HTML5 <keygen> Tag
Topic: HTML5 Tags ReferencePrev|Next
Description
The <keygen> element generates an encryption key for passing encrypted data to a server. When an HTML form is submitted, the browser will generate a key pair and store the private key in the browser's local key storage and send the public key to the server.
The following table summarizes the usages context and the version history of this tag.
| Placement: | Inline |
|---|---|
| Content: | None. It is an empty element. |
| Start/End Tag: | Start tag: required, End tag: forbidden |
| Version: | New in HTML5 |
Syntax
The basic syntax of the <keygen> tag is given with:
The example below shows the <keygen> tag in action.
Example
Try this code »<form action="process-key.php" method="post">
<label>Username: <input type="text" name="username"></label>
<label>Encryption: <keygen name="key"></label>
<input type="submit" value="Submit">
</form>Tag-Specific Attributes
The following table shows the attributes that are specific to the <keygen> tag.
| Attribute | Value | Description |
|---|---|---|
autofocus |
autofocus |
This Boolean attribute specifies that a keygen element should automatically get focus when the page loads. |
challenge |
challenge |
Specifies a challenge string that is submitted along with the public key. The default value is an empty string, if not specified. |
disabled |
disabled |
This Boolean attribute indicates that the keygen form control disabled for interaction. |
form |
form-id | Specifies the <form> element that the <keygen> element is associated with (its form owner). |
keytype |
rsa |
Specifies the type of key generated. The default value is rsa. |
name |
name | Defines a name for the keygen element, which is submitted with the form data. |
Global Attributes
Like all other HTML tags, the <keygen> tag supports the global attributes in HTML5.
Event Attributes
The <keygen> tag also supports the event attributes in HTML5.
Browser Compatibility
The <keygen> tag is supported in all major modern browsers.
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Basic Support—
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Further Reading
See tutorial on: HTML Forms.
