Create a key

This page shows how to create a key in Cloud KMS. A key can be a symmetric or asymmetric encryption key, an asymmetric signing key, or a MAC signing key.

When you create a key, you add it to a key ring in a specific Cloud KMS location. You can create a new key ring or use an existing one. In this page, you generate a new Cloud KMS or Cloud HSM key and add it to an existing key ring. To create a Cloud EKM key, see Create an external key. To import a Cloud KMS or Cloud HSM key, see Import a key.

Before you begin

Before completing the tasks on this page, you need the following:

  1. A Google Cloud project resource to contain your Cloud KMS resources. We recommend using a separate project for your Cloud KMS resources that does not contain any other Google Cloud resources.
  2. The name and location of the key ring where you want to create your key. Choose a key ring in a location that is near your other resources and that supports your chosen protection level. To view available locations and the protection levels that they support, see Cloud KMS locations. To create a key ring, see Create a key ring.
  3. Optional: To use the gcloud CLI, prepare your environment.

    In the Google Cloud console, activate Cloud Shell.

    Activate Cloud Shell

Required roles

To get the permissions that you need to create keys, ask your administrator to grant you the following IAM roles on the project or a parent resource:

For more information about granting roles, see Manage access to projects, folders, and organizations.

These predefined roles contain the permissions required to create keys. To see the exact permissions that are required, expand the Required permissions section:

Required permissions

The following permissions are required to create keys:

  • cloudkms.cryptoKeys.create
  • cloudkms.cryptoKeys.get
  • cloudkms.cryptoKeys.list
  • cloudkms.cryptoKeyVersions.create
  • cloudkms.cryptoKeyVersions.get
  • cloudkms.cryptoKeyVersions.list
  • cloudkms.keyRings.get
  • cloudkms.keyRings.list
  • cloudkms.locations.get
  • cloudkms.locations.list
  • resourcemanager.projects.get
  • To retrieve a public key: cloudkms.cryptoKeyVersions.viewPublicKey
  • To create single-tenant HSM keys:
    • cloudkms.singleTenantHsmInstances.get
    • cloudkms.singleTenantHsmInstances.use

You might also be able to get these permissions with custom roles or other predefined roles.

Create a symmetric encryption key

Console

  1. In the Google Cloud console, go to the Key Management page.

    Go to Key Management

  2. Click the name of the key ring for which you will create a key.

  3. Click Create key.

  4. For Key name, enter a name for your key.

  5. For Protection level, select Software, HSM, or Single-tenant HSM.

  6. If you selected Single-tenant HSM, then select the Single-tenant HSM instance where you want to create the key.

  7. For Key material, select Generated key.

  8. For Purpose, select Symmetric encrypt/decrypt.

  9. Accept the default values for Rotation period and Starting on.

  10. Click Create.

gcloud

To use Cloud KMS on the command line, first Install or upgrade to the latest version of Google Cloud CLI.

To create a software or Multi-tenant Cloud HSM key, use the kms keys create command:

gcloud kms keys create KEY_NAME \
    --keyring KEY_RING \
    --location LOCATION \
    --purpose "encryption" \
    --protection-level "PROTECTION_LEVEL"

Replace the following:

  • KEY_NAME: the name of the key.
  • KEY_RING: the name of the key ring that contains the key.
  • LOCATION: the Cloud KMS location of the key ring.
  • PROTECTION_LEVEL: the protection level to use for the key—for example, software or hsm. You can omit the --protection-level flag for software keys.

For information on all flags and possible values, run the command with the --help flag.

To create a Single-tenant Cloud HSM key, add the --crypto-key-backend flag to the kms keys create command:

gcloud kms keys create KEY_NAME \
    --keyring KEY_RING \
    --location LOCATION \
    --purpose "encryption" \
    --protection-level "hsm-single-tenant" \
    --crypto-key-backend="projects/INSTANCE_PROJECT/locations/LOCATION/singleTenantHsmInstances/INSTANCE_NAME"

Replace the following:

  • INSTANCE_PROJECT: the identifier of the project where your Single-tenant Cloud HSM instance exists.
  • INSTANCE_NAME: the name of the Single-tenant Cloud HSM instance where you want to create the key. For more information about Single-tenant Cloud HSM instances, see Create and manage a Single-tenant Cloud HSM instance.

For information on all flags and possible values, run the command with the --help flag.

