create-key¶

Description¶

Creates a unique customer managed customer master key (CMK) in your AWS account and Region. You cannot use this operation to create a CMK in a different AWS account.

You can use the CreateKey operation to create symmetric or asymmetric CMKs.

Symmetric CMKs contain a 256-bit symmetric key that never leaves AWS KMS unencrypted. To use the CMK, you must call AWS KMS. You can use a symmetric CMK to encrypt and decrypt small amounts of data, but they are typically used to generate data keys and data keys pairs . For details, see GenerateDataKey and GenerateDataKeyPair .
Asymmetric CMKs can contain an RSA key pair or an Elliptic Curve (ECC) key pair. The private key in an asymmetric CMK never leaves AWS KMS unencrypted. However, you can use the GetPublicKey operation to download the public key so it can be used outside of AWS KMS. CMKs with RSA key pairs can be used to encrypt or decrypt data or sign and verify messages (but not both). CMKs with ECC key pairs can be used only to sign and verify messages.

For information about symmetric and asymmetric CMKs, see Using Symmetric and Asymmetric CMKs in the AWS Key Management Service Developer Guide .

To create different types of CMKs, use the following guidance:

Asymmetric CMKs

To create an asymmetric CMK, use the CustomerMasterKeySpec parameter to specify the type of key material in the CMK. Then, use the KeyUsage parameter to determine whether the CMK will be used to encrypt and decrypt or sign and verify. You can’t change these properties after the CMK is created.

Symmetric CMKs

When creating a symmetric CMK, you don’t need to specify the CustomerMasterKeySpec or KeyUsage parameters. The default value for CustomerMasterKeySpec , SYMMETRIC_DEFAULT , and the default value for KeyUsage , ENCRYPT_DECRYPT , are the only valid values for symmetric CMKs.

Imported Key Material

To import your own key material, begin by creating a symmetric CMK with no key material. To do this, use the Origin parameter of CreateKey with a value of EXTERNAL . Next, use GetParametersForImport operation to get a public key and import token, and use the public key to encrypt your key material. Then, use ImportKeyMaterial with your import token to import the key material. For step-by-step instructions, see Importing Key Material in the * AWS Key Management Service Developer Guide * . You cannot import the key material into an asymmetric CMK.

Custom Key Stores

To create a symmetric CMK in a custom key store , use the CustomKeyStoreId parameter to specify the custom key store. You must also use the Origin parameter with a value of AWS_CLOUDHSM . The AWS CloudHSM cluster that is associated with the custom key store must have at least two active HSMs in different Availability Zones in the AWS Region.

You cannot create an asymmetric CMK in a custom key store. For information about custom key stores in AWS KMS see Using Custom Key Stores in the * AWS Key Management Service Developer Guide * .

Synopsis¶

  create-key
[--policy <value>]
[--description <value>]
[--key-usage <value>]
[--customer-master-key-spec <value>]
[--origin <value>]
[--custom-key-store-id <value>]
[--bypass-policy-lockout-safety-check | --no-bypass-policy-lockout-safety-check]
[--tags <value>]
[--cli-input-json | --cli-input-yaml]
[--generate-cli-skeleton <value>]
[--cli-auto-prompt <value>]

Options¶

--policy (string)

The key policy to attach to the CMK.

If you provide a key policy, it must meet the following criteria:

If you don’t set BypassPolicyLockoutSafetyCheck to true, the key policy must allow the principal that is making the CreateKey request to make a subsequent PutKeyPolicy request on the CMK. This reduces the risk that the CMK becomes unmanageable. For more information, refer to the scenario in the Default Key Policy section of the * AWS Key Management Service Developer Guide * .

Each statement in the key policy must contain one or more principals. The principals in the key policy must exist and be visible to AWS KMS. When you create a new AWS principal (for example, an IAM user or role), you might need to enforce a delay before including the new principal in a key policy because the new principal might not be immediately visible to AWS KMS. For more information, see Changes that I make are not always immediately visible in the AWS Identity and Access Management User Guide .

