diff --git a/tests/unit/CreateIdentityTest.php b/tests/unit/CreateIdentityTest.php
index a5e0f278a..b8b556637 100644
--- a/tests/unit/CreateIdentityTest.php
+++ b/tests/unit/CreateIdentityTest.php
@@ -10,11 +10,140 @@
 
 namespace Zotlabs\Tests\Unit;
 
+use phpmock\phpunit\PHPMock;
+use PHPUnit\Framework\Attributes\Before;
+
 class CreateIdentityTest extends UnitTestCase {
 
+	use PHPMock;
+
+	//
+	// Static private key used by the openssl stubs.
+	//
+	private const PRVKEY = <<<'PRVKEY'
+			-----BEGIN PRIVATE KEY-----
+			MIIJQgIBADANBgkqhkiG9w0BAQEFAASCCSwwggkoAgEAAoICAQC8hwx16skTLrWw
+			2WlbTSHWUXcpFUpXjyF54KVa0n+smqXjIdJoC0LVx7VJL18tfrp69sBfLcKUqbyI
+			9D1Z788XqPOKPJaPjDYIwHkZJf+YOrvPQP95oAjSRwFBNxNIzKkyv2+22ColX1ZY
+			NPe6rD5XDFdXsCJzxTMx26/+uXiPe3HkQ/fX1ZSJM2qcGBdml98KbXM42jd+Lerm
+			Slm5EvR3bxpilfPIq3WQ4FB7fU5RUe3nuKaFVhl+ktUjuSni0DF9ttGnkoOPm/QX
+			QSW/AbI37kpfkbcqEJGIx0nWYEsVZ5cTs94lBK/EiEIPkJNOChKOPO7Oyp39Y1Ql
+			3N72r6n3FDPMZqxCKjX+QI8aYksmGqmy8cX5iIw+Ag/zrDfBbCoBs7WKZL9CB2pM
+			xZPX/tOYvHbYkwr+8jJnlmU6M4X+0EGLQuzaIHB+XW4tGbUgt9dzaTBftvJbGYTl
+			wUQ0t74LeDMUsvuCxT2svHmVMyD6Y1YVPo4tllR4170A3ia7OJdZ4ykj/ABpsRoB
+			zoXrsKlW/9UqEVsQH1Lut13MMLe+xJ9XKlr9Kqr4QGYx5OohPn48EylVUD787bDN
+			5/jj6kQ0UUHd6gKzDGX5LbYDvk60nUy4KHsPmsIxHum0tYK3hhD2SDF84+NnNu8k
+			SSbbn5lkCPEPJYcSjFCvyhLoWDUvPwIDAQABAoICAAKE3dd2iiSZ50tqNEMXk8Nb
+			Ev6K9zJhTrZbGFwr+oOsosMbj70RSrGDfi0UCiauEoxRi1bKx9r01UxuRPIAo+Pt
+			yD5xJG0bP2DSqWlcAfIFB0xSuERmBZVk3NRyVLg8jnJFbzXZlqF49rlVlRaOvLik
+			CRLMBumLVR4laNmvM1KnVXI57TsRhD6U/sIjn+xIKYTAry76cNURT4yvhpF70py1
+			cMLLh67Jd/tHvI9sVH2mMHooKjLz7NFQxvlJcf8oRUxUHZcP+BXOb9ZGZZXWjAP6
+			6/6d+lnhcvdC6kknGDF11XLaaVmTcnji8LbjmGLlS8yxQaF4cX9SFdbWOctFKFRA
+			0E2wJRzWJikSqQ6E9qOkxy3WzQOMK4LowisS60ZM9zkTAYd1RTaQLrjbuK5gg5y5
+			VEoOlHxyfAy+dKiH2yUBxDn1PXZ9TB0zRNk7xLWmXGula3gh1JgJM0L115vWHnVZ
+			v3zAnmuE+BksoF7qputQfQx46Da1QRZHms1toG+EsuSD8WryiCYr3h1+ozDf/zca
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+			vGx1Kq8bt24Oc5sO76IbDDDGMHdH5pBflMCK5SY2IBQlhJ0ZCYjZfMsL7vvmgNs7
+			Z3ddNBqtE5+a89kWMxipAoIBAQDv3bkfskwvwPy1fQXl9xxIoIKbv5w4j6doJMVK
+			z89UojtVOlqZUmOfwPtjxrUQzt0aSDNjz55Ou6tuJ02iwHeDpmRflJ6EzMT7zRtw
+			TiE2Kjp3gWjNUStWddnJbOTK1qWhc/3rGTZzQuBsnZHS13UB5s1GervfiPfJVNkP
+			Y8gpcp3gl964wRwh7cmqSL3Oe2VI5gjASDHGRKCAE5cYq/KUcnmXkUtn04lAWeTJ
