { Buffer } from 'buffer';
const { randomFill } = await import('crypto');

const a = new Uint32Array(10);
randomFill(a, (err, buf) => {
  if (err) throw err;
  console.log(Buffer.from(buf.buffer, buf.byteOffset, buf.byteLength)
    .toString('hex'));
});

const b = new DataView(new ArrayBuffer(10));
randomFill(b, (err, buf) => {
  if (err) throw err;
  console.log(Buffer.from(buf.buffer, buf.byteOffset, buf.byteLength)
    .toString('hex'));
});

const c = new ArrayBuffer(10);
randomFill(c, (err, buf) => {
  if (err) throw err;
  console.log(Buffer.from(buf).toString('hex'));
});

CJS modules

const { randomFill } = require('crypto');
const { Buffer } = require('buffer');

const a = new Uint32Array(10);
randomFill(a, (err, buf) => {
  if (err) throw err;
  console.log(Buffer.from(buf.buffer, buf.byteOffset, buf.byteLength)
    .toString('hex'));
});

const b = new DataView(new ArrayBuffer(10));
randomFill(b, (err, buf) => {
  if (err) throw err;
  console.log(Buffer.from(buf.buffer, buf.byteOffset, buf.byteLength)
    .toString('hex'));
});

const c = new ArrayBuffer(10);
randomFill(c, (err, buf) => {
  if (err) throw err;
  console.log(Buffer.from(buf).toString('hex'));
});

This API uses libuv's threadpool, which can have surprising and negative performance implications for some applications; see the UV_THREADPOOL_SIZE documentation for more information.

The asynchronous version of crypto.randomFill() is carried out in a single threadpool request. To minimize threadpool task length variation, partition large randomFill requests when doing so as part of fulfilling a client request.

crypto.randomInt([min, ]max[, callback])

• min <integer> Start of random range (inclusive). Default: 0.
• max <integer> End of random range (exclusive).
• callback <Function> function(err, n) {}.

Return a random integer n such that min <= n < max. This implementation avoids modulo bias.

The range (max - min) must be less than 2⁴⁸. min and max must be safe integers.

If the callback function is not provided, the random integer is generated synchronously.

MJS modules

// Asynchronous
const {
  randomInt
} = await import('crypto');

randomInt(3, (err, n) => {
  if (err) throw err;
  console.log(`Random number chosen from (0, 1, 2): ${n}`);
});

CJS modules

// Asynchronous
const {
  randomInt,
} = require('crypto');

randomInt(3, (err, n) => {
  if (err) throw err;
  console.log(`Random number chosen from (0, 1, 2): ${n}`);
});

MJS modules

// Synchronous
const {
  randomInt
} = await import('crypto');

const n = randomInt(3);
console.log(`Random number chosen from (0, 1, 2): ${n}`);

CJS modules

// Synchronous
const {
  randomInt,
} = require('crypto');

const n = randomInt(3);
console.log(`Random number chosen from (0, 1, 2): ${n}`);

MJS modules

// With `min` argument
const {
  randomInt
} = await import('crypto');

const n = randomInt(1, 7);
console.log(`The dice rolled: ${n}`);

CJS modules

// With `min` argument
const {
  randomInt,
} = require('crypto');

const n = randomInt(1, 7);
console.log(`The dice rolled: ${n}`);

crypto.randomUUID([options])

• options <Object>
  • disableEntropyCache <boolean> By default, to improve performance, Node.js generates and caches enough random data to generate up to 128 random UUIDs. To generate a UUID without using the cache, set disableEntropyCache to true. Default: false.
• Returns: <string>

Generates a random RFC 4122 version 4 UUID. The UUID is generated using a cryptographic pseudorandom number generator.

crypto.scrypt(password, salt, keylen[, options], callback)

• password <string> | <ArrayBuffer> | <Buffer> | <TypedArray> | <DataView>
• salt <string> | <ArrayBuffer> | <Buffer> | <TypedArray> | <DataView>
• keylen <number>
• options <Object>
  • cost <number> CPU/memory cost parameter. Must be a power of two greater than one. Default: 16384.
  • blockSize <number> Block size parameter. Default: 8.
  • parallelization <number> Parallelization parameter. Default: 1.
  • N <number> Alias for cost. Only one of both may be specified.
  • r <number> Alias for blockSize. Only one of both may be specified.
  • p <number> Alias for parallelization. Only one of both may be specified.
  • maxmem <number> Memory upper bound. It is an error when (approximately) 128 * N * r > maxmem. Default: 32 * 1024 * 1024.
• callback <Function>
  • err <Error>
  • derivedKey <Buffer>

Provides an asynchronous scrypt implementation. Scrypt is a password-based key derivation function that is designed to be expensive computationally and memory-wise in order to make brute-force attacks unrewarding.