C#

To run this code, first set up a C# development environment and install the Cloud KMS C# SDK.


using Google.Cloud.Kms.V1;

public class CreateKeySymmetricEncryptDecryptSample
{
    public CryptoKey CreateKeySymmetricEncryptDecrypt(
      string projectId = "my-project", string locationId = "us-east1", string keyRingId = "my-key-ring",
      string id = "my-symmetric-encryption-key")
    {
        // Create the client.
        KeyManagementServiceClient client = KeyManagementServiceClient.Create();

        // Build the parent key ring name.
        KeyRingName keyRingName = new KeyRingName(projectId, locationId, keyRingId);

        // Build the key.
        CryptoKey key = new CryptoKey
        {
            Purpose = CryptoKey.Types.CryptoKeyPurpose.EncryptDecrypt,
            VersionTemplate = new CryptoKeyVersionTemplate
            {
                Algorithm = CryptoKeyVersion.Types.CryptoKeyVersionAlgorithm.GoogleSymmetricEncryption,
            }
        };

        // Call the API.
        CryptoKey result = client.CreateCryptoKey(keyRingName, id, key);

        // Return the result.
        return result;
    }
}

Go

To run this code, first set up a Go development environment and install the Cloud KMS Go SDK.

import (
	"context"
	"fmt"
	"io"

	kms "cloud.google.com/go/kms/apiv1"
	"cloud.google.com/go/kms/apiv1/kmspb"
)

// createKeySymmetricEncryptDecrypt creates a new symmetric encrypt/decrypt key
// on Cloud KMS.
func createKeySymmetricEncryptDecrypt(w io.Writer, parent, id string) error {
	// parent := "projects/my-project/locations/us-east1/keyRings/my-key-ring"
	// id := "my-symmetric-encryption-key"

	// Create the client.
	ctx := context.Background()
	client, err := kms.NewKeyManagementClient(ctx)
	if err != nil {
		return fmt.Errorf("failed to create kms client: %w", err)
	}
	defer client.Close()

	// Build the request.
	req := &kmspb.CreateCryptoKeyRequest{
		Parent:      parent,
		CryptoKeyId: id,
		CryptoKey: &kmspb.CryptoKey{
			Purpose: kmspb.CryptoKey_ENCRYPT_DECRYPT,
			VersionTemplate: &kmspb.CryptoKeyVersionTemplate{
				Algorithm: kmspb.CryptoKeyVersion_GOOGLE_SYMMETRIC_ENCRYPTION,
			},
		},
	}

	// Call the API.
	result, err := client.CreateCryptoKey(ctx, req)
	if err != nil {
		return fmt.Errorf("failed to create key: %w", err)
	}
	fmt.Fprintf(w, "Created key: %s\n", result.Name)
	return nil
}

Java

To run this code, first set up a Java development environment and install the Cloud KMS Java SDK.

import com.google.cloud.kms.v1.CryptoKey;
import com.google.cloud.kms.v1.CryptoKey.CryptoKeyPurpose;
import com.google.cloud.kms.v1.CryptoKeyVersion.CryptoKeyVersionAlgorithm;
import com.google.cloud.kms.v1.CryptoKeyVersionTemplate;
import com.google.cloud.kms.v1.KeyManagementServiceClient;
import com.google.cloud.kms.v1.KeyRingName;
import java.io.IOException;

public class CreateKeySymmetricEncryptDecrypt {

  public void createKeySymmetricEncryptDecrypt() throws IOException {
    // TODO(developer): Replace these variables before running the sample.
    String projectId = "your-project-id";
    String locationId = "us-east1";
    String keyRingId = "my-key-ring";
    String id = "my-key";
    createKeySymmetricEncryptDecrypt(projectId, locationId, keyRingId, id);
  }

  // Create a new key that is used for symmetric encryption and decryption.
  public void createKeySymmetricEncryptDecrypt(
      String projectId, String locationId, String keyRingId, String id) throws IOException {
    // Initialize client that will be used to send requests. This client only
    // needs to be created once, and can be reused for multiple requests. After
    // completing all of your requests, call the "close" method on the client to
    // safely clean up any remaining background resources.
    try (KeyManagementServiceClient client = KeyManagementServiceClient.create()) {
      // Build the parent name from the project, location, and key ring.
      KeyRingName keyRingName = KeyRingName.of(projectId, locationId, keyRingId);

      // Build the symmetric key to create.
      CryptoKey key =
          CryptoKey.newBuilder()
              .setPurpose(CryptoKeyPurpose.ENCRYPT_DECRYPT)
              .setVersionTemplate(
                  CryptoKeyVersionTemplate.newBuilder()
                      .setAlgorithm(CryptoKeyVersionAlgorithm.GOOGLE_SYMMETRIC_ENCRYPTION))
              .build();

      // Create the key.
      CryptoKey createdKey = client.createCryptoKey(keyRingName, id, key);
      System.out.printf("Created symmetric key %s%n", createdKey.getName());
    }
  }
}

Node.js

To run this code, first set up a Node.js development environment and install the Cloud KMS Node.js SDK.

