| **AWS Certificate Manager** | `AWSACM` | SDK-driven `ImportCertificate` (fresh ARN or rotate-in-place) + `DescribeCertificate` snapshot for atomic rollback + tag re-application. See [`docs/runbook-cloud-targets.md`](docs/runbook-cloud-targets.md). |
| **AWS Certificate Manager** | `AWSACM` | SDK-driven `ImportCertificate` (fresh ARN or rotate-in-place) + `DescribeCertificate` snapshot for atomic rollback + tag re-application. See [`docs/operator/runbooks/cloud-targets.md`](docs/operator/runbooks/cloud-targets.md). |
| **Azure Key Vault** | `AzureKeyVault` | SDK-driven PEM→PKCS#12 import via `ImportCertificate` (always new version) + snapshot CER bytes for atomic rollback + tag carry-forward. |
| **Azure Key Vault** | `AzureKeyVault` | SDK-driven PEM→PKCS#12 import via `ImportCertificate` (always new version) + snapshot CER bytes for atomic rollback + tag carry-forward. |
**Deploy-hardening I** (post-2026-04-30 master bundle): every connector now goes through `internal/deploy.Apply` for atomic-write + ownership-preservation + SHA-256 idempotency + per-target-type Prometheus counters (`certctl_deploy_*_total`). See [`docs/deployment-atomicity.md`](docs/deployment-atomicity.md) for the operator guide.
**Deploy-hardening I** (post-2026-04-30 master bundle): every connector now goes through `internal/deploy.Apply` for atomic-write + ownership-preservation + SHA-256 idempotency + per-target-type Prometheus counters (`certctl_deploy_*_total`). See [`docs/reference/deployment-model.md`](docs/reference/deployment-model.md) for the operator guide.
### Enrollment Protocols
### Enrollment Protocols
| Protocol | Standard | Use Case |
| Protocol | Standard | Use Case |
|----------|----------|----------|
|----------|----------|----------|
| **EST (production-grade)** | RFC 7030 + RFC 9266 channel binding | Native EST server hardened for enterprise WiFi/802.1X, IoT bootstrap, and corporate device enrollment (post-2026-04-29 hardening master bundle). All six RFC 7030 endpoints — `cacerts` / `simpleenroll` / `simplereenroll` / `csrattrs` (profile-driven) / `serverkeygen` (CMS EnvelopedData wire format). Multi-profile dispatch (`/.well-known/est/<pathID>/`). Per-profile auth modes: mTLS sibling route at `/.well-known/est-mtls/<pathID>/`, HTTP Basic enrollment-password (constant-time compare + per-source-IP failed-auth limiter), RFC 9266 `tls-exporter` channel binding (TLS 1.3, opt-in per profile). Per-(CN, sourceIP) sliding-window rate limit. EST-source-scoped bulk revoke (`POST /api/v1/est/certificates/bulk-revoke`, M-008 admin-gated). Tabbed admin GUI at `/est` (Profiles / Recent Activity / Trust Bundle). `SIGHUP`-equivalent trust-bundle reload. libest reference-client interop tested in CI (`deploy/test/libest/Dockerfile` + `deploy/test/est_e2e_test.go`). Typed audit-action codes per failure dimension (`est_simple_enroll_success`/`_failed`, `est_auth_failed_basic`/`_mtls`/`_channel_binding`, `est_rate_limited`, `est_csr_policy_violation`, `est_bulk_revoke`, `est_trust_anchor_reloaded`, etc. — full set in `internal/service/est_audit_actions.go`). CLI + matching MCP tool family (rebuild count via `grep -cE '"est_' internal/mcp/tools_est.go`). See [`docs/est.md`](docs/est.md) for the operator guide — WiFi/802.1X + FreeRADIUS recipe, IoT bootstrap, troubleshooting matrix per audit-action code. |
