ruby/rubygems · error · Gem::OptionParser::InvalidArgument

#{key_file}: invalid RSA, DSA, or EC key

Error message

#{key_file}: invalid RSA, DSA, or EC key

What it means

Error "#{key_file}: invalid RSA, DSA, or EC key" thrown in ruby/rubygems.

Source

Thrown at lib/rubygems/commands/cert_command.rb:103

  def open_cert(certificate_file)
    check_openssl
    OpenSSL::X509::Certificate.new File.read certificate_file
  rescue Errno::ENOENT
    raise Gem::OptionParser::InvalidArgument, "#{certificate_file}: does not exist"
  rescue OpenSSL::X509::CertificateError
    raise Gem::OptionParser::InvalidArgument,
      "#{certificate_file}: invalid X509 certificate"
  end

  def open_private_key(key_file)
    check_openssl
    passphrase = ENV["GEM_PRIVATE_KEY_PASSPHRASE"]
    key = OpenSSL::PKey.read File.read(key_file), passphrase
    key
  rescue Errno::ENOENT
    raise Gem::OptionParser::InvalidArgument, "#{key_file}: does not exist"
  rescue OpenSSL::PKey::PKeyError, ArgumentError
    raise Gem::OptionParser::InvalidArgument, "#{key_file}: invalid RSA, DSA, or EC key"
  end

  def execute
    check_openssl

    options[:add].each do |certificate|
      add_certificate certificate
    end

    options[:remove].each do |filter|
      remove_certificates_matching filter
    end

    options[:list].each do |filter|
      list_certificates_matching filter
    end

    options[:build].each do |email|

View on GitHub (pinned to 86cbb817a3)

When it happens

Trigger: Thrown at lib/rubygems/commands/cert_command.rb:103 when the library encounters an invalid state.

Common situations: See trigger scenarios.

AI-assisted analysis of ruby/rubygems@86cbb817a3 (2026-08-23). Data as JSON: /api/errors/01e2c93e6f9f2eb3. Report an issue: GitHub.