+			ikfvoIpJUE6nVVknMUmZxUjbzI4FZxM4PIRT14ZVpYVhIiofeRasR+SehukyJmLD
+			ZEWjgRDkWttY1g/Z4Lls4lfNONqWQusmiYGkkkWP8ZrBFvO5AoIBAQDJNVJmHoPA
+			ITWAlsIIbpNIbDHRmsJ7M5TvQuOLYHtni7wuTz1FXU1UpBbO59t+pH8TChCKBz8B
+			zpgPk8WslYNIZQRqgz3UklCqKYntoGMw9+eki7dryKwa07lW+YZpaGhA3YSkVByV
+			jY9Bs+TGG25G5C0FQgErfwUzkkTd0R24/27QIH8/bbtTVt3X6uFGKS+8hP0VDVLN
+			hMo5MdlTP5W5DL3NyNTjkMxDNp75m/nFtF7nZdZh1C+A0ajJtqy5wJixtuMrcJDD
+			A6pWvor6ZT/E7TFTHEM/rZBarc0v+ER7HM7xFjfGfvN5q2xBgaYZwroSnyMrkUlo
+			rAEgWL8sW6a3AoIBAG9jha6EfADJHBGjx3Ntd8L6VuzA5GkXvOQN/1iofF2PIQKJ
+			IL2GlyD+2z8QbdEqX17vHH5DUf66A/gZZGIqAtYuFPqV568/8FIGg7F5ds7SeWg5
+			vlNqWDfEbqitWuofF7eMR+Q/RxvreJC385n32CxT5AvQvyIlVvw13L7a1X757Pr5
+			S8J8WvYemMHtGcejYfuiZ3nzjLnH8MjJUCdy4imxp2mNXXkPsPMjS62T+6f54338
+			PypR5h7fMpCoHxeDPIihvzkkUUcmFQn83Z2n4evPrYm/sRk1CWHylXarP/OX4iJJ
+			VwdAEQha5YD8800oE8ontU+mF4A3NPqNdhIo+HECggEBALIWReYo4Afv3MEBrp9z
+			71xMlxOkXLpa/1l95JR6Qv91CIwcimiYmlduHNnpEbdXtTmO0PC6VSQuTRyMeIu2
+			kcpDztLPcqxxDIBv36q5KNIwuZBEMYZuyRW9i+/VTwiA5rVy23HvGJWuA7vtk3Fc
+			2hBY6RgcQZjUBjCNJ/MEocAaJWSFPttPLlwnKJdxRw6oaZ38P1ygvEc3Xx2cZ3Rt
+			dQGiq2Q2e2cnxANBlxfq2/oHGXDKDCPugFUOPMy8qMiIFR5Gd279ZMOWvO+mGrBh
+			aT3Niri67TKxVnFMH65zmXk2GFv+hENmHe30sg6QyAlI9xSAUcq//y9r/ls48Yw7
+			WqUCggEAKVBh831UtIlq30IwzBRHAudJYPDYSB0W7/FF0SsVRiM+wfo5kMj4be7f
+			Wpz1ozsWuRWMD6Xvj1FlGc2GyydNdayfU7h1StL2Zfp2Pp719jnv0ll6ftMYBL4S
+			uo0a8zlFTpD5CslQUu1Hs1NHmkgEMlBO+6eWGWnA5joVcyk3dsB+qImBreQw91//
+			HmZ56g5iTHCyX7leqKRZu0O4yszrAiWvlECld6cxi+MIwwzcXYARkcDmO2VV8hKa
+			4fC0WjI3OYTG67qHcLP5FyfjFYoBpVo0SxifaQDacniP0fiZYiIPvw3LV/Mg8hzX
+			0UH3yDnLoPuCvHeX2WAXdyWob6vBOA==
+			-----END PRIVATE KEY-----
+			PRVKEY;
+
+	//
+	// Static public key corresponding to self::PRVKEY, used by the
+	// openssl_stubs
+	//
+	private const PUBKEY = <<<'PUBKEY'
+			-----BEGIN PUBLIC KEY-----
+			MIICIjANBgkqhkiG9w0BAQEFAAOCAg8AMIICCgKCAgEAvIcMderJEy61sNlpW00h
+			1lF3KRVKV48heeClWtJ/rJql4yHSaAtC1ce1SS9fLX66evbAXy3ClKm8iPQ9We/P
+			F6jzijyWj4w2CMB5GSX/mDq7z0D/eaAI0kcBQTcTSMypMr9vttgqJV9WWDT3uqw+
+			VwxXV7Aic8UzMduv/rl4j3tx5EP319WUiTNqnBgXZpffCm1zONo3fi3q5kpZuRL0
+			d28aYpXzyKt1kOBQe31OUVHt57imhVYZfpLVI7kp4tAxfbbRp5KDj5v0F0ElvwGy
+			N+5KX5G3KhCRiMdJ1mBLFWeXE7PeJQSvxIhCD5CTTgoSjjzuzsqd/WNUJdze9q+p
+			9xQzzGasQio1/kCPGmJLJhqpsvHF+YiMPgIP86w3wWwqAbO1imS/QgdqTMWT1/7T
+			mLx22JMK/vIyZ5ZlOjOF/tBBi0Ls2iBwfl1uLRm1ILfXc2kwX7byWxmE5cFENLe+