| **EST (production-grade)** | RFC 7030 + RFC 9266 channel binding | Native EST server hardened for enterprise WiFi/802.1X, IoT bootstrap, and corporate device enrollment (post-2026-04-29 hardening master bundle). All six RFC 7030 endpoints — `cacerts` / `simpleenroll` / `simplereenroll` / `csrattrs` (profile-driven) / `serverkeygen` (CMS EnvelopedData wire format). Multi-profile dispatch (`/.well-known/est/<pathID>/`). Per-profile auth modes: mTLS sibling route at `/.well-known/est-mtls/<pathID>/`, HTTP Basic enrollment-password (constant-time compare + per-source-IP failed-auth limiter), RFC 9266 `tls-exporter` channel binding (TLS 1.3, opt-in per profile). Per-(CN, sourceIP) sliding-window rate limit. EST-source-scoped bulk revoke (`POST /api/v1/est/certificates/bulk-revoke`, M-008 admin-gated). Tabbed admin GUI at `/est` (Profiles / Recent Activity / Trust Bundle). `SIGHUP`-equivalent trust-bundle reload. libest reference-client interop tested in CI (`deploy/test/libest/Dockerfile` + `deploy/test/est_e2e_test.go`). Typed audit-action codes per failure dimension (`est_simple_enroll_success`/`_failed`, `est_auth_failed_basic`/`_mtls`/`_channel_binding`, `est_rate_limited`, `est_csr_policy_violation`, `est_bulk_revoke`, `est_trust_anchor_reloaded`, etc. — full set in `internal/service/est_audit_actions.go`). CLI + matching MCP tool family (rebuild count via `grep -cE '"est_' internal/mcp/tools_est.go`). See [`docs/reference/protocols/est.md`](docs/reference/protocols/est.md) for the operator guide — WiFi/802.1X + FreeRADIUS recipe, IoT bootstrap, troubleshooting matrix per audit-action code. |
| **Microsoft Intune SCEP fleet (drop-in NDES replacement)** | RFC 8894 + Intune Connector signed-challenge dispatcher | Per-profile Intune dispatcher validates the Connector's signed challenge against an operator-supplied trust anchor; binds device claim to CSR (set-equality on CN + SAN-DNS/RFC822/UPN); replay cache + per-device rate limit; `SIGHUP`-reloadable trust pool; admin GUI **SCEP Administration** page at `/scep` (Profiles tab with per-profile RA cert expiry + mTLS status, Intune Monitoring tab with per-status counters + reload, Recent Activity tab with full SCEP audit log filter). See [`docs/scep-intune.md`](docs/scep-intune.md) for the migration playbook + Microsoft support statement. |
| **Microsoft Intune SCEP fleet (drop-in NDES replacement)** | RFC 8894 + Intune Connector signed-challenge dispatcher | Per-profile Intune dispatcher validates the Connector's signed challenge against an operator-supplied trust anchor; binds device claim to CSR (set-equality on CN + SAN-DNS/RFC822/UPN); replay cache + per-device rate limit; `SIGHUP`-reloadable trust pool; admin GUI **SCEP Administration** page at `/scep` (Profiles tab with per-profile RA cert expiry + mTLS status, Intune Monitoring tab with per-status counters + reload, Recent Activity tab with full SCEP audit log filter). See [`docs/reference/protocols/scep-intune.md`](docs/reference/protocols/scep-intune.md) for the migration playbook + Microsoft support statement. |
| ACME v2 client | RFC 8555 | Public CA automated issuance (Let's Encrypt, ZeroSSL) |
| ACME v2 client | RFC 8555 | Public CA automated issuance (Let's Encrypt, ZeroSSL) |
| **ACME v2 server (drop-in for cert-manager / Caddy / Traefik)** | RFC 8555 + RFC 9773 ARI | Run certctl as your internal ACME CA. Per-profile endpoints at `/acme/profile/{id}/*` (directory, new-nonce, new-account, new-order, finalize, account, order, authz, challenge, key-change, revoke-cert, renewal-info). Per-profile `acme_auth_mode`: `trust_authenticated` for internal PKI; `challenge` for HTTP-01 / DNS-01 / TLS-ALPN-01 validation. Doubly-signed key rollover (§7.3.5), revoke-cert (§7.6, both kid-path and jwk-path auth), per-account rate limiting (orders/hour, key-change/hour, challenge-respond/hour), scheduler-driven nonce/authz/order GC. Three client walkthroughs: [cert-manager](docs/acme-cert-manager-walkthrough.md), [Caddy](docs/acme-caddy-walkthrough.md), [Traefik](docs/acme-traefik-walkthrough.md). Reference: [`docs/acme-server.md`](docs/acme-server.md) + [threat model](docs/acme-server-threat-model.md). |
