Generate a CSR with openssl

Generate a CSR (Certificate Signing Request) on your server when you want to get a certificate from a certified provider is often a mandatory step, very easy to execute.

Here are the different steps to execute:

1. Create a specific directory where you will put all your files

   mkdir sub.domain.com && cd sub.domain.com

2. Generate a private key of 2048 bits

    openssl genrsa -out sub.domain.com.key 2048

3. Now generate a CSR with openssl and with the private key you just generated

   openssl req -new -sha256 -key sub.domain.com.key -out sub.domain.com.csr

   Many information will be asked during the creation:

   Country Name (2 letter code) []: 
   State or Province Name (full name) []:
   Locality Name (eg, city) []:
   Organization Name (eg, company) []:
   Organizational Unit Name (eg, section) []:
   Common Name (eg, YOUR name) []:
   Email Address []:
   A challenge password []:
   An optional company name []:

4. You now have your CSR and your private key

It’s up to you to get your signed certificate from an official provider using those files.