blob: 75745ca0023c1ec3c1fd7559fa5f7a6ec804b03e [file] [log] [blame]
=pod
=head1 NAME
rand - generate pseudo-random bytes
=head1 SYNOPSIS
B<openssl rand>
[B<-out> I<file>]
[B<-rand> I<file(s)>]
[B<-base64>]
I<num>
=head1 DESCRIPTION
The B<rand> command outputs I<num> pseudo-random bytes after seeding
the random number generator once. As in other B<openssl> command
line tools, PRNG seeding uses the file I<$HOME/>B<.rnd> or B<.rnd>
in addition to the files given in the B<-rand> option. A new
I<$HOME>/B<.rnd> or B<.rnd> file will be written back if enough
seeding was obtained from these sources.
=head1 OPTIONS
=over 4
=item B<-out> I<file>
Write to I<file> instead of standard output.
=item B<-rand> I<file(s)>
Use specified file or files or EGD socket (see L<RAND_egd(3)|RAND_egd(3)>)
for seeding the random number generator.
Multiple files can be specified separated by a OS-dependent character.
The separator is B<;> for MS-Windows, B<,> for OpenVMS, and B<:> for
all others.
=item B<-base64>
Perform base64 encoding on the output.
=back
=head1 SEE ALSO
L<RAND_bytes(3)|RAND_bytes(3)>
=cut