| **ACME v2 server (drop-in for cert-manager / Caddy / Traefik)** | RFC 8555 + RFC 9773 ARI | Run certctl as your internal ACME CA. Per-profile endpoints at `/acme/profile/{id}/*` (directory, new-nonce, new-account, new-order, finalize, account, order, authz, challenge, key-change, revoke-cert, renewal-info). Per-profile `acme_auth_mode`: `trust_authenticated` for internal PKI; `challenge` for HTTP-01 / DNS-01 / TLS-ALPN-01 validation. Doubly-signed key rollover (§7.3.5), revoke-cert (§7.6, both kid-path and jwk-path auth), per-account rate limiting (orders/hour, key-change/hour, challenge-respond/hour), scheduler-driven nonce/authz/order GC. Three client walkthroughs: [cert-manager](docs/migration/acme-from-cert-manager.md), [Caddy](docs/migration/acme-from-caddy.md), [Traefik](docs/migration/acme-from-traefik.md). Reference: [`docs/reference/protocols/acme-server.md`](docs/reference/protocols/acme-server.md) + [threat model](docs/reference/protocols/acme-server-threat-model.md). |
| ACME ARI (Renewal Information) | RFC 9773 | CA-directed renewal timing — the CA tells you when to renew (client-side and server-side) |
| ACME ARI (Renewal Information) | RFC 9773 | CA-directed renewal timing — the CA tells you when to renew (client-side and server-side) |
### Standards & Revocation
### Standards & Revocation
@@ -130,7 +129,7 @@ gantt
| Per-endpoint rate limits | — | **Production hardening II.** OCSP per-source-IP cap at `CERTCTL_OCSP_RATE_LIMIT_PER_IP_MIN` (default 1000/min, zero disables); cert-export per-actor cap at `CERTCTL_CERT_EXPORT_RATE_LIMIT_PER_ACTOR_HR` (default 50/hr, zero disables). OCSP rate-limit trip returns the canonical "unauthorized" OCSP blob plus `Retry-After: 60`; cert-export trip returns HTTP 429. The OCSP limiter does NOT honor `X-Forwarded-For` (publicly reachable; spoofed headers would bypass the cap). |
| Per-endpoint rate limits | — | **Production hardening II.** OCSP per-source-IP cap at `CERTCTL_OCSP_RATE_LIMIT_PER_IP_MIN` (default 1000/min, zero disables); cert-export per-actor cap at `CERTCTL_CERT_EXPORT_RATE_LIMIT_PER_ACTOR_HR` (default 50/hr, zero disables). OCSP rate-limit trip returns the canonical "unauthorized" OCSP blob plus `Retry-After: 60`; cert-export trip returns HTTP 429. The OCSP limiter does NOT honor `X-Forwarded-For` (publicly reachable; spoofed headers would bypass the cap). |
| Cert-export typed audit | — | **Production hardening II.** Typed action constants (`cert_export_pem` / `cert_export_pkcs12` / `cert_export_pem_with_key` reserved / `cert_export_failed`) emitted via split-emit alongside the legacy bare codes for back-compat. Detail map carries `has_private_key` (always false in V2) and `cipher` (`AES-256-CBC-PBE2-SHA256` — pinned so a future dependency upgrade that changes the encoder default surfaces in audit drift review). |
| Cert-export typed audit | — | **Production hardening II.** Typed action constants (`cert_export_pem` / `cert_export_pkcs12` / `cert_export_pem_with_key` reserved / `cert_export_failed`) emitted via split-emit alongside the legacy bare codes for back-compat. Detail map carries `has_private_key` (always false in V2) and `cipher` (`AES-256-CBC-PBE2-SHA256` — pinned so a future dependency upgrade that changes the encoder default surfaces in audit drift review). |
| Prometheus per-area metrics | OpenMetrics | `GET /api/v1/metrics/prometheus` — production hardening II surfaces `certctl_ocsp_counter_total{label="..."}` per-event series (`request_get`/`_post`, `request_success`/`_invalid`, `nonce_echoed`/`_malformed`, `rate_limited`, `signing_failed`, etc.) wired from the shared counter table that ticks in the cache hot path. CRL / cert-export / EST / SCEP / Intune per-area counters plug in via the same `SetXxxCounters` setter pattern as follow-up commits. |
| Prometheus per-area metrics | OpenMetrics | `GET /api/v1/metrics/prometheus` — production hardening II surfaces `certctl_ocsp_counter_total{label="..."}` per-event series (`request_get`/`_post`, `request_success`/`_invalid`, `nonce_echoed`/`_malformed`, `rate_limited`, `signing_failed`, etc.) wired from the shared counter table that ticks in the cache hot path. CRL / cert-export / EST / SCEP / Intune per-area counters plug in via the same `SetXxxCounters` setter pattern as follow-up commits. |
