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pkcs11-tool — Utility for managing and using PKCS #11 security tokens. More information: <https://github.com/OpenS

Submitted by: @import:tldr-pages·Mar 2, 2026·

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Problem

How to use the pkcs11-tool command: Utility for managing and using PKCS #11 security tokens. More information: <https://github.com/OpenSC/OpenSC/wiki/Using-pkcs11-tool-and-OpenSSL>.

Solution

pkcs11-tool — Utility for managing and using PKCS #11 security tokens. More information: <https://github.com/OpenSC/OpenSC/wiki/Using-pkcs11-tool-and-OpenSSL>.

List slots and their potential token, using a specific module (e.g. /usr/lib/softhsm/libsofthsm2.so):

pkcs11-tool --module {{path/to/module.so}} {{[-L|--list-slots]}} {{[-T|--list-token-slots]}}

List objects in a specific slot. (Note: slot_id is not the slot index shown as "Slot X"):

pkcs11-tool {{[-O|--list-objects]}} {{[-p|--pin]}} {{auth_pin}} --slot {{slot_id}}

Create a new object with a specific label and type:

pkcs11-tool --slot {{slot_id}} {{[-p|--pin]}} {{auth_pin}} {{[-y|--type]}} {{cert|privkey|pubkey|secrkey|data|...}} {{[-a|--label]}} "{{label}}" {{[-d|--id]}} {{01}} {{[-w|--write-object]}} {{path/to/cert.crt}}

Delete an object by its label and type:

pkcs11-tool --slot {{slot_id}} {{[-p|--pin]}} {{auth_pin}} {{[-y|--type]}} {{cert|privkey|pubkey|secrkey|data|...}} {{[-a|--label]}} "{{label}}" {{[-b|--delete-object]}}

Code Snippets

List slots and their potential token, using a specific module (e.g. `/usr/lib/softhsm/libsofthsm2.so`)

pkcs11-tool --module {{path/to/module.so}} {{[-L|--list-slots]}} {{[-T|--list-token-slots]}}

List objects in a specific slot. (Note: `slot_id` is not the slot index shown as "Slot X")

pkcs11-tool {{[-O|--list-objects]}} {{[-p|--pin]}} {{auth_pin}} --slot {{slot_id}}

Create a new object with a specific label and type

pkcs11-tool --slot {{slot_id}} {{[-p|--pin]}} {{auth_pin}} {{[-y|--type]}} {{cert|privkey|pubkey|secrkey|data|...}} {{[-a|--label]}} "{{label}}" {{[-d|--id]}} {{01}} {{[-w|--write-object]}} {{path/to/cert.crt}}

Delete an object by its label and type

pkcs11-tool --slot {{slot_id}} {{[-p|--pin]}} {{auth_pin}} {{[-y|--type]}} {{cert|privkey|pubkey|secrkey|data|...}} {{[-a|--label]}} "{{label}}" {{[-b|--delete-object]}}

Context

tldr-pages: common/pkcs11-tool

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