If you do not provide a key policy, AWS KMS attaches a default key policy to the CMK. For more information, see Default Key Policy in the AWS Key Management Service Developer Guide .

The key policy size quota is 32 kilobytes (32768 bytes).

--description (string)

A description of the CMK.

Use a description that helps you decide whether the CMK is appropriate for a task.

--key-usage (string)

Determines the cryptographic operations for which you can use the CMK. The default value is ENCRYPT_DECRYPT . This parameter is required only for asymmetric CMKs. You can’t change the KeyUsage value after the CMK is created.

Select only one valid value.

For symmetric CMKs, omit the parameter or specify ENCRYPT_DECRYPT .

For asymmetric CMKs with RSA key material, specify ENCRYPT_DECRYPT or SIGN_VERIFY .

For asymmetric CMKs with ECC key material, specify SIGN_VERIFY .

Possible values:

SIGN_VERIFY

ENCRYPT_DECRYPT

--customer-master-key-spec (string)

Specifies the type of CMK to create. The default value, SYMMETRIC_DEFAULT , creates a CMK with a 256-bit symmetric key for encryption and decryption. For help choosing a key spec for your CMK, see How to Choose Your CMK Configuration in the AWS Key Management Service Developer Guide .

The CustomerMasterKeySpec determines whether the CMK contains a symmetric key or an asymmetric key pair. It also determines the encryption algorithms or signing algorithms that the CMK supports. You can’t change the CustomerMasterKeySpec after the CMK is created. To further restrict the algorithms that can be used with the CMK, use a condition key in its key policy or IAM policy. For more information, see kms:EncryptionAlgorithm or kms:Signing Algorithm in the AWS Key Management Service Developer Guide .

Warning

AWS services that are integrated with AWS KMS use symmetric CMKs to protect your data. These services do not support asymmetric CMKs. For help determining whether a CMK is symmetric or asymmetric, see Identifying Symmetric and Asymmetric CMKs in the AWS Key Management Service Developer Guide .

AWS KMS supports the following key specs for CMKs:

Symmetric key (default)

SYMMETRIC_DEFAULT (AES-256-GCM)

Asymmetric RSA key pairs

RSA_2048

RSA_3072

RSA_4096

Asymmetric NIST-recommended elliptic curve key pairs

ECC_NIST_P256 (secp256r1)

ECC_NIST_P384 (secp384r1)

ECC_NIST_P521 (secp521r1)

Other asymmetric elliptic curve key pairs

ECC_SECG_P256K1 (secp256k1), commonly used for cryptocurrencies.

Possible values:

RSA_2048

RSA_3072

RSA_4096

ECC_NIST_P256

ECC_NIST_P384

ECC_NIST_P521

ECC_SECG_P256K1

SYMMETRIC_DEFAULT

--origin (string)

The source of the key material for the CMK. You cannot change the origin after you create the CMK. The default is AWS_KMS , which means AWS KMS creates the key material.

When the parameter value is EXTERNAL , AWS KMS creates a CMK without key material so that you can import key material from your existing key management infrastructure. For more information about importing key material into AWS KMS, see Importing Key Material in the AWS Key Management Service Developer Guide . This value is valid only for symmetric CMKs.

When the parameter value is AWS_CLOUDHSM , AWS KMS creates the CMK in an AWS KMS custom key store and creates its key material in the associated AWS CloudHSM cluster. You must also use the CustomKeyStoreId parameter to identify the custom key store. This value is valid only for symmetric CMKs.

Possible values:

AWS_KMS

EXTERNAL

AWS_CLOUDHSM

--custom-key-store-id (string)

Creates the CMK in the specified custom key store and the key material in its associated AWS CloudHSM cluster. To create a CMK in a custom key store, you must also specify the Origin parameter with a value of AWS_CLOUDHSM . The AWS CloudHSM cluster that is associated with the custom key store must have at least two active HSMs, each in a different Availability Zone in the Region.