//
// TODO(developer): Uncomment these variables before running the sample.
//
// const projectId = 'my-project';
// const locationId = 'us-east1';
// const keyRingId = 'my-key-ring';
// const id = 'my-symmetric-encryption-key';

// Imports the Cloud KMS library
const {KeyManagementServiceClient} = require('@google-cloud/kms');

// Instantiates a client
const client = new KeyManagementServiceClient();

// Build the parent key ring name
const keyRingName = client.keyRingPath(projectId, locationId, keyRingId);

async function createKeySymmetricEncryptDecrypt() {
  const [key] = await client.createCryptoKey({
    parent: keyRingName,
    cryptoKeyId: id,
    cryptoKey: {
      purpose: 'ENCRYPT_DECRYPT',
      versionTemplate: {
        algorithm: 'GOOGLE_SYMMETRIC_ENCRYPTION',
      },
    },
  });

  console.log(`Created symmetric key: ${key.name}`);
  return key;
}

return createKeySymmetricEncryptDecrypt();

PHP

To run this code, first learn about using PHP on Google Cloud and install the Cloud KMS PHP SDK.

use Google\Cloud\Kms\V1\Client\KeyManagementServiceClient;
use Google\Cloud\Kms\V1\CreateCryptoKeyRequest;
use Google\Cloud\Kms\V1\CryptoKey;
use Google\Cloud\Kms\V1\CryptoKey\CryptoKeyPurpose;
use Google\Cloud\Kms\V1\CryptoKeyVersion\CryptoKeyVersionAlgorithm;
use Google\Cloud\Kms\V1\CryptoKeyVersionTemplate;

function create_key_symmetric_encrypt_decrypt(
    string $projectId = 'my-project',
    string $locationId = 'us-east1',
    string $keyRingId = 'my-key-ring',
    string $id = 'my-symmetric-key'
): CryptoKey {
    // Create the Cloud KMS client.
    $client = new KeyManagementServiceClient();

    // Build the parent key ring name.
    $keyRingName = $client->keyRingName($projectId, $locationId, $keyRingId);

    // Build the key.
    $key = (new CryptoKey())
        ->setPurpose(CryptoKeyPurpose::ENCRYPT_DECRYPT)
        ->setVersionTemplate((new CryptoKeyVersionTemplate())
            ->setAlgorithm(CryptoKeyVersionAlgorithm::GOOGLE_SYMMETRIC_ENCRYPTION)
        );

    // Call the API.
    $createCryptoKeyRequest = (new CreateCryptoKeyRequest())
        ->setParent($keyRingName)
        ->setCryptoKeyId($id)
        ->setCryptoKey($key);
    $createdKey = $client->createCryptoKey($createCryptoKeyRequest);
    printf('Created symmetric key: %s' . PHP_EOL, $createdKey->getName());

    return $createdKey;
}

Python

To run this code, first set up a Python development environment and install the Cloud KMS Python SDK.

from google.cloud import kms


def create_key_symmetric_encrypt_decrypt(
    project_id: str, location_id: str, key_ring_id: str, key_id: str
) -> kms.CryptoKey:
    """
    Creates a new symmetric encryption/decryption key in Cloud KMS.

    Args:
        project_id (string): Google Cloud project ID (e.g. 'my-project').
        location_id (string): Cloud KMS location (e.g. 'us-east1').
        key_ring_id (string): ID of the Cloud KMS key ring (e.g. 'my-key-ring').
        key_id (string): ID of the key to create (e.g. 'my-symmetric-key').

    Returns:
        CryptoKey: Cloud KMS key.