The salt should be as unique as possible. It is recommended that a salt is random and at least 16 bytes long. See NIST SP 800-132 for details.

When passing strings for password or salt, please consider caveats when using strings as inputs to cryptographic APIs.

The callback function is called with two arguments: err and derivedKey. err is an exception object when key derivation fails, otherwise err is null. derivedKey is passed to the callback as a Buffer.

An exception is thrown when any of the input arguments specify invalid values or types.

MJS modules

const {
  scrypt
} = await import('crypto');

// Using the factory defaults.
scrypt('password', 'salt', 64, (err, derivedKey) => {
  if (err) throw err;
  console.log(derivedKey.toString('hex'));  // '3745e48...08d59ae'
});
// Using a custom N parameter. Must be a power of two.
scrypt('password', 'salt', 64, { N: 1024 }, (err, derivedKey) => {
  if (err) throw err;
  console.log(derivedKey.toString('hex'));  // '3745e48...aa39b34'
});

CJS modules

const {
  scrypt,
} = require('crypto');

// Using the factory defaults.
scrypt('password', 'salt', 64, (err, derivedKey) => {
  if (err) throw err;
  console.log(derivedKey.toString('hex'));  // '3745e48...08d59ae'
});
// Using a custom N parameter. Must be a power of two.
scrypt('password', 'salt', 64, { N: 1024 }, (err, derivedKey) => {
  if (err) throw err;
  console.log(derivedKey.toString('hex'));  // '3745e48...aa39b34'
});

crypto.scryptSync(password, salt, keylen[, options])

• password <string> | <Buffer> | <TypedArray> | <DataView>
• salt <string> | <Buffer> | <TypedArray> | <DataView>
• keylen <number>
• options <Object>
  • cost <number> CPU/memory cost parameter. Must be a power of two greater than one. Default: 16384.
  • blockSize <number> Block size parameter. Default: 8.
  • parallelization <number> Parallelization parameter. Default: 1.
  • N <number> Alias for cost. Only one of both may be specified.
  • r <number> Alias for blockSize. Only one of both may be specified.
  • p <number> Alias for parallelization. Only one of both may be specified.
  • maxmem <number> Memory upper bound. It is an error when (approximately) 128 * N * r > maxmem. Default: 32 * 1024 * 1024.
• Returns: <Buffer>

Provides a synchronous scrypt implementation. Scrypt is a password-based key derivation function that is designed to be expensive computationally and memory-wise in order to make brute-force attacks unrewarding.

The salt should be as unique as possible. It is recommended that a salt is random and at least 16 bytes long. See NIST SP 800-132 for details.

When passing strings for password or salt, please consider caveats when using strings as inputs to cryptographic APIs.

An exception is thrown when key derivation fails, otherwise the derived key is returned as a Buffer.

An exception is thrown when any of the input arguments specify invalid values or types.

MJS modules

const {
  scryptSync
} = await import('crypto');
// Using the factory defaults.

const key1 = scryptSync('password', 'salt', 64);
console.log(key1.toString('hex'));  // '3745e48...08d59ae'
// Using a custom N parameter. Must be a power of two.
const key2 = scryptSync('password', 'salt', 64, { N: 1024 });
console.log(key2.toString('hex'));  // '3745e48...aa39b34'

CJS modules

const {
  scryptSync,
} = require('crypto');
// Using the factory defaults.

const key1 = scryptSync('password', 'salt', 64);
console.log(key1.toString('hex'));  // '3745e48...08d59ae'
// Using a custom N parameter. Must be a power of two.
const key2 = scryptSync('password', 'salt', 64, { N: 1024 });
console.log(key2.toString('hex'));  // '3745e48...aa39b34'

crypto.secureHeapUsed()

• Returns: <Object>
  • total <number> The total allocated secure heap size as specified using the --secure-heap=n command-line flag.
  • min <number> The minimum allocation from the secure heap as specified using the --secure-heap-min command-line flag.
  • used <number> The total number of bytes currently allocated from the secure heap.
  • utilization <number> The calculated ratio of used to total allocated bytes.

crypto.setEngine(engine[, flags])

• engine <string>
• flags <crypto.constants> Default: crypto.constants.ENGINE_METHOD_ALL

Load and set the engine for some or all OpenSSL functions (selected by flags).

engine could be either an id or a path to the engine's shared library.