| Certificate export | — | PEM (JSON/file) and PKCS#12 (cert-only trust-store mode via `pkcs12.Modern` — AES-256-CBC PBE2 with SHA-256 KDF). Key-bearing PKCS#12 export deferred — V2 export is cert-only by design (private keys live on agents, never touch the control plane). |
| Certificate export | — | PEM (JSON/file) and PKCS#12 (cert-only trust-store mode via `pkcs12.Modern` — AES-256-CBC PBE2 with SHA-256 KDF). Key-bearing PKCS#12 export deferred — V2 export is cert-only by design (private keys live on agents, never touch the control plane). |
| ACME DNS-PERSIST-01 | IETF draft | Standing validation record, no per-renewal DNS updates |
| ACME DNS-PERSIST-01 | IETF draft | Standing validation record, no per-renewal DNS updates |
@@ -146,7 +145,7 @@ gantt
| PagerDuty | `PagerDuty` |
| PagerDuty | `PagerDuty` |
| OpsGenie | `OpsGenie` |
| OpsGenie | `OpsGenie` |
All connectors are pluggable — build your own by implementing the [connector interface](docs/connectors.md).
All connectors are pluggable — build your own by implementing the [connector interface](docs/reference/connectors/index.md).
### Screenshots
### Screenshots
@@ -167,9 +166,9 @@ All connectors are pluggable — build your own by implementing the [connector i
Certificate lifecycle tooling falls into two camps: enterprise platforms (Venafi, Keyfactor) that cost six figures and take months to deploy, or single-purpose tools (certbot, cert-manager) that handle one slice of the problem. certctl fills the gap — full lifecycle automation, self-hosted, free, CA-agnostic, and target-agnostic. If you're running certbot cron jobs, manually renewing certs, or stitching together scripts across mixed infrastructure, certctl replaces all of that.
Certificate lifecycle tooling falls into two camps: enterprise platforms (Venafi, Keyfactor) that cost six figures and take months to deploy, or single-purpose tools (certbot, cert-manager) that handle one slice of the problem. certctl fills the gap — full lifecycle automation, self-hosted, free, CA-agnostic, and target-agnostic. If you're running certbot cron jobs, manually renewing certs, or stitching together scripts across mixed infrastructure, certctl replaces all of that.
Built for **platform engineering and DevOps teams** managing 10–500+ certificates, **security and compliance teams** who need audit trails and policy enforcement for SOC 2, PCI-DSS 4.0, or NIST SP 800-57 ([compliance mapping included](docs/compliance.md)), and **small teams without enterprise budgets** who need Venafi-grade automation for a 50-server environment. For a detailed comparison, see [Why certctl?](docs/why-certctl.md)
Built for **platform engineering and DevOps teams** managing 10–500+ certificates, **security and compliance teams** who need audit trails and policy enforcement for SOC 2, PCI-DSS 4.0, or NIST SP 800-57 ([compliance mapping included](docs/compliance/index.md)), and **small teams without enterprise budgets** who need Venafi-grade automation for a 50-server environment. For a detailed comparison, see [Why certctl?](docs/getting-started/why-certctl.md)
**Architecture.** Go 1.25 control plane with handler→service→repository layering, PostgreSQL 16 backend (35+ tables), and a pull-only deployment model — the server never initiates outbound connections. Agents poll for work. For network appliances and agentless servers, a proxy agent in the same network zone handles deployment via the target's API (WinRM, iControl REST, SSH/SFTP). Background scheduler runs 7 loops: renewal with ARI integration (1h), job processing (30s), agent health (2m), notifications (1m), short-lived cert expiry (30s), network scanning (6h), certificate digest (24h). See [Architecture Guide](docs/architecture.md) for full system diagrams.