    """

    # Create the client.
    client = kms.KeyManagementServiceClient()

    # Build the parent key ring name.
    key_ring_name = client.key_ring_path(project_id, location_id, key_ring_id)

    # Build the key.
    purpose = kms.CryptoKey.CryptoKeyPurpose.ENCRYPT_DECRYPT
    algorithm = (
        kms.CryptoKeyVersion.CryptoKeyVersionAlgorithm.GOOGLE_SYMMETRIC_ENCRYPTION
    )
    key = {
        "purpose": purpose,
        "version_template": {
            "algorithm": algorithm,
        },
    }

    # Call the API.
    created_key = client.create_crypto_key(
        request={"parent": key_ring_name, "crypto_key_id": key_id, "crypto_key": key}
    )
    print(f"Created symmetric key: {created_key.name}")
    return created_key

Ruby

To run this code, first set up a Ruby development environment and install the Cloud KMS Ruby SDK.

# TODO(developer): uncomment these values before running the sample.
# project_id  = "my-project"
# location_id = "us-east1"
# key_ring_id = "my-key-ring"
# id          = "my-symmetric-key"

# Require the library.
require "google/cloud/kms"

# Create the client.
client = Google::Cloud::Kms.key_management_service

# Build the parent key ring name.
key_ring_name = client.key_ring_path project: project_id, location: location_id, key_ring: key_ring_id

# Build the key.
key = {
  purpose:          :ENCRYPT_DECRYPT,
  version_template: {
    algorithm: :GOOGLE_SYMMETRIC_ENCRYPTION
  }
}

# Call the API.
created_key = client.create_crypto_key parent: key_ring_name, crypto_key_id: id, crypto_key: key
puts "Created symmetric key: #{created_key.name}"

API

These examples use curl as an HTTP client to demonstrate using the API. For more information about access control, see Accessing the Cloud KMS API.

To create a software or Multi-tenant Cloud HSM key, use the CryptoKey.create method:

curl "https://cloudkms.googleapis.com/v1/projects/PROJECT_ID/locations/LOCATION/keyRings/KEY_RING/cryptoKeys?crypto_key_id=KEY_NAME" \
    --request "POST" \
    --header "authorization: Bearer TOKEN" \
    --header "content-type: application/json" \
    --data '{"purpose": "ENCRYPT_DECRYPT", "versionTemplate": { "protectionLevel": "PROTECTION_LEVEL", "algorithm": "ALGORITHM" }}'

Replace the following:

  • PROJECT_ID: the ID of the project that contains the key ring.
  • LOCATION: the Cloud KMS location of the key ring.
  • KEY_RING: the name of the key ring that contains the key.
  • KEY_NAME: the name of the key.
  • PROTECTION_LEVEL: the protection level of the key—for example, SOFTWARE or HSM.
  • ALGORITHM: the HMAC signing algorithm—for example, HMAC_SHA256. To see all supported HMAC algorithms, see HMAC signing algorithms.
To create a Single-tenant Cloud HSM key, set PROTECTION_LEVEL to HSM_SINGLE_TENANT and add the --crypto-key-backend flag to the kms keys create command:

curl "https://cloudkms.googleapis.com/v1/projects/PROJECT_ID/locations/LOCATION/keyRings/KEY_RING/cryptoKeys?crypto_key_id=KEY_NAME" \
    --request "POST" \
    --header "authorization: Bearer TOKEN" \
    --header "content-type: application/json" \
    --data '{"purpose": "ENCRYPT_DECRYPT", "versionTemplate": { "protectionLevel": "HSM_SINGLE_TENANT",
        "algorithm": "ALGORITHM",
        "crypto-key-backend": "projects/INSTANCE_PROJECT/locations/LOCATION/singleTenantHsmInstances/INSTANCE_NAME" }}'

Replace the following:

  • INSTANCE_PROJECT: the identifier of the project where your Single-tenant Cloud HSM instance exists.
  • INSTANCE_NAME: the name of the Single-tenant Cloud HSM instance where you want to create the key. For more information about Single-tenant Cloud HSM instances, see Create and manage a Single-tenant Cloud HSM instance.

For information on all flags and possible values, run the command with the --help flag.

Create a symmetric encryption key with custom automatic rotation

When you create a key, you can specify its rotation period, which is the time between the automatic creation of new key versions. You can also independently specify the next rotation time, so that the next rotation happens earlier or later than one rotation period from now.

Console

When you use the Google Cloud console to create a key, Cloud KMS sets the rotation period and next rotation time automatically. You can choose to use the default values or specify different values.