The optional flags argument uses ENGINE_METHOD_ALL by default. The flags is a bit field taking one of or a mix of the following flags (defined in crypto.constants):

• crypto.constants.ENGINE_METHOD_RSA
• crypto.constants.ENGINE_METHOD_DSA
• crypto.constants.ENGINE_METHOD_DH
• crypto.constants.ENGINE_METHOD_RAND
• crypto.constants.ENGINE_METHOD_EC
• crypto.constants.ENGINE_METHOD_CIPHERS
• crypto.constants.ENGINE_METHOD_DIGESTS
• crypto.constants.ENGINE_METHOD_PKEY_METHS
• crypto.constants.ENGINE_METHOD_PKEY_ASN1_METHS
• crypto.constants.ENGINE_METHOD_ALL
• crypto.constants.ENGINE_METHOD_NONE

The flags below are deprecated in OpenSSL-1.1.0.

• crypto.constants.ENGINE_METHOD_ECDH
• crypto.constants.ENGINE_METHOD_ECDSA
• crypto.constants.ENGINE_METHOD_STORE

crypto.setFips(bool)

• bool <boolean> true to enable FIPS mode.

Enables the FIPS compliant crypto provider in a FIPS-enabled Node.js build. Throws an error if FIPS mode is not available.

crypto.sign(algorithm, data, key[, callback])

• algorithm <string> | <null> | <undefined>
• data <ArrayBuffer> | <Buffer> | <TypedArray> | <DataView>
• key <Object> | <string> | <ArrayBuffer> | <Buffer> | <TypedArray> | <DataView> | <KeyObject> | <CryptoKey>
• callback <Function>
  • err <Error>
  • signature <Buffer>
• Returns: <Buffer> if the callback function is not provided.

Calculates and returns the signature for data using the given private key and algorithm. If algorithm is null or undefined, then the algorithm is dependent upon the key type (especially Ed25519 and Ed448).

If key is not a KeyObject, this function behaves as if key had been passed to crypto.createPrivateKey(). If it is an object, the following additional properties can be passed:

• dsaEncoding <string> For DSA and ECDSA, this option specifies the format of the generated signature. It can be one of the following:

  • 'der' (default): DER-encoded ASN.1 signature structure encoding (r, s).
  • 'ieee-p1363': Signature format r || s as proposed in IEEE-P1363.

• padding <integer> Optional padding value for RSA, one of the following:

  • crypto.constants.RSA_PKCS1_PADDING (default)
  • crypto.constants.RSA_PKCS1_PSS_PADDING

  RSA_PKCS1_PSS_PADDING will use MGF1 with the same hash function used to sign the message as specified in section 3.1 of RFC 4055.

• saltLength <integer> Salt length for when padding is RSA_PKCS1_PSS_PADDING. The special value crypto.constants.RSA_PSS_SALTLEN_DIGEST sets the salt length to the digest size, crypto.constants.RSA_PSS_SALTLEN_MAX_SIGN (default) sets it to the maximum permissible value.

If the callback function is provided this function uses libuv's threadpool.

crypto.timingSafeEqual(a, b)

• a <ArrayBuffer> | <Buffer> | <TypedArray> | <DataView>
• b <ArrayBuffer> | <Buffer> | <TypedArray> | <DataView>
• Returns: <boolean>

This function is based on a constant-time algorithm. Returns true if a is equal to b, without leaking timing information that would allow an attacker to guess one of the values. This is suitable for comparing HMAC digests or secret values like authentication cookies or capability urls.

a and b must both be Buffers, TypedArrays, or DataViews, and they must have the same byte length.

If at least one of a and b is a TypedArray with more than one byte per entry, such as Uint16Array, the result will be computed using the platform byte order.

Use of crypto.timingSafeEqual does not guarantee that the surrounding code is timing-safe. Care should be taken to ensure that the surrounding code does not introduce timing vulnerabilities.

crypto.verify(algorithm, data, key, signature[, callback])

• algorithm <string> | <null> | <undefined>
• data <ArrayBuffer> | <Buffer> | <TypedArray> | <DataView>
• key <Object> | <string> | <ArrayBuffer> | <Buffer> | <TypedArray> | <DataView> | <KeyObject> | <CryptoKey>
• signature <ArrayBuffer> | <Buffer> | <TypedArray> | <DataView>
• callback <Function>
  • err <Error>
  • result <boolean>
• Returns: <boolean> true or false depending on the validity of the signature for the data and public key if the callback function is not provided.

