# Creating certificates and public and private keys **URL:** \ **Category:** Ruby\ **Created:** [November 26, 2009, 3:36pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/creating-certificates-and-public-and-private-keys/179513 "2009-11-26T15:36:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![scudco](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/s/aca169/32.png) [@scudco](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/scudco)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2009, 3:36pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/creating-certificates-and-public-and-private-keys/179513/1 "2009-11-26T15:36:34Z")
Hi im going to have to create a lot of public and private keys for clients and would like to automate the process by using a script (in ruby of course). This is for an openvpn setup and currently ive been MANUALY creating keys with the easy-rsa bat file that comes with it but id like to automate it. Is there a ruby libary available that would allow me to create public and private keys if i already have a CA. Would openvpn recognize these keys (are keys, keys no matter what language they are created in??? im not hot on cryptology) The other option would be to just execute the bat file from my ruby script and simulate the keyboard to respond to the various prompts. I havent doent this before so im not sure if this is easier or harder than above. Any tips or pointers will really help! ---
**Author:** ![scudco](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/s/aca169/32.png) [@scudco](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/scudco)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2009, 12:01pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/creating-certificates-and-public-and-private-keys/179513/2 "2009-11-27T12:01:34Z")
In message [removed\_email\_address@domain.invalid](mailto:removed_email_address@domain.invalid), Adam Akhtar [removed\_email\_address@domain.invalid](mailto:removed_email_address@domain.invalid) writes > keys (are keys, keys no matter what language they are created in??? im > not hot on cryptology) > > The other option would be to just execute the bat file from my ruby > script and simulate the keyboard to respond to the various prompts. I > havent doent this before so im not sure if this is easier or harder than > above. Any tips or pointers will really help! I haven’t done this myself. But the common Swiss army knife for this is OpenSSL. Ruby provides Ruby::OpenSSL. Apparently that library isn’t the easiest to use, but [http://rubyforge.org/projects/sslplaypen/](http://rubyforge.org/projects/sslplaypen/) has examples which may help. The alternative is to use drive the openssl command line, that may be easier as there are plenty of examples for generating keys using OpenSSL. The nascent [http://rubyforge.org/projects/simplessl/](http://rubyforge.org/projects/simplessl/) used the openssl command line & might be a good starting point. Other here may well know better, of course ---
**Author:** ![scudco](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/s/aca169/32.png) [@scudco](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/scudco)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2009, 12:52pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/creating-certificates-and-public-and-private-keys/179513/3 "2009-11-27T12:52:29Z")
On 27 Nov 2009, at 11:01, Dave E. wrote: > > and private keys if i already have a CA. Would openvpn recognize these > > But the common Swiss army knife for this is OpenSSL. > > Ruby provides Ruby::OpenSSL. Apparently that library isn’t the easiest to use, but [http://rubyforge.org/projects/sslplaypen/](http://rubyforge.org/projects/sslplaypen/) has examples which may help. > > The alternative is to use drive the openssl command line, that may be easier as there are plenty of examples for generating keys using OpenSSL. The nascent [http://rubyforge.org/projects/simplessl/](http://rubyforge.org/projects/simplessl/) used the openssl command line & might be a good starting point. > > Other here may well know better, of course Ruby::OpenSSL is not the friendliest of libraries due to a lack of detailed documentation but you can find some coverage by Romek (the author of SSL PlayPen) and myself in the “Semantic DNS” presentation available at the link in my signature. That’s mostly to do with ad hoc key generation in a hybrid crypto system but there may be something there that could be useful for a CA scenario. Ellie ## Eleanor McHugh Games With Brains [http://slides.games-with-brains.net](http://slides.games-with-brains.net) raise ArgumentError unless @reality.responds\_to? :reason ---