To specify a different rotation period and starting time, when you're creating your key, but before you click the Create button:

  1. For Key rotation period, select an option.

  2. For Starting on, select the date when you want the first automatic rotation to happen. You can leave Starting on at its default value to start the first automatic rotation one key rotation period from when you create the key.

gcloud

To use Cloud KMS on the command line, first Install or upgrade to the latest version of Google Cloud CLI.

gcloud kms keys create KEY_NAME \
    --keyring KEY_RING \
    --location LOCATION \
    --purpose "encryption" \
    --rotation-period ROTATION_PERIOD \
    --next-rotation-time NEXT_ROTATION_TIME

Replace the following:

  • KEY_NAME: the name of the key.
  • KEY_RING: the name of the key ring that contains the key.
  • LOCATION: the Cloud KMS location of the key ring.
  • ROTATION_PERIOD: the interval to rotate the key—for example, 30d to rotate the key every 30 days. The rotation period must be at least 1 day and at most 100 years. For more information, see CryptoKey.rotationPeriod.
  • NEXT_ROTATION_TIME: the timestamp at which to complete the first rotation—for example, 2023-01-01T01:02:03. You can omit --next-rotation-time to schedule the first rotation for one rotation period from when you run the command. For more information, see CryptoKey.nextRotationTime.

For information on all flags and possible values, run the command with the --help flag.

C#

To run this code, first set up a C# development environment and install the Cloud KMS C# SDK.


using Google.Cloud.Kms.V1;
using Google.Protobuf.WellKnownTypes;
using System;

public class CreateKeyRotationScheduleSample
{
    public CryptoKey CreateKeyRotationSchedule(
      string projectId = "my-project", string locationId = "us-east1", string keyRingId = "my-key-ring",
      string id = "my-key-with-rotation-schedule")
    {
        // Create the client.
        KeyManagementServiceClient client = KeyManagementServiceClient.Create();

        // Build the parent key ring name.
        KeyRingName keyRingName = new KeyRingName(projectId, locationId, keyRingId);

        // Build the key.
        CryptoKey key = new CryptoKey
        {
            Purpose = CryptoKey.Types.CryptoKeyPurpose.EncryptDecrypt,
            VersionTemplate = new CryptoKeyVersionTemplate
            {
                Algorithm = CryptoKeyVersion.Types.CryptoKeyVersionAlgorithm.GoogleSymmetricEncryption,
            },

            // Rotate the key every 30 days.
            RotationPeriod = new Duration
            {
                Seconds = 60 * 60 * 24 * 30, // 30 days
            },

            // Start the first rotation in 24 hours.
            NextRotationTime = new Timestamp
            {
                Seconds = new DateTimeOffset(DateTime.UtcNow.AddHours(24)).ToUnixTimeSeconds(),
            }
        };

        // Call the API.
        CryptoKey result = client.CreateCryptoKey(keyRingName, id, key);

        // Return the result.
        return result;
    }
}

Go

To run this code, first set up a Go development environment and install the Cloud KMS Go SDK.

import (
	"context"
	"fmt"
	"io"
	"time"

	kms "cloud.google.com/go/kms/apiv1"
	"cloud.google.com/go/kms/apiv1/kmspb"
	"google.golang.org/protobuf/types/known/durationpb"
	"google.golang.org/protobuf/types/known/timestamppb"
)

// createKeyRotationSchedule creates a key with a rotation schedule.
func createKeyRotationSchedule(w io.Writer, parent, id string) error {
	// name := "projects/my-project/locations/us-east1/keyRings/my-key-ring"
	// id := "my-key-with-rotation-schedule"

	// Create the client.
	ctx := context.Background()
	client, err := kms.NewKeyManagementClient(ctx)
	if err != nil {
		return fmt.Errorf("failed to create kms client: %w", err)
	}
	defer client.Close()

	// Build the request.
	req := &kmspb.CreateCryptoKeyRequest{
		Parent:      parent,
		CryptoKeyId: id,
		CryptoKey: &kmspb.CryptoKey{
			Purpose: kmspb.CryptoKey_ENCRYPT_DECRYPT,
			VersionTemplate: &kmspb.CryptoKeyVersionTemplate{
				Algorithm: kmspb.CryptoKeyVersion_GOOGLE_SYMMETRIC_ENCRYPTION,
			},

			// Rotate the key every 30 days
			RotationSchedule: &kmspb.CryptoKey_RotationPeriod{
				RotationPeriod: &durationpb.Duration{
					Seconds: int64(60 * 60 * 24 *