.Dd October 19, 1987
.Dt PUBLICKEY 5
.Os
.Sh NAME
.Nm publickey
.Nd "public key database"
.Sh SYNOPSIS
.Pa /etc/publickey
.Sh DESCRIPTION
.Pa /etc/publickey
is the public key database used for secure
RPC (Remote Procedure Calls).
Each entry in
the database consists of a network user
name (which may either refer to
a user or a hostname), followed by the user's
public key (in hex
notation), a colon, and then the user's
secret key encrypted with
its login password (also in hex notation).
.Pp
This file is altered either by the user through the
.Xr chkey 1
command or by the system administrator through the
.Xr newkey 8
command.
The file
.Pa /etc/publickey
should only contain data on the
.Tn NIS
master machine, where it
is converted into the
.Tn NIS
database
.Pa publickey.byname .
.Sh SEE ALSO
.Xr chkey 1 ,
.Xr publickey 3 ,
.Xr newkey 8 ,
.Xr ypupdated 8