Skip to main content
SoftHSM v2 ships two low-level inspection tools for dumping token contents to stdout. They are intended for debugging and are not required for normal operation.
ToolObject store typeInput
softhsm2-dump-fileFile-based object storePath to a single object file
softhsm2-dump-dbSQLite3 database object storePath to a .db database file
SoftHSM v2 supports two storage backends: a file-based store (one file per object) and a SQLite3 database store. Use the tool that matches the backend configured for your installation.

​
softhsm2-dump-file

Dumps a SoftHSM v2 object file from the file-based object store. 
softhsm2-dump-file path

​
Arguments

​
path
string
required
Path to the SoftHSM v2 object file to dump. Object files are stored in the token directory defined in softhsm2.conf and have names like <uuid>.object.
softhsm2-dump-file takes exactly one positional argument — the path — and no flags.

​
Example

softhsm2-dump-file /var/lib/softhsm/tokens/abc123.../b7e9f2a1-aaaa-bbbb-cccc-111111111111.object

​
softhsm2-dump-db

Dumps a SoftHSM v2 SQLite3 database from the database-backed object store. 
softhsm2-dump-db path

​
Arguments

​
path
string
required
Path to the SoftHSM v2 SQLite3 database file to dump. The database file is named sqlite3.db and is located inside the token’s UUID subdirectory in directories.tokendir.
softhsm2-dump-db takes exactly one positional argument — the path — and no flags.

​
Example

softhsm2-dump-db /var/lib/softhsm/tokens/550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440000/sqlite3.db

​
Debugging workflow

1

Identify your storage backend

Check your softhsm2.conf to determine whether you are using the file-based or SQLite3 backend, and locate the token directory.
2

Locate the object store

For the file backend, navigate to the token directory and identify the object files. For the database backend, find the .db file in the token directory.
3

Dump the contents

Run the appropriate tool:
# File-based backend: pass one .object file at a time
softhsm2-dump-file /var/lib/softhsm/tokens/<token-uuid>/<object-uuid>.object

# SQLite3 database backend
softhsm2-dump-db /var/lib/softhsm/tokens/<token-uuid>/sqlite3.db

​
See also

  • softhsm2-util — token management and key import
  • softhsm2.conf(5) — SoftHSM configuration reference

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Get started for freeTalk to us