openssl/doc/apps/rand.pod

=pod

=head1 NAME

rand - generate pseudo-random bytes

=head1 SYNOPSIS

B<openssl rand>
[B<-out> I<file>]
[B<-rand> I<file(s)>]
[B<-base64>]
[B<-hex>]
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)>)
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.

=item B<-hex>

Show the output as a hex string.

=back

=head1 SEE ALSO

L<RAND_bytes(3)>

=cut