How to Install OpenSSL in Windows 10, 11

Unlike Ubuntu, Windows does not have a built-in openssl executable, you need to install it manually to generate .key, .pem, .crt files.

Method 1: Install OpenSSL from Shining Light Productions

1. Download OpenSSL installer from https://slproweb.com/products/Win32OpenSSL.html depending on your Windows architecture.

2. Install OpenSSL following the installation wizard. Once done, you can find the program at C:Program FilesOpenSSL-Win64bin.

Method 2: Download OpenSSL from Git For Windows

1. Download Git for Windows from https://git-scm.com/download/win. You don’t need download the installer, just download the portable version to get OpenSSL tool.

2. Open the downloaded file to extract it to a folder, then you would get OpenSSL tool in /usr/bin folder.

Running OpenSSL in Windows 10, 11

To run the OpenSSL tool, let’s open Windows command prompt (cmd) then navigate to the tool’s location.

C:\Users\mpnadmin\Downloads\PortableGit\usr\bin>openssl.exe
OpenSSL> help
Standard commands
asn1parse         ca                ciphers           cms
crl               crl2pkcs7         dgst              dhparam
dsa               dsaparam          ec                ecparam
enc               engine            errstr            gendsa
genpkey           genrsa            help              list

To run OpenSSL from anywhere, you need to add the bin folder into Windows environtment.

C:\Users\mpnadmin>openssl
help:

Standard commands
asn1parse         ca                ciphers           cmp
cms               crl               crl2pkcs7         dgst
dhparam           dsa               dsaparam          ec
ecparam           enc               engine            errstr
fipsinstall       gendsa            genpkey           genrsa