**Architecture.** Go 1.25 control plane with handler→service→repository layering, PostgreSQL 16 backend (35+ tables), and a pull-only deployment model — the server never initiates outbound connections. Agents poll for work. For network appliances and agentless servers, a proxy agent in the same network zone handles deployment via the target's API (WinRM, iControl REST, SSH/SFTP). Background scheduler runs 7 loops: renewal with ARI integration (1h), job processing (30s), agent health (2m), notifications (1m), short-lived cert expiry (30s), network scanning (6h), certificate digest (24h). See [Architecture Guide](docs/reference/architecture.md) for full system diagrams.
**Security-first.** Agents generate ECDSA P-256 keys locally — private keys never touch the control plane. API key auth enforced by default with SHA-256 hashing and constant-time comparison. CORS deny-by-default. Shell injection prevention on all connector scripts. SSRF protection (reserved IP filtering) on the network scanner. Atomic idempotency guards on scheduler loops. Issuer and target credentials encrypted at rest with AES-256-GCM. Every API call recorded to an immutable audit trail with actor attribution, body hash, and latency tracking. CI runs race detection, 11 linters, and vulnerability scanning on every commit.
**Security-first.** Agents generate ECDSA P-256 keys locally — private keys never touch the control plane. API key auth enforced by default with SHA-256 hashing and constant-time comparison. CORS deny-by-default. Shell injection prevention on all connector scripts. SSRF protection (reserved IP filtering) on the network scanner. Atomic idempotency guards on scheduler loops. Issuer and target credentials encrypted at rest with AES-256-GCM. Every API call recorded to an immutable audit trail with actor attribution, body hash, and latency tracking. CI runs race detection, 11 linters, and vulnerability scanning on every commit.
@@ -187,27 +186,27 @@ Built for **platform engineering and DevOps teams** managing 10–500+ certifica
**Policy engine.** Certificate profiles constrain key types, max TTL, and EKUs — with crypto policy enforcement that validates every CSR against profile rules before it reaches the issuer. MaxTTL caps are enforced per issuer connector. Ownership tracking routes notifications to the right team. Agent groups match devices by OS, architecture, IP CIDR, and version.
**Policy engine.** Certificate profiles constrain key types, max TTL, and EKUs — with crypto policy enforcement that validates every CSR against profile rules before it reaches the issuer. MaxTTL caps are enforced per issuer connector. Ownership tracking routes notifications to the right team. Agent groups match devices by OS, architecture, IP CIDR, and version.
**Two-person integrity for issuance (compliance-grade).** Set `requires_approval=true` on a `CertificateProfile` and every renewal-loop tick or manual `POST /api/v1/certificates/{id}/renew` blocks at `JobStatusAwaitingApproval` until a different actor approves via `POST /api/v1/approvals/{id}/approve`. Same-actor self-approval is rejected at the service layer with `ErrApproveBySameActor` → HTTP 403. Bypass mode (`CERTCTL_APPROVAL_BYPASS=true`) is auditable — every auto-approve records `actor=system-bypass` so audit-tier review surfaces it. Closes the procurement-checklist question for PCI-DSS Level 1, FedRAMP Moderate / High, SOC 2 Type II, HIPAA. See [`docs/approval-workflow.md`](docs/approval-workflow.md).
**Two-person integrity for issuance (compliance-grade).** Set `requires_approval=true` on a `CertificateProfile` and every renewal-loop tick or manual `POST /api/v1/certificates/{id}/renew` blocks at `JobStatusAwaitingApproval` until a different actor approves via `POST /api/v1/approvals/{id}/approve`. Same-actor self-approval is rejected at the service layer with `ErrApproveBySameActor` → HTTP 403. Bypass mode (`CERTCTL_APPROVAL_BYPASS=true`) is auditable — every auto-approve records `actor=system-bypass` so audit-tier review surfaces it. Closes the procurement-checklist question for PCI-DSS Level 1, FedRAMP Moderate / High, SOC 2 Type II, HIPAA. See [`docs/operator/approval-workflow.md`](docs/operator/approval-workflow.md).