This parameter is valid only for symmetric CMKs. You cannot create an asymmetric CMK in a custom key store.

To find the ID of a custom key store, use the DescribeCustomKeyStores operation.

The response includes the custom key store ID and the ID of the AWS CloudHSM cluster.

This operation is part of the Custom Key Store feature feature in AWS KMS, which combines the convenience and extensive integration of AWS KMS with the isolation and control of a single-tenant key store.

--bypass-policy-lockout-safety-check | --no-bypass-policy-lockout-safety-check (boolean)

A flag to indicate whether to bypass the key policy lockout safety check.

Warning

Setting this value to true increases the risk that the CMK becomes unmanageable. Do not set this value to true indiscriminately.

For more information, refer to the scenario in the Default Key Policy section in the * AWS Key Management Service Developer Guide * .

Use this parameter only when you include a policy in the request and you intend to prevent the principal that is making the request from making a subsequent PutKeyPolicy request on the CMK.

The default value is false.

--tags (list)

One or more tags. Each tag consists of a tag key and a tag value. Both the tag key and the tag value are required, but the tag value can be an empty (null) string.

When you add tags to an AWS resource, AWS generates a cost allocation report with usage and costs aggregated by tags. For information about adding, changing, deleting and listing tags for CMKs, see Tagging Keys .

Use this parameter to tag the CMK when it is created. To add tags to an existing CMK, use the TagResource operation.

(structure)

A key-value pair. A tag consists of a tag key and a tag value. Tag keys and tag values are both required, but tag values can be empty (null) strings.

For information about the rules that apply to tag keys and tag values, see User-Defined Tag Restrictions in the AWS Billing and Cost Management User Guide .

TagKey -> (string)

The key of the tag.

TagValue -> (string)

The value of the tag.

Shorthand Syntax:

TagKey=string,TagValue=string ...

JSON Syntax:

[
  {
    "TagKey": "string",
    "TagValue": "string"
  }
  ...
]

--cli-input-json | --cli-input-yaml (string) Reads arguments from the JSON string provided. The JSON string follows the format provided by --generate-cli-skeleton. If other arguments are provided on the command line, those values will override the JSON-provided values. It is not possible to pass arbitrary binary values using a JSON-provided value as the string will be taken literally. This may not be specified along with --cli-input-yaml.

--generate-cli-skeleton (string) Prints a JSON skeleton to standard output without sending an API request. If provided with no value or the value input, prints a sample input JSON that can be used as an argument for --cli-input-json. Similarly, if provided yaml-input it will print a sample input YAML that can be used with --cli-input-yaml. If provided with the value output, it validates the command inputs and returns a sample output JSON for that command.

--cli-auto-prompt (boolean) Automatically prompt for CLI input parameters.

See ‘aws help’ for descriptions of global parameters.

Examples¶

To create a customer managed CMK in AWS KMS

The following create-key example creates a customer managed CMK.

The --tags parameter uses shorthand syntax to add a tag with a key name Purpose and value of Test. For information about using shorthand syntax, see Using Shorthand Syntax with the AWS Command Line Interface in the AWS CLI User Guide.
The --description parameter adds an optional description.

Because this doesn’t specify a policy, the CMK gets the default key policy <https://docs.aws.amazon.com/kms/latest/developerguide/key-policies.html#key-policy-default>__. To view the key policy, use the ``get-key-policy` command. To change the key policy, use the put-key-policy command.

aws kms create-key \
    --tags TagKey=Purpose,TagValue=Test \
    --description "Development test key"

The create-key command returns the key metadata, including the key ID and ARN of the new CMK. You can use these values to identify the CMK to other AWS KMS operations. The output does not include the tags. To view the tags for a CMK, use the list-resource-tags command.