Verifies the given signature for data using the given key and algorithm. If algorithm is null or undefined, then the algorithm is dependent upon the key type (especially Ed25519 and Ed448).

If key is not a KeyObject, this function behaves as if key had been passed to crypto.createPublicKey(). If it is an object, the following additional properties can be passed:

• dsaEncoding <string> For DSA and ECDSA, this option specifies the format of the signature. It can be one of the following:

  • 'der' (default): DER-encoded ASN.1 signature structure encoding (r, s).
  • 'ieee-p1363': Signature format r || s as proposed in IEEE-P1363.

• padding <integer> Optional padding value for RSA, one of the following:

  • crypto.constants.RSA_PKCS1_PADDING (default)
  • crypto.constants.RSA_PKCS1_PSS_PADDING

  RSA_PKCS1_PSS_PADDING will use MGF1 with the same hash function used to sign the message as specified in section 3.1 of RFC 4055.

• saltLength <integer> Salt length for when padding is RSA_PKCS1_PSS_PADDING. The special value crypto.constants.RSA_PSS_SALTLEN_DIGEST sets the salt length to the digest size, crypto.constants.RSA_PSS_SALTLEN_MAX_SIGN (default) sets it to the maximum permissible value.

The signature argument is the previously calculated signature for the data.

Because public keys can be derived from private keys, a private key or a public key may be passed for key.

If the callback function is provided this function uses libuv's threadpool.

crypto.webcrypto

Type: <Crypto> An implementation of the Web Crypto API standard.

See the Web Crypto API documentation for details.

Notes

Using strings as inputs to cryptographic APIs

For historical reasons, many cryptographic APIs provided by Node.js accept strings as inputs where the underlying cryptographic algorithm works on byte sequences. These instances include plaintexts, ciphertexts, symmetric keys, initialization vectors, passphrases, salts, authentication tags, and additional authenticated data.

When passing strings to cryptographic APIs, consider the following factors.

• Not all byte sequences are valid UTF-8 strings. Therefore, when a byte sequence of length n is derived from a string, its entropy is generally lower than the entropy of a random or pseudorandom n byte sequence. For example, no UTF-8 string will result in the byte sequence c0 af. Secret keys should almost exclusively be random or pseudorandom byte sequences.

• Similarly, when converting random or pseudorandom byte sequences to UTF-8 strings, subsequences that do not represent valid code points may be replaced by the Unicode replacement character (U+FFFD). The byte representation of the resulting Unicode string may, therefore, not be equal to the byte sequence that the string was created from.

  const original = [0xc0, 0xaf];
  const bytesAsString = Buffer.from(original).toString('utf8');
  const stringAsBytes = Buffer.from(bytesAsString, 'utf8');
  console.log(stringAsBytes);
  // Prints '<Buffer ef bf bd ef bf bd>'.

  The outputs of ciphers, hash functions, signature algorithms, and key derivation functions are pseudorandom byte sequences and should not be used as Unicode strings.

• When strings are obtained from user input, some Unicode characters can be represented in multiple equivalent ways that result in different byte sequences. For example, when passing a user passphrase to a key derivation function, such as PBKDF2 or scrypt, the result of the key derivation function depends on whether the string uses composed or decomposed characters. Node.js does not normalize character representations. Developers should consider using String.prototype.normalize() on user inputs before passing them to cryptographic APIs.

Legacy streams API (prior to Node.js 0.10)

The Crypto module was added to Node.js before there was the concept of a unified Stream API, and before there were Buffer objects for handling binary data. As such, the many of the crypto defined classes have methods not typically found on other Node.js classes that implement the streams API (e.g. update(), final(), or digest()). Also, many methods accepted and returned 'latin1' encoded strings by default rather than Buffers. This default was changed after Node.js v0.8 to use Buffer objects by default instead.

Recent ECDH changes

Usage of ECDH with non-dynamically generated key pairs has been simplified. Now, ecdh.setPrivateKey() can be called with a preselected private key and the associated public point (key) will be computed and stored in the object. This allows code to only store and provide the private part of the EC key pair. ecdh.setPrivateKey() now also validates that the private key is valid for the selected curve.

The ecdh.setPublicKey() method is now deprecated as its inclusion in the API is not useful. Either a previously stored private key should be set, which automatically generates the associated public key, or ecdh.generateKeys() should be called. The main drawback of using ecdh.setPublicKey() is that it can be used to put the ECDH key pair into an inconsistent state.