**Multi-level CA hierarchy management.** Set `Issuer.HierarchyMode = "tree"` and certctl manages a real N-level CA tree backed by the `intermediate_cas` table — root → policy → issuing leaves. RFC 5280 §3.2 (self-signed root validation), §4.2.1.9 (path-length tightening), and §4.2.1.10 (NameConstraints subset semantics) are all enforced at the service layer fail-closed. Drain-first retirement (active → retiring → retired) refuses terminal transitions while active children remain. Patterns documented for FedRAMP boundary CAs (4-level), financial-services policy CAs (3-level with per-BU `PermittedDNSDomains`), and internal PKI (2-level). The pre-Rank-8 single-sub-CA flow stays byte-identical for unmigrated deployments — pinned by `TestLocal_HierarchyMode_SingleVsTree_ByteIdentical`. See [`docs/intermediate-ca-hierarchy.md`](docs/intermediate-ca-hierarchy.md).
**Multi-level CA hierarchy management.** Set `Issuer.HierarchyMode = "tree"` and certctl manages a real N-level CA tree backed by the `intermediate_cas` table — root → policy → issuing leaves. RFC 5280 §3.2 (self-signed root validation), §4.2.1.9 (path-length tightening), and §4.2.1.10 (NameConstraints subset semantics) are all enforced at the service layer fail-closed. Drain-first retirement (active → retiring → retired) refuses terminal transitions while active children remain. Patterns documented for FedRAMP boundary CAs (4-level), financial-services policy CAs (3-level with per-BU `PermittedDNSDomains`), and internal PKI (2-level). The pre-Rank-8 single-sub-CA flow stays byte-identical for unmigrated deployments — pinned by `TestLocal_HierarchyMode_SingleVsTree_ByteIdentical`. See [`docs/reference/intermediate-ca-hierarchy.md`](docs/reference/intermediate-ca-hierarchy.md).
**Run certctl as your ACME server.** Beyond consuming public ACME CAs (Let's Encrypt, ZeroSSL), certctl now *serves* RFC 8555 — point cert-manager, Caddy, or Traefik at certctl's per-profile ACME endpoints (`/acme/profile/{id}/*`) and you get internal-PKI cert issuance with the same wire protocol the public CAs use. Full surface: directory, new-nonce, new-account, new-order, finalize, key-change (§7.3.5), revoke-cert (§7.6), renewal-info (RFC 9773 ARI), HTTP-01 / DNS-01 / TLS-ALPN-01 validation, per-account rate limiting, scheduler-driven nonce / authz / order GC. Three client walkthroughs ship — [cert-manager](docs/acme-cert-manager-walkthrough.md), [Caddy](docs/acme-caddy-walkthrough.md), [Traefik](docs/acme-traefik-walkthrough.md) — plus the [operator reference](docs/acme-server.md) and [threat model](docs/acme-server-threat-model.md).
**Run certctl as your ACME server.** Beyond consuming public ACME CAs (Let's Encrypt, ZeroSSL), certctl now *serves* RFC 8555 — point cert-manager, Caddy, or Traefik at certctl's per-profile ACME endpoints (`/acme/profile/{id}/*`) and you get internal-PKI cert issuance with the same wire protocol the public CAs use. Full surface: directory, new-nonce, new-account, new-order, finalize, key-change (§7.3.5), revoke-cert (§7.6), renewal-info (RFC 9773 ARI), HTTP-01 / DNS-01 / TLS-ALPN-01 validation, per-account rate limiting, scheduler-driven nonce / authz / order GC. Three client walkthroughs ship — [cert-manager](docs/migration/acme-from-cert-manager.md), [Caddy](docs/migration/acme-from-caddy.md), [Traefik](docs/migration/acme-from-traefik.md) — plus the [operator reference](docs/reference/protocols/acme-server.md) and [threat model](docs/reference/protocols/acme-server-threat-model.md).