{
    "KeyMetadata": {
        "AWSAccountId": "123456789012",
        "KeyId": "1234abcd-12ab-34cd-56ef-1234567890ab",
        "Arn": "arn:aws:kms:us-west-2:123456789012:key/1234abcd-12ab-34cd-56ef-1234567890ab",
        "CreationDate": 1566160362.664,
        "Enabled": true,
        "Description": "Development test key",
        "KeyUsage": "ENCRYPT_DECRYPT",
        "KeyState": "Enabled",
        "Origin": "AWS_KMS",
        "KeyManager": "CUSTOMER"
    }
}

Note: The create-key command does not let you specify an alias, To create an alias that points to the new CMK, use the create-alias command.

For more information, see Creating Keys in the AWS Key Management Service Developer Guide.

Output¶

KeyMetadata -> (structure)

Metadata associated with the CMK.

AWSAccountId -> (string)

The twelve-digit account ID of the AWS account that owns the CMK.

KeyId -> (string)

The globally unique identifier for the CMK.

Arn -> (string)

The Amazon Resource Name (ARN) of the CMK. For examples, see AWS Key Management Service (AWS KMS) in the Example ARNs section of the AWS General Reference .

CreationDate -> (timestamp)

The date and time when the CMK was created.

Enabled -> (boolean)

Specifies whether the CMK is enabled. When KeyState is Enabled this value is true, otherwise it is false.

Description -> (string)

The description of the CMK.

KeyUsage -> (string)

The cryptographic operations for which you can use the CMK.

KeyState -> (string)

The current status of the CMK.

For more information about how key state affects the use of a CMK, see Key state: Effect on your CMK in the AWS Key Management Service Developer Guide .

DeletionDate -> (timestamp)

The date and time after which AWS KMS deletes the CMK. This value is present only when KeyState is PendingDeletion .

ValidTo -> (timestamp)

The time at which the imported key material expires. When the key material expires, AWS KMS deletes the key material and the CMK becomes unusable. This value is present only for CMKs whose Origin is EXTERNAL and whose ExpirationModel is KEY_MATERIAL_EXPIRES , otherwise this value is omitted.

Origin -> (string)

The source of the CMK’s key material. When this value is AWS_KMS , AWS KMS created the key material. When this value is EXTERNAL , the key material was imported from your existing key management infrastructure or the CMK lacks key material. When this value is AWS_CLOUDHSM , the key material was created in the AWS CloudHSM cluster associated with a custom key store.

CustomKeyStoreId -> (string)

A unique identifier for the custom key store that contains the CMK. This value is present only when the CMK is created in a custom key store.

CloudHsmClusterId -> (string)

The cluster ID of the AWS CloudHSM cluster that contains the key material for the CMK. When you create a CMK in a custom key store , AWS KMS creates the key material for the CMK in the associated AWS CloudHSM cluster. This value is present only when the CMK is created in a custom key store.

ExpirationModel -> (string)

Specifies whether the CMK’s key material expires. This value is present only when Origin is EXTERNAL , otherwise this value is omitted.

KeyManager -> (string)

The manager of the CMK. CMKs in your AWS account are either customer managed or AWS managed. For more information about the difference, see Customer Master Keys in the AWS Key Management Service Developer Guide .

CustomerMasterKeySpec -> (string)

Describes the type of key material in the CMK.

EncryptionAlgorithms -> (list)

The encryption algorithms that the CMK supports. You cannot use the CMK with other encryption algorithms within AWS KMS.

This field appears only when the KeyUsage of the CMK is ENCRYPT_DECRYPT .

(string)

SigningAlgorithms -> (list)

The signing algorithms that the CMK supports. You cannot use the CMK with other signing algorithms within AWS KMS.

This field appears only when the KeyUsage of the CMK is SIGN_VERIFY .

(string)

Table of Contents

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User Guide

create-key¶

Description¶

Synopsis¶

Options¶

Examples¶

Output¶