5.6 KiB
Easy-RSA Advanced Reference
This is a technical reference for advanced users familiar with PKI processes. If
you need a more detailed description, see the EasyRSA-Readme
or Intro-To-PKI
docs instead.
Configuration Reference
Configuration Sources
There are 3 possible ways to perform external configuration of Easy-RSA, selected in the following order where the first defined result wins:
- Command-line option
- Environmental variable
- 'vars' file, if one is present (see
vars Autodetection
below) - Built-in default
Note that not every possible config option can be set everywhere, although any env-var can be added to the 'vars' file even if it's not shown by default.
vars Autodetection
A 'vars' file is a file named simply vars
(without an extension) that
Easy-RSA will source for configuration. This file is specifically designed
not to replace variables that have been set with a higher-priority method
such as CLI opts or env-vars.
The following locations are checked, in this order, for a vars file. Only the first one found is used:
- The file referenced by the
--vars
CLI option - The file referenced by the env-var named
EASYRSA_VARS_FILE
- The directory referenced by the
EASYRSA_PKI
env-var - The default PKI directory at
$PWD/pki
- The directory referenced by the
EASYRSA
env-var - The directory containing the easyrsa program
Defining the env-var EASYRSA_NO_VARS
will override the sourcing of the vars
file in all cases, including defining it subsequently as a global option.
OpenSSL Config
Easy-RSA is tightly coupled to the OpenSSL config file (.cnf) for the flexibility the script provides. It is required that this file be available, yet it is possible to use a different OpenSSL config file for a particular PKI, or even change it for a particular invocation.
The OpenSSL config file is searched for in the following order:
- The env-var
EASYRSA_SSL_CONF
- The 'vars' file (see
vars Autodetection
above) - The
EASYRSA_PKI
directory with a filename ofopenssl-easyrsa.cnf
- The
EASYRSA
directory with a filename ofopenssl-easyrsa.cnf
Advanced extension handling
Normally the cert extensions are selected by the cert type given on the CLI
during signing; this causes the matching file in the x509-types subdirectory to
be processed for OpenSSL extensions to add. This can be overridden in a
particular PKI by placing another x509-types dir inside the EASYRSA_PKI
dir
which will be used instead.
The file named COMMON
in the x509-types dir is appended to every cert type;
this is designed for CDP usage, but can be used for any extension that should
apply to every signed cert.
Additionally, the contents of the env-var EASYRSA_EXTRA_EXTS
is appended with
its raw text added to the OpenSSL extensions. The contents are appended as-is to
the cert extensions; invalid OpenSSL configs will usually result in failure.
Environmental Variables Reference
A list of env-vars, any matching global option (CLI) to set/override it, and a possible terse description is shown below:
EASYRSA
- should point to the Easy-RSA top-level dir, where the easyrsa script is located.EASYRSA_OPENSSL
- command to invoke opensslEASYRSA_SSL_CONF
- the openssl config file to useEASYRSA_PKI
(CLI:--pki-dir
) - dir to use to hold all PKI-specific files, defaults to$PWD/pki
.EASYRSA_DN
(CLI:--dn-mode
) - set to the stringcn_only
ororg
to alter the fields to include in the req DNEASYRSA_REQ_COUNTRY
(CLI:--req-c
) - set the DN country with org modeEASYRSA_REQ_PROVINCE
(CLI:--req-st
) - set the DN state/province with org modeEASYRSA_REQ_CITY
(CLI:--req-city
) - set the DN city/locality with org modeEASYRSA_REQ_ORG
(CLI:--req-org
) - set the DN organization with org modeEASYRSA_REQ_EMAIL
(CLI:--req-email
) - set the DN email with org modeEASYRSA_REQ_OU
(CLI:--req-ou
) - set the DN organizational unit with org modeEASYRSA_KEY_SIZE
(CLI:--key-size
) - set the key size in bits to generateEASYRSA_ALGO
(CLI:--use-algo
) - set the crypto alg to use: rsa or ecEASYRSA_CURVE
(CLI:--curve
) - define the named EC curve to useEASYRSA_EC_DIR
- dir to store generated ecparamsEASYRSA_CA_EXPIRE
(CLI:--days
) - set the CA expiration time in daysEASYRSA_CERT_EXPIRE
(CLI:--days
) - set the issued cert expiration time in daysEASYRSA_CRL_DAYS
(CLI:--days
) - set the CRL 'next publish' time in daysEASYRSA_NS_SUPPORT
(CLI:--ns-cert
) - string 'yes' or 'no' fields to include the deprecated Netscape extensionsEASYRSA_NS_COMMENT
(CLI:--ns-comment
) - string comment to include when using the deprecated Netscape extensionsEASYRSA_TEMP_FILE
- a temp file to use when dynamically creating req/cert extensionsEASYRSA_REQ_CN
(CLI:--req-cn
) - default CN, necessary to set in BATCH modeEASYRSA_DIGEST
(CLI:--digest
) - set a hash digest to use for req/cert signingEASYRSA_BATCH
(CLI:--batch
) - enable batch (no-prompt) mode; set env-var to non-zero string to enable (CLI takes no options)EASYRSA_PASSIN
(CLI:--passin
) - allows to specify a source for password using any openssl password options like pass:1234 or env:varEASYRSA_PASSOUT
(CLI:--passout
) - allows to specify a source for password using any openssl password options like pass:1234 or env:var
NOTE: the global options need to be provided before the actual commands.