**Enrollment protocols.** EST server (RFC 7030) for device and WiFi enrollment. SCEP server (RFC 8894) for MDM platforms and network devices — full wire format (EnvelopedData decrypt + signerInfo POPO verify + CertRep PKIMessage builder), tested against ChromeOS-shape requests; multi-profile dispatch (`/scep/<pathID>`); RenewalReq + GetCertInitial messageType support; lightweight raw-CSR fallback for legacy clients. See [docs/legacy-est-scep.md](docs/legacy-est-scep.md) for the operator + device-integration guide. S/MIME issuance with email protection EKU.
**Enrollment protocols.** EST server (RFC 7030) for device and WiFi enrollment. SCEP server (RFC 8894) for MDM platforms and network devices — full wire format (EnvelopedData decrypt + signerInfo POPO verify + CertRep PKIMessage builder), tested against ChromeOS-shape requests; multi-profile dispatch (`/scep/<pathID>`); RenewalReq + GetCertInitial messageType support; lightweight raw-CSR fallback for legacy clients. See [docs/reference/protocols/scep-server.md](docs/reference/protocols/scep-server.md) for the operator + device-integration guide. S/MIME issuance with email protection EKU.
**Revocation.** Single and bulk revocation (by profile, owner, agent, or issuer). RFC 5280 reason codes. Production-grade revocation status surface for relying parties: DER-encoded X.509 CRL per issuer, scheduler-pre-generated and cached so HTTP fetches do not rebuild per request; embedded OCSP responder serving both GET and POST forms (RFC 6960 §A.1.1) with responses signed by a per-issuer dedicated OCSP responder cert (RFC 6960 §2.6, `id-pkix-ocsp-nocheck` per §4.2.2.2.1) — the CA private key is never used directly for OCSP signing. Both endpoints live unauthenticated under `/.well-known/pki/` per RFC 8615. Short-lived certs (TTL < 1 hour) are exempt — expiry is sufficient revocation. See [docs/crl-ocsp.md](docs/crl-ocsp.md) for the relying-party integration guide.
**Revocation.** Single and bulk revocation (by profile, owner, agent, or issuer). RFC 5280 reason codes. Production-grade revocation status surface for relying parties: DER-encoded X.509 CRL per issuer, scheduler-pre-generated and cached so HTTP fetches do not rebuild per request; embedded OCSP responder serving both GET and POST forms (RFC 6960 §A.1.1) with responses signed by a per-issuer dedicated OCSP responder cert (RFC 6960 §2.6, `id-pkix-ocsp-nocheck` per §4.2.2.2.1) — the CA private key is never used directly for OCSP signing. Both endpoints live unauthenticated under `/.well-known/pki/` per RFC 8615. Short-lived certs (TTL < 1 hour) are exempt — expiry is sufficient revocation. See [docs/reference/protocols/crl-ocsp.md](docs/reference/protocols/crl-ocsp.md) for the relying-party integration guide.
**Audit and observability.** Immutable append-only audit trail records every lifecycle action, every API call, and every approval decision. Prometheus metrics endpoint. Scheduled certificate digest emails. Continuous endpoint health monitoring with state machine transitions and real-time alerts.
**Audit and observability.** Immutable append-only audit trail records every lifecycle action, every API call, and every approval decision. Prometheus metrics endpoint. Scheduled certificate digest emails. Continuous endpoint health monitoring with state machine transitions and real-time alerts.
**Notifications + per-policy multi-channel routing.** Slack, Teams, PagerDuty, OpsGenie, SMTP, webhooks. Routed by certificate owner. Daily digest emails with stats and expiring certs. Each `RenewalPolicy` carries an `AlertChannels` matrix (per-severity-tier channel set) + `AlertSeverityMap` (per-threshold tier resolution) so production-tier 7-day alerts page PagerDuty *and* Slack while informational 30-day alerts go email-only. Per-channel dispatch is fault-isolating — a PagerDuty failure does NOT skip Slack/Email at the same threshold. Per-channel dedup row + audit row + Prometheus counter (`certctl_expiry_alerts_total{channel,threshold,result}`). See [`docs/runbook-expiry-alerts.md`](docs/runbook-expiry-alerts.md).
**Notifications + per-policy multi-channel routing.** Slack, Teams, PagerDuty, OpsGenie, SMTP, webhