If your private key is part of a certificate, you can download it in or PEM format directly from the Azure Portal. Navigate to your Key Vault in the portal. In the left sidebar, select Certificates . Click on the specific certificate you want to download. Select the Current Version of the certificate. Click Download in PFX/PEM format at the top of the screen.
For automated tasks or if you prefer the terminal, you can extract the private key material using the Azure CLI or Azure PowerShell.
Cryptographic keys created in the "Keys" section. These are generally not exportable by design for high security. 2. Method 1: Exporting from a Certificate (Portal) download private key from azure key vault
To get both the private key and public metadata, download the certificate as a secret:
Note: If this button is grayed out, the certificate's policy was likely set to "Non-exportable" when it was created. 3. Method 2: Download via Azure CLI or PowerShell If your private key is part of a
Retrieve the secret value and save it as a PFX file: powershell
Downloading a private key from Azure Key Vault is a critical task often required for local development, migrating services, or configuring applications that don't natively support Azure Managed Identity. Click on the specific certificate you want to download
If your private key (e.g., an SSH private key) was uploaded as a "Secret" rather than a "Certificate": Go to in your Key Vault. Select the secret and the Current Version .