Support for weak or compromised algorithms

The crypto module still supports some algorithms which are already compromised and are not currently recommended for use. The API also allows the use of ciphers and hashes with a small key size that are too weak for safe use.

Users should take full responsibility for selecting the crypto algorithm and key size according to their security requirements.

Based on the recommendations of NIST SP 800-131A:

• MD5 and SHA-1 are no longer acceptable where collision resistance is required such as digital signatures.
• The key used with RSA, DSA, and DH algorithms is recommended to have at least 2048 bits and that of the curve of ECDSA and ECDH at least 224 bits, to be safe to use for several years.
• The DH groups of modp1, modp2 and modp5 have a key size smaller than 2048 bits and are not recommended.

See the reference for other recommendations and details.

CCM mode

CCM is one of the supported AEAD algorithms. Applications which use this mode must adhere to certain restrictions when using the cipher API:

• The authentication tag length must be specified during cipher creation by setting the authTagLength option and must be one of 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14 or 16 bytes.
• The length of the initialization vector (nonce) N must be between 7 and 13 bytes (7 ≤ N ≤ 13).
• The length of the plaintext is limited to 2 ** (8 * (15 - N)) bytes.
• When decrypting, the authentication tag must be set via setAuthTag() before calling update(). Otherwise, decryption will fail and final() will throw an error in compliance with section 2.6 of RFC 3610.
• Using stream methods such as write(data), end(data) or pipe() in CCM mode might fail as CCM cannot handle more than one chunk of data per instance.
• When passing additional authenticated data (AAD), the length of the actual message in bytes must be passed to setAAD() via the plaintextLength option. Many crypto libraries include the authentication tag in the ciphertext, which means that they produce ciphertexts of the length plaintextLength + authTagLength. Node.js does not include the authentication tag, so the ciphertext length is always plaintextLength. This is not necessary if no AAD is used.
• As CCM processes the whole message at once, update() must be called exactly once.
• Even though calling update() is sufficient to encrypt/decrypt the message, applications must call final() to compute or verify the authentication tag.

MJS modules

import { Buffer } from 'buffer';
const {
  createCipheriv,
  createDecipheriv,
  randomBytes
} = await import('crypto');

const key = 'keykeykeykeykeykeykeykey';
const nonce = randomBytes(12);

const aad = Buffer.from('0123456789', 'hex');

const cipher = createCipheriv('aes-192-ccm', key, nonce, {
  authTagLength: 16
});
const plaintext = 'Hello world';
cipher.setAAD(aad, {
  plaintextLength: Buffer.byteLength(plaintext)
});
const ciphertext = cipher.update(plaintext, 'utf8');
cipher.final();
const tag = cipher.getAuthTag();

// Now transmit { ciphertext, nonce, tag }.

const decipher = createDecipheriv('aes-192-ccm', key, nonce, {
  authTagLength: 16
});
decipher.setAuthTag(tag);
decipher.setAAD(aad, {
  plaintextLength: ciphertext.length
});
const receivedPlaintext = decipher.update(ciphertext, null, 'utf8');

try {
  decipher.final();
} catch (err) {
  throw new Error('Authentication failed!', { cause: err });
}

console.log(receivedPlaintext);

CJS modules

const {
  createCipheriv,
  createDecipheriv,
  randomBytes,
} = require('crypto');
const { Buffer } = require('buffer');

const key = 'keykeykeykeykeykeykeykey';
const nonce = randomBytes(12);

const aad = Buffer.from('0123456789', 'hex');

const cipher = createCipheriv('aes-192-ccm', key, nonce, {
  authTagLength: 16
});
const plaintext = 'Hello world';
cipher.setAAD(aad, {
  plaintextLength: Buffer.byteLength(plaintext)
});
const ciphertext = cipher.update(plaintext, 'utf8');
cipher.final();
const tag = cipher.getAuthTag();

// Now transmit { ciphertext, nonce, tag }.

const decipher = createDecipheriv('aes-192-ccm', key, nonce, {
  authTagLength: 16
});
decipher.setAuthTag(tag);
decipher.setAAD(aad, {
  plaintextLength: ciphertext.length
});
const receivedPlaintext = decipher.update(ciphertext, null, 'utf8');

try {
  decipher.final();
} catch (err) {
  throw new Error('Authentication failed!', { cause: err });
}

console.log(receivedPlaintext);

Crypto constants

The following constants exported by crypto.constants apply to various uses of the crypto, tls, and https modules and are generally specific to OpenSSL.

OpenSSL options

See the list of SSL OP Flags for details.

OpenSSL engine constants

Other OpenSSL constants

Node.js crypto constants