+			C3gzFLL7gsU9rLx5lTMg+mNWFT6OLZZUeNe9AN4muziXWeMpI/wAabEaAc6F67Cp
+			Vv/VKhFbEB9S7rddzDC3vsSfVypa/Sqq+EBmMeTqIT5+PBMpVVA+/O2wzef44+pE
+			NFFB3eoCswxl+S22A75OtJ1MuCh7D5rCMR7ptLWCt4YQ9kgxfOPjZzbvJEkm25+Z
+			ZAjxDyWHEoxQr8oS6Fg1Lz8CAwEAAQ==
+			-----END PUBLIC KEY-----
+			PUBKEY;
+
 	private bool $queueworker_started = false;
 
-	public function test_empty_args() {
+	#[Before]
+	public function setup_openssl_mocks(): void {
+		//
+		// The `create_identity` function will call `Crypto::new_keypair()`,
+		// which again will call `openssl_pkey_new`, to create a new
+		// private/public keypair for the channel. While this is safe to call
+		// from the code under test, it's also slow.
+		//
+		// Since we don't really care about the cryptography here, we can make
+		// the tests run a bit faster by stubbing the slow function call and
+		// return a sentinel value instead of actually generaing the keys.
+		//
+		$openssl_pkey_new =
+			$this->getFunctionMock('Zotlabs\Lib', 'openssl_pkey_new')
+			   ->expects($this->any())
+			   ->willReturn('openssl_pkey_result');
+
+		//
+		// Since we have stubbed `openssl_pkey_new` we also need to mock the
+		// call to `openssl_pkey_export` that is used to get the private key
+		// from the result of `openssl_pkey_new`.
+		//
+		// As this function returns the value in a output param, we need to
+		// replace it with a callback function to simulate it.
+		//
+		$openssl_pkey_export =
+			$this->getFunctionMock('Zotlabs\Lib', 'openssl_pkey_export')
+				->expects($this->any())
+				->willReturnCallback(function (string $result, string &$response): bool {
+					$this->assertEquals('openssl_pkey_result', $result);
+					$response = self::PRVKEY;
+					return true;
+				});
+
+		//
+		// Finally we also need to stub the `openssl_pkey_get_details` function
+		// used to retrevive the public key from the `openssl_pkey_new` result.
+		//
+		$openssl_pkey_get_details =
+			$this->getFunctionMock('Zotlabs\Lib', 'openssl_pkey_get_details')
+				->expects($this->any())
+				->with($this->identicalTo('openssl_pkey_result'))
+				->willReturn([ 'key' => self::PUBKEY ]);
+	}
+
+	public function test_empty_args_fails_with_an_error_message() {
 		insert_hook('proc_run', [$this, 'proc_run_hook']);
 		$result = create_identity([]);
 		$this->assertEquals(