Converting Secret Key into a String and Vice Versa

I am generating a key and need to store it in DB, so I convert it into a String, but to get back the key from the String. What are the possible ways of accomplishing this?

My code is,

SecretKey key = KeyGenerator.getInstance("AES").generateKey();
String stringKey=key.toString();
System.out.println(stringKey);

How can I get the key back from the String?

You can convert the SecretKey to a byte array (byte[]), then Base64 encode that to a String. To convert back to a SecretKey, Base64 decode the String and use it in a SecretKeySpec to rebuild your original SecretKey.

For Java 8

SecretKey to String:

// create new key
SecretKey secretKey = KeyGenerator.getInstance("AES").generateKey();
// get base64 encoded version of the key
String encodedKey = Base64.getEncoder().encodeToString(secretKey.getEncoded());

String to SecretKey:

// decode the base64 encoded string
byte[] decodedKey = Base64.getDecoder().decode(encodedKey);
// rebuild key using SecretKeySpec
SecretKey originalKey = new SecretKeySpec(decodedKey, 0, decodedKey.length, "AES"); 

For Java 7 and before (including Android):

NOTE I: you can skip the Base64 encoding/decoding part and just store the byte[] in SQLite. That said, performing Base64 encoding/decoding is not an expensive operation and you can store strings in almost any DB without issues.

NOTE II: Earlier Java versions do not include a Base64 in one of the java.lang or java.util packages. It is however possible to use codecs from Apache Commons Codec, Bouncy Castle or Guava.

SecretKey to String:

// CREATE NEW KEY
// GET ENCODED VERSION OF KEY (THIS CAN BE STORED IN A DB)

    SecretKey secretKey;
    String stringKey;

    try {secretKey = KeyGenerator.getInstance("AES").generateKey();}
    catch (NoSuchAlgorithmException e) {/* LOG YOUR EXCEPTION */}

    if (secretKey != null) {stringKey = Base64.encodeToString(secretKey.getEncoded(), Base64.DEFAULT)}

String to SecretKey:

// DECODE YOUR BASE64 STRING
// REBUILD KEY USING SecretKeySpec

    byte[] encodedKey     = Base64.decode(stringKey, Base64.DEFAULT);
    SecretKey originalKey = new SecretKeySpec(encodedKey, 0, encodedKey.length, "AES");

To show how much fun it is to create some functions that are fail fast I've written the following 3 functions.

One creates an AES key, one encodes it and one decodes it back. These three methods can be used with Java 8 (without dependence of internal classes or outside dependencies):

public static SecretKey generateAESKey(int keysize)
        throws InvalidParameterException {
    try {
        if (Cipher.getMaxAllowedKeyLength("AES") < keysize) {
            // this may be an issue if unlimited crypto is not installed
            throw new InvalidParameterException("Key size of " + keysize
                    + " not supported in this runtime");
        }

        final KeyGenerator keyGen = KeyGenerator.getInstance("AES");
        keyGen.init(keysize);
        return keyGen.generateKey();
    } catch (final NoSuchAlgorithmException e) {
        // AES functionality is a requirement for any Java SE runtime
        throw new IllegalStateException(
                "AES should always be present in a Java SE runtime", e);
    }
}

public static SecretKey decodeBase64ToAESKey(final String encodedKey)
        throws IllegalArgumentException {
    try {
        // throws IllegalArgumentException - if src is not in valid Base64
        // scheme
        final byte[] keyData = Base64.getDecoder().decode(encodedKey);
        final int keysize = keyData.length * Byte.SIZE;

        // this should be checked by a SecretKeyFactory, but that doesn't exist for AES
        switch (keysize) {
        case 128:
        case 192:
        case 256:
            break;
        default:
            throw new IllegalArgumentException("Invalid key size for AES: " + keysize);
        }

        if (Cipher.getMaxAllowedKeyLength("AES") < keysize) {
            // this may be an issue if unlimited crypto is not installed
            throw new IllegalArgumentException("Key size of " + keysize
                    + " not supported in this runtime");
        }

        // throws IllegalArgumentException - if key is empty
        final SecretKeySpec aesKey = new SecretKeySpec(keyData, "AES");
        return aesKey;
    } catch (final NoSuchAlgorithmException e) {
        // AES functionality is a requirement for any Java SE runtime
        throw new IllegalStateException(
                "AES should always be present in a Java SE runtime", e);
    }
}

public static String encodeAESKeyToBase64(final SecretKey aesKey)
        throws IllegalArgumentException {
    if (!aesKey.getAlgorithm().equalsIgnoreCase("AES")) {
        throw new IllegalArgumentException("Not an AES key");
    }

    final byte[] keyData = aesKey.getEncoded();
    final String encodedKey = Base64.getEncoder().encodeToString(keyData);
    return encodedKey;
}