mirror of
https://github.com/1f349/dendrite.git
synced 2024-11-10 06:53:00 +00:00
80 lines
2.6 KiB
Markdown
80 lines
2.6 KiB
Markdown
|
---
|
||
|
title: Generating signing keys
|
||
|
parent: Installation
|
||
|
nav_order: 4
|
||
|
permalink: /installation/signingkeys
|
||
|
---
|
||
|
|
||
|
# Generating signing keys
|
||
|
|
||
|
All Matrix homeservers require a signing private key, which will be used to authenticate
|
||
|
federation requests and events.
|
||
|
|
||
|
The `generate-keys` utility can be used to generate a private key. Assuming that Dendrite was
|
||
|
built using `build.sh`, you should find the `generate-keys` utility in the `bin` folder.
|
||
|
|
||
|
To generate a Matrix signing private key:
|
||
|
|
||
|
```bash
|
||
|
./bin/generate-keys --private-key matrix_key.pem
|
||
|
```
|
||
|
|
||
|
The generated `matrix_key.pem` file is your new signing key.
|
||
|
|
||
|
## Important warning
|
||
|
|
||
|
You must treat this key as if it is highly sensitive and private, so **never share it with
|
||
|
anyone**. No one should ever ask you for this key for any reason, even to debug a problematic
|
||
|
Dendrite server.
|
||
|
|
||
|
Make sure take a safe backup of this key. You will likely need it if you want to reinstall
|
||
|
Dendrite, or any other Matrix homeserver, on the same domain name in the future. If you lose
|
||
|
this key, you may have trouble joining federated rooms.
|
||
|
|
||
|
## Old signing keys
|
||
|
|
||
|
If you already have old signing keys from a previous Matrix installation on the same domain
|
||
|
name, you can reuse those instead, as long as they have not been previously marked as expired —
|
||
|
a key that has been marked as expired in the past is unusable.
|
||
|
|
||
|
Old keys from a previous Dendrite installation can be reused as-is without any further
|
||
|
configuration required. Simply use that key file in the Dendrite configuration.
|
||
|
|
||
|
If you have server keys from an older Synapse instance, you can convert them to Dendrite's PEM
|
||
|
format and configure them as `old_private_keys` in your config.
|
||
|
|
||
|
## Key format
|
||
|
|
||
|
Dendrite stores the server signing key in the PEM format with the following structure.
|
||
|
|
||
|
```
|
||
|
-----BEGIN MATRIX PRIVATE KEY-----
|
||
|
Key-ID: ed25519:<Key ID>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<Base64 Encoded Key Data>
|
||
|
-----END MATRIX PRIVATE KEY-----
|
||
|
```
|
||
|
|
||
|
## Converting Synapse keys
|
||
|
|
||
|
If you have signing keys from a previous Synapse installation, you should ideally configure them
|
||
|
as `old_private_keys` in your Dendrite config file. Synapse stores signing keys in the following
|
||
|
format:
|
||
|
|
||
|
```
|
||
|
ed25519 <Key ID> <Base64 Encoded Key Data>
|
||
|
```
|
||
|
|
||
|
To convert this key to Dendrite's PEM format, use the following template. You must copy the Key ID
|
||
|
exactly without modifying it. **It is important to include the trailing equals sign on the Base64
|
||
|
Encoded Key Data** if it is not already present in the original key, as the key data needs to be
|
||
|
padded to exactly 32 bytes:
|
||
|
|
||
|
```
|
||
|
-----BEGIN MATRIX PRIVATE KEY-----
|
||
|
Key-ID: ed25519:<Key ID>
|
||
|
|
||
|
<Base64 Encoded Key Data>=
|
||
|
-----END MATRIX PRIVATE KEY-----
|
||
|
```
|