Extract text from PVK files
To convert your PVK file to another format, you need Microsoft Windows SDK or other Developer software.
To convert other file formats to the "Cryptographic Key" file type, you need software like Microsoft Windows SDK or a similar tool.
A .PVK file is a proprietary Microsoft Private Key format, historically used to store the private cryptographic key associated with a digital certificate for code signing technologies like Authenticode. While essential for proving identity in software distribution, the PVK format is archaic and presents significant friction in modern development environments. It is effectively a "detached" private key that usually requires a companion public key file (such as an SPC or CER) to function, unlike the modern, self-contained PFX or P12 standards.
Users frequently encounter compatibility issues because standard open-source tools like OpenSSL or web servers (Nginx, Apache) do not natively support PVK files without complex conversion steps. Furthermore, relying on legacy command-line utilities like pvk2pfx.exe found in older Windows SDKs can be cumbersome and platform-dependent. To integrate these keys into modern CI/CD pipelines, Azure Key Vaults, or non-Windows servers, you must convert them. For Windows environments and archiving, convert PVK (plus its partner SPC file) to PKCS#12 (.PFX). For Linux, web hosting, or cross-platform compatibility, convert the extracted key data to PEM format.
Convert.Guru analyzes your PVK file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.
Users also converted PPK, VPK, PEM, PK8, TSR and PFX files.
If you want to convert PVK file to PPK, PEM, PFX, TMP, TEMP, CACHE, LOG, BAK, OLD, NEW, PART or DOWNLOAD, you can use Microsoft Windows SDK or similar software from the "Cryptographic Private Key Storage" category. In the File menu, look for Save As… or Export….
To convert DEVICE, CACHE, SOCK, SYMLINK, PID, MOUNT, FIFO, LOG, PIPE, TMP, JUNCTION or TEMP files to PVK, try Microsoft Windows SDK or another comparable tool in the "Cryptographic Private Key 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 PVK converter.