Generate CSR (Certificate Signing Request) file in Apache

CSR file creation in Apache is a simple process. CSR (Certificate Signing Request) file contains a block of encoded text, which is given by the applicant to a certificate authority when applying for an SSL certificate. It is usually generated on the server where the certificate will be installed.

It contains information that will be included on the certificate such as the organization name, common name (domain name), locality, and country.

Command to create CSR file in Apache

Run the following command in the command terminal

 openssl req -new -newkey rsa:2048 -nodes -keyout domain.key -out domain.csr

In the above command, you have to use your domain name instead of ‘domain’. if it is a wildcard certificate, provide that wildcard also. Ex: mytypings.csr, *.mytypings.csr

Fields needed for the CSR certificate creation

Then it will ask you a list of fields needed for the CSR certificate creation. You have to provide those details. The following are those list of common fields.

Field	Explanation	Examples
Common Name	Domain name	*.mytypings.com mytypings.com
Organization	The legal name of the organization. such as Inc, Corp, or LLC.	Mytypings Inc.
Organizational Unit	The division of the organization	IT Department
City/Locality	The city where the organization is located.	Chennai
State/County/Region	The state/region where the organization is located.	Tamil Nadu
Country	The two-letter ISO code for the country where the organization is located.	IN
Email address	organization contact email address.	webmaster@mytypings.com

It will also ask some additional optional parameters like password, optional company name etc. But we may leave those details without providing any details.

Sample Commands

The following is a sample command line to create the CSR file

 -----
 You are about to be asked to enter information that will be incorporated
 into your certificate request.
 What you are about to enter is what is called a Distinguished Name or a DN.
 There are quite a few fields but you can leave some blank
 For some fields there will be a default value,
 If you enter '.', the field will be left blank.
 -----
 Country Name (2 letter code) [AU]:IN
 State or Province Name (full name) [Some-State]:Tamil Nadu
 Locality Name (eg, city) []:Chennai
 Organization Name (eg, company) [Internet Widgits Pty Ltd]:Mytypings, LLC
 Organizational Unit Name (eg, section) []:
 Common Name (e.g. server FQDN or YOUR name) []:*.mytypings.com
 Email Address []:
 Please enter the following 'extra' attributes
 to be sent with your certificate request
 A challenge password []:
 An optional company name []:

The following is a sample CSR file

The verify the entered details in the CSR file. Run the following command. it will show the details in that CSR file.

 openssl req -in domain.csr -noout -text

Mytypings.com