openssl-rand

RAND(1SSL)                          OpenSSL                         RAND(1SSL)

NAME
       openssl-rand, rand - generate pseudo-random bytes

SYNOPSIS
       openssl rand [-help] [-out file] [-rand file...]  [-writerand file]
       [-base64] [-hex] num

DESCRIPTION
       This command generates num random bytes using a cryptographically
       secure pseudo random number generator (CSPRNG).

       The random bytes are generated using the RAND_bytes(3) function, which
       provides a security level of 256 bits, provided it managed to seed
       itself successfully from a trusted operating system entropy source.
       Otherwise, the command will fail with a nonzero error code.  For more
       details, see RAND_bytes(3), RAND(7), and RAND_DRBG(7).

OPTIONS
       -help
           Print out a usage message.

       -out file
           Write to file instead of standard output.

       -rand file...
           A file or files containing random data used to seed the random
           number generator.  Multiple files can be specified separated by an
           OS-dependent character.  The separator is ; for MS-Windows, , for
           OpenVMS, and : for all others.  Explicitly specifying a seed file
           is in general not necessary, see the "NOTES" section for more
           information.

       [-writerand file]
           Writes random data to the specified file upon exit.  This can be
           used with a subsequent -rand flag.

       -base64
           Perform base64 encoding on the output.

       -hex
           Show the output as a hex string.

NOTES
       Prior to OpenSSL 1.1.1, it was common for applications to store
       information about the state of the random-number generator in a file
       that was loaded at startup and rewritten upon exit. On modern operating
       systems, this is generally no longer necessary as OpenSSL will seed
       itself from a trusted entropy source provided by the operating system.
       The -rand  and -writerand  flags are still supported for special
       platforms or circumstances that might require them.

       It is generally an error to use the same seed file more than once and
       every use of -rand should be paired with -writerand.

SEE ALSO
       RAND_bytes(3), RAND(7), RAND_DRBG(7)

COPYRIGHT
       Copyright 2000-2020 The OpenSSL Project Authors. All Rights Reserved.

       Licensed under the OpenSSL license (the "License").  You may not use
       this file except in compliance with the License.  You can obtain a copy
       in the file LICENSE in the source distribution or at
       <https://www.openssl.org/source/license.html>.

1.1.1f                            2023-10-10                        RAND(1SSL)