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Creates a unique customer managed KMS key in your Amazon Web Services account and Region. You can use a KMS key in cryptographic operations, such as encryption and signing. Some Amazon Web Services services let you use KMS keys that you create and manage to protect your service resources.
A KMS key is a logical representation of a cryptographic key. In addition to the key material used in cryptographic operations, a KMS key includes metadata, such as the key ID, key policy, creation date, description, and key state. For details, see Managing keys in the Key Management Service Developer Guide
Use the parameters of CreateKey to specify the type of KMS key, the source
of its key material, its key policy, description, tags, and other properties.
KMS has replaced the term customer master key (CMK) with KMS key and KMS key. The concept has not changed. To prevent breaking changes, KMS is keeping some variations of this term.
To create different types of KMS keys, use the following guidance:
By default, CreateKey creates a symmetric encryption KMS key with key material
that KMS generates. This is the basic and most widely used type of KMS key, and provides
the best performance.
To create a symmetric encryption KMS key, you don't need to specify any parameters.
The default value for KeySpec, SYMMETRIC_DEFAULT, the default value
for KeyUsage, ENCRYPT_DECRYPT, and the default value for Origin,
AWS_KMS, create a symmetric encryption KMS key with KMS key material.
If you need a key for basic encryption and decryption or you are creating a KMS key to protect your resources in an Amazon Web Services service, create a symmetric encryption KMS key. The key material in a symmetric encryption key never leaves KMS unencrypted. You can use a symmetric encryption KMS key to encrypt and decrypt data up to 4,096 bytes, but they are typically used to generate data keys and data keys pairs. For details, see GenerateDataKey and GenerateDataKeyPair.
To create an asymmetric KMS key, use the KeySpec parameter to specify the type
of key material in the KMS key. Then, use the KeyUsage parameter to determine
whether the KMS key will be used to encrypt and decrypt or sign and verify. You can't
change these properties after the KMS key is created.
Asymmetric KMS keys contain an RSA key pair, Elliptic Curve (ECC) key pair, or an SM2 key pair (China Regions only). The private key in an asymmetric KMS key never leaves KMS unencrypted. However, you can use the GetPublicKey operation to download the public key so it can be used outside of KMS. KMS keys with RSA or SM2 key pairs can be used to encrypt or decrypt data or sign and verify messages (but not both). KMS keys with ECC key pairs can be used only to sign and verify messages. For information about asymmetric KMS keys, see Asymmetric KMS keys in the Key Management Service Developer Guide.
To create an HMAC KMS key, set the KeySpec parameter to a key spec value for
HMAC KMS keys. Then set the KeyUsage parameter to GENERATE_VERIFY_MAC.
You must set the key usage even though GENERATE_VERIFY_MAC is the only valid
key usage value for HMAC KMS keys. You can't change these properties after the KMS
key is created.
HMAC KMS keys are symmetric keys that never leave KMS unencrypted. You can use HMAC keys to generate (GenerateMac) and verify (VerifyMac) HMAC codes for messages up to 4096 bytes.
To create a multi-Region primary key in the local Amazon Web Services Region,
use the MultiRegion parameter with a value of True. To create a multi-Region
replica key, that is, a KMS key with the same key ID and key material as a
primary key, but in a different Amazon Web Services Region, use the ReplicateKey
operation. To change a replica key to a primary key, and its primary key to a replica
key, use the UpdatePrimaryRegion operation.
You can create multi-Region KMS keys for all supported KMS key types: symmetric encryption KMS keys, HMAC KMS keys, asymmetric encryption KMS keys, and asymmetric signing KMS keys. You can also create multi-Region keys with imported key material. However, you can't create multi-Region keys in a custom key store.
This operation supports multi-Region keys, an KMS feature that lets you create multiple interoperable KMS keys in different Amazon Web Services Regions. Because these KMS keys have the same key ID, key material, and other metadata, you can use them interchangeably to encrypt data in one Amazon Web Services Region and decrypt it in a different Amazon Web Services Region without re-encrypting the data or making a cross-Region call. For more information about multi-Region keys, see Multi-Region keys in KMS in the Key Management Service Developer Guide.
To import your own key material into a KMS key, begin by creating a KMS key 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. Use the wrapping 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 Key Management Service Developer Guide.
You can import key material into KMS keys of all supported KMS key types: symmetric encryption KMS keys, HMAC KMS keys, asymmetric encryption KMS keys, and asymmetric signing KMS keys. You can also create multi-Region keys with imported key material. However, you can't import key material into a KMS key in a custom key store.
To create a multi-Region primary key with imported key material, use the Origin
parameter of CreateKey with a value of EXTERNAL and the MultiRegion
parameter with a value of True. To create replicas of the multi-Region primary
key, use the ReplicateKey operation. For instructions, see Importing key material into multi-Region keys. For more information about multi-Region
keys, see Multi-Region
keys in KMS in the Key Management Service Developer Guide.
A custom key store lets you protect your Amazon Web Services resources using keys in a backing key store that you own and manage. When you request a cryptographic operation with a KMS key in a custom key store, the operation is performed in the backing key store using its cryptographic keys.
KMS supports CloudHSM key stores backed by an CloudHSM cluster and external key stores backed by an external key manager outside of Amazon Web Services. When you create a KMS key in an CloudHSM key store, KMS generates an encryption key in the CloudHSM cluster and associates it with the KMS key. When you create a KMS key in an external key store, you specify an existing encryption key in the external key manager.
Some external key managers provide a simpler method for creating a KMS key in an external key store. For details, see your external key manager documentation.
Before you create a KMS key in a custom key store, the ConnectionState of the
key store must be CONNECTED. To connect the custom key store, use the ConnectCustomKeyStore
operation. To find the ConnectionState, use the DescribeCustomKeyStores
operation.
To create a KMS key in a custom key store, use the CustomKeyStoreId. Use the
default KeySpec value, SYMMETRIC_DEFAULT, and the default KeyUsage
value, ENCRYPT_DECRYPT to create a symmetric encryption key. No other key type
is supported in a custom key store.
To create a KMS key in an CloudHSM
key store, use the Origin parameter with a value of AWS_CLOUDHSM.
The CloudHSM cluster that is associated with the custom key store must have at least
two active HSMs in different Availability Zones in the Amazon Web Services Region.
To create a KMS key in an external
key store, use the Origin parameter with a value of EXTERNAL_KEY_STORE
and an XksKeyId parameter that identifies an existing external key.
Some external key managers provide a simpler method for creating a KMS key in an external key store. For details, see your external key manager documentation.
Cross-account use: No. You cannot use this operation to create a KMS key in a different Amazon Web Services account.
Required permissions: kms:CreateKey
(IAM policy). To use the Tags parameter, kms:TagResource
(IAM policy). For examples and information about related permissions, see Allow
a user to create KMS keys in the Key Management Service Developer Guide.
Related operations:
Eventual consistency: The KMS API follows an eventual consistency model. For more information, see KMS eventual consistency.
For .NET Core this operation is only available in asynchronous form. Please refer to CreateKeyAsync.
Namespace: Amazon.KeyManagementService
Assembly: AWSSDK.KeyManagementService.dll
Version: 3.x.y.z
public virtual CreateKeyResponse CreateKey( CreateKeyRequest request )
Container for the necessary parameters to execute the CreateKey service method.
| Exception | Condition |
|---|---|
| CloudHsmClusterInvalidConfigurationException |
The request was rejected because the associated CloudHSM cluster did not meet the
configuration requirements for an CloudHSM key store.
The CloudHSM cluster must be configured with private subnets in at least two different
Availability Zones in the Region.
The security
group for the cluster (cloudhsm-cluster- |
| CustomKeyStoreInvalidStateException | The request was rejected because of the ConnectionState of the custom key store. To get the ConnectionState of a custom key store, use the DescribeCustomKeyStores operation. This exception is thrown under the following conditions: You requested the ConnectCustomKeyStore operation on a custom key store with a ConnectionState of DISCONNECTING or FAILED. This operation is valid for all other ConnectionState values. To reconnect a custom key store in a FAILED state, disconnect it (DisconnectCustomKeyStore), then connect it (ConnectCustomKeyStore). You requested the CreateKey operation in a custom key store that is not connected. This operations is valid only when the custom key store ConnectionState is CONNECTED. You requested the DisconnectCustomKeyStore operation on a custom key store with a ConnectionState of DISCONNECTING or DISCONNECTED. This operation is valid for all other ConnectionState values. You requested the UpdateCustomKeyStore or DeleteCustomKeyStore operation on a custom key store that is not disconnected. This operation is valid only when the custom key store ConnectionState is DISCONNECTED. You requested the GenerateRandom operation in an CloudHSM key store that is not connected. This operation is valid only when the CloudHSM key store ConnectionState is CONNECTED. |
| CustomKeyStoreNotFoundException | The request was rejected because KMS cannot find a custom key store with the specified key store name or ID. |
| DependencyTimeoutException | The system timed out while trying to fulfill the request. You can retry the request. |
| InvalidArnException | The request was rejected because a specified ARN, or an ARN in a key policy, is not valid. |
| KMSInternalException | The request was rejected because an internal exception occurred. The request can be retried. |
| LimitExceededException | The request was rejected because a quota was exceeded. For more information, see Quotas in the Key Management Service Developer Guide. |
| MalformedPolicyDocumentException | The request was rejected because the specified policy is not syntactically or semantically correct. |
| TagException | The request was rejected because one or more tags are not valid. |
| UnsupportedOperationException | The request was rejected because a specified parameter is not supported or a specified resource is not valid for this operation. |
| XksKeyAlreadyInUseException | The request was rejected because the (XksKeyId) is already associated with another KMS key in this external key store. Each KMS key in an external key store must be associated with a different external key. |
| XksKeyInvalidConfigurationException | The request was rejected because the external key specified by the XksKeyId parameter did not meet the configuration requirements for an external key store. The external key must be an AES-256 symmetric key that is enabled and performs encryption and decryption. |
| XksKeyNotFoundException | The request was rejected because the external key store proxy could not find the external key. This exception is thrown when the value of the XksKeyId parameter doesn't identify a key in the external key manager associated with the external key proxy. Verify that the XksKeyId represents an existing key in the external key manager. Use the key identifier that the external key store proxy uses to identify the key. For details, see the documentation provided with your external key store proxy or key manager. |
The following example creates a symmetric KMS key for encryption and decryption. No parameters are required for this operation.
var client = new AmazonKeyManagementServiceClient();
var response = client.CreateKey(new CreateKeyRequest
{
});
KeyMetadata keyMetadata = response.KeyMetadata; // Detailed information about the KMS key that this operation creates.
This example creates a KMS key that contains an asymmetric RSA key pair for encryption and decryption. The key spec and key usage can't be changed after the key is created.
var client = new AmazonKeyManagementServiceClient();
var response = client.CreateKey(new CreateKeyRequest
{
KeySpec = "RSA_4096", // Describes the type of key material in the KMS key.
KeyUsage = "ENCRYPT_DECRYPT" // The cryptographic operations for which you can use the KMS key.
});
KeyMetadata keyMetadata = response.KeyMetadata; // Detailed information about the KMS key that this operation creates.
This example creates a KMS key that contains an asymmetric elliptic curve (ECC) key pair for signing and verification. The key usage is required even though "SIGN_VERIFY" is the only valid value for ECC KMS keys. The key spec and key usage can't be changed after the key is created.
var client = new AmazonKeyManagementServiceClient();
var response = client.CreateKey(new CreateKeyRequest
{
KeySpec = "ECC_NIST_P521", // Describes the type of key material in the KMS key.
KeyUsage = "SIGN_VERIFY" // The cryptographic operations for which you can use the KMS key.
});
KeyMetadata keyMetadata = response.KeyMetadata; // Detailed information about the KMS key that this operation creates.
This example creates a 384-bit symmetric HMAC KMS key. The GENERATE_VERIFY_MAC key usage value is required even though it's the only valid value for HMAC KMS keys. The key spec and key usage can't be changed after the key is created.
var client = new AmazonKeyManagementServiceClient();
var response = client.CreateKey(new CreateKeyRequest
{
KeySpec = "HMAC_384", // Describes the type of key material in the KMS key.
KeyUsage = "GENERATE_VERIFY_MAC" // The cryptographic operations for which you can use the KMS key.
});
KeyMetadata keyMetadata = response.KeyMetadata; // Detailed information about the KMS key that this operation creates.
This example creates a multi-Region primary symmetric encryption key. Because the default values for all parameters create a symmetric encryption key, only the MultiRegion parameter is required for this KMS key.
var client = new AmazonKeyManagementServiceClient();
var response = client.CreateKey(new CreateKeyRequest
{
MultiRegion = true // Indicates whether the KMS key is a multi-Region (True) or regional (False) key.
});
KeyMetadata keyMetadata = response.KeyMetadata; // Detailed information about the KMS key that this operation creates.
This example creates a symmetric KMS key with no key material. When the operation is complete, you can import your own key material into the KMS key. To create this KMS key, set the Origin parameter to EXTERNAL.
var client = new AmazonKeyManagementServiceClient();
var response = client.CreateKey(new CreateKeyRequest
{
Origin = "EXTERNAL" // The source of the key material for the KMS key.
});
KeyMetadata keyMetadata = response.KeyMetadata; // Detailed information about the KMS key that this operation creates.
This example creates a KMS key in the specified AWS CloudHSM key store. The operation creates the KMS key and its metadata in AWS KMS and creates the key material in the AWS CloudHSM cluster associated with the custom key store. This example requires the CustomKeyStoreId and Origin parameters.
var client = new AmazonKeyManagementServiceClient();
var response = client.CreateKey(new CreateKeyRequest
{
CustomKeyStoreId = "cks-1234567890abcdef0", // Identifies the custom key store that hosts the KMS key.
Origin = "AWS_CLOUDHSM" // Indicates the source of the key material for the KMS key.
});
KeyMetadata keyMetadata = response.KeyMetadata; // Detailed information about the KMS key that this operation creates.
This example creates a KMS key in the specified external key store. It uses the XksKeyId parameter to associate the KMS key with an existing symmetric encryption key in your external key manager. This CustomKeyStoreId, Origin, and XksKeyId parameters are required in this operation.
var client = new AmazonKeyManagementServiceClient();
var response = client.CreateKey(new CreateKeyRequest
{
CustomKeyStoreId = "cks-9876543210fedcba9", // Identifies the custom key store that hosts the KMS key.
Origin = "EXTERNAL_KEY_STORE", // Indicates the source of the key material for the KMS key.
XksKeyId = "bb8562717f809024" // Identifies the encryption key in your external key manager that is associated with the KMS key
});
KeyMetadata keyMetadata = response.KeyMetadata; // Detailed information about the KMS key that this operation creates.
.NET Framework:
Supported in: 4.5, 4.0, 3.5