Extract text from public files (PUBLIC)
To convert PUBLIC files to another format, you need OpenSSH or other Encoded software.
To convert other file formats to the "Cryptographic Public Key" file type, you need software like OpenSSH or a similar tool.
A .public file usually stores a cryptographic public key used in asymmetric cryptography frameworks like OpenSSH and OpenSSL, or as serialized Java RSA keys. Alternatively, in Italy, the extension is often appended to PDF files (e.g., document.pdf.public) to denote digitally signed tender documents for e-procurement platforms.
Public keys are typically plain text containing Base64-encoded data, readable by standard text editors or managed via command-line tools like ssh-keygen. Italian signed documents can often be viewed natively in Adobe Acrobat Reader after stripping the .public extension, as the underlying format is standard PDF.
The main disadvantage of .public files is the sheer ambiguity of the extension. Because it is used by various disparate systems, operating systems rarely know which application should open it. Users often encounter annoying "Windows cannot open this file" errors. For cryptographic keys, formatting requirements (like PKCS#8 vs. OpenSSH format) are strict; an incorrect line break renders the file invalid. For signed documents, the non-standard extension simply breaks standard PDF handlers.
To solve readability issues, cryptographic keys are frequently converted to standard PEM, DER, or TXT formats. Signed .public documents should usually be renamed or converted back to PDF to restore native compatibility across devices.
Because .public is a generic suffix rather than a single unified format, automated conversion is inherently difficult. Proprietary digital signatures can break if the file structure is altered. Standard online converters usually fail because they blindly rely on file extensions rather than analyzing the header. Just drag and drop your file on convert.guru to identify the format, view it, and convert it when possible. If our analysis detects a supported underlying or embedded format - like a standard PDF or plain text structure - viewing or conversion may still be possible.
Convert.Guru analyzes your PUBLIC file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.
Users also converted ID_RSA, SSHD_CONFIG and P8 files.
If you want to convert PUBLIC file to , you can use OpenSSH or similar software from the "Public Key Cryptography Storage" category. In the File menu, look for Save As… or Export….
To convert files to PUBLIC, try OpenSSH or another comparable tool in the "Public Key Cryptography Storage" category.
The history of Convert.Guru began over 25 years ago in California with Tom Simondi’s file-format database. A former contributor to Space Shuttle development and a software pioneer of the 1980s, Simondi established a trusted resource for file type analysis that was even referenced by Microsoft Windows XP. Today, we use modern technology to process and convert thousands of file formats while continually improving our PUBLIC converter.