**Author:** ![scudco](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/s/aca169/32.png) [@scudco](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/scudco)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2009, 2:13pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/creating-certificates-and-public-and-private-keys/179513/4 "2009-11-27T14:13:14Z")
In message [removed\_email\_address@domain.invalid](mailto:removed_email_address@domain.invalid), Eleanor McHugh [removed\_email\_address@domain.invalid](mailto:removed_email_address@domain.invalid) writes > On 27 Nov 2009, at 11:01, Dave E. wrote: > > > In message [removed\_email\_address@domain.invalid](mailto:removed_email_address@domain.invalid), Adam > > Akhtar [removed\_email\_address@domain.invalid](mailto:removed_email_address@domain.invalid) writes > > > > > Hi im going to have to create a lot of public and private keys for > > > clients and would like to automate the process by using a script (in > > > ruby of course). > > I haven’t done this myself. > > > > But the common Swiss army knife for this is OpenSSL. > > > > Ruby provides Ruby::OpenSSL. Apparently that library isn’t the > > easiest to use, but [http://rubyforge.org/projects/sslplaypen/](http://rubyforge.org/projects/sslplaypen/) has > > examples which may help. > > Other here may well know better, of course > > Ruby::OpenSSL is not the friendliest of libraries due to a lack of > detailed documentation but you can find some coverage by Romek (the > author of SSL PlayPen) and myself in the “Semantic DNS” presentation > available at the link in my signature. That’s mostly to do with ad hoc > key generation in a hybrid crypto system but there may be something > there that could be useful for a CA scenario. Ah, what a small world. I enjoyed your flashtalk at the BCS earlier this year on Ruby & Unix file handles. I guess it was a part of your current “The Ruby Guide to \*nix Plumbing”, I’ll have to have a look at the rest of your slides. For myself I will have a look through the earlier Semantic web ones too. Regards ---
**Author:** ![scudco](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/s/aca169/32.png) [@scudco](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/scudco)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2009, 9:30pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/creating-certificates-and-public-and-private-keys/179513/5 "2009-11-27T21:30:26Z")
On Nov 27, 5:01 am, Dave E. [removed\_email\_address@domain.invalid](mailto:removed_email_address@domain.invalid) wrote: > But the common Swiss army knife for this is OpenSSL. > > Ruby provides Ruby::OpenSSL. Apparently that library isn’t the easiest > to use, buthttp://rubyforge.org/projects/sslplaypen/has examples which > may help. There are also some example uses of Ruby’s OpenSSL library in the Ruby source tarball: [http://svn.ruby-lang.org/cgi-bin/viewvc.cgi/trunk/sample/openssl/](http://svn.ruby-lang.org/cgi-bin/viewvc.cgi/trunk/sample/openssl/) ---
**Author:** ![scudco](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/s/aca169/32.png) [@scudco](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/scudco)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2009, 1:18am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/creating-certificates-and-public-and-private-keys/179513/6 "2009-11-28T01:18:42Z")
On 27 Nov 2009, at 13:12, Dave E. wrote: > In message [removed\_email\_address@domain.invalid](mailto:removed_email_address@domain.invalid), Eleanor McHugh [removed\_email\_address@domain.invalid](mailto:removed_email_address@domain.invalid) writes > > > Ruby::OpenSSL is not the friendliest of libraries due to a lack of detailed documentation but you can find some coverage by Romek (the author of SSL PlayPen) and myself in the “Semantic DNS” presentation available at the link in my signature. That’s mostly to do with ad hoc key generation in a hybrid crypto system but there may be something there that could be useful for a CA scenario. > > Ah, what a small world. > > I enjoyed your flashtalk at the BCS earlier this year on Ruby & Unix file handles. I guess it was a part of your current “The Ruby Guide to \*nix Plumbing”, I’ll have to have a look at the rest of your slides. It was the five-minute distillation of the usual 45-minute talk. Apparently standing on stage and saying “malloc” a lot is the bit people like most. DL::malloc still makes me smile whenever I use it lol London could do with a few more multi-language meetups like that. > For myself I will have a look through the earlier Semantic web ones too. Just to reiterate so there’s no confusion, it’s a Semantic DNS presentation: i.e. it discusses some of the basics of how to use the DNS tree as an application platform backed by coverage of crypto and network programming in Ruby. There’s some blue sky research it’s based on that we keep meaning to write up properly but Romek and I are lousy at that sort of thing 🙂 Ellie Eleanor McHugh Games With Brains [http://slides.games-with-brains.net](http://slides.games-with-brains.net) [http://www.linkedin.com/in/eleanormchugh](http://www.linkedin.com/in/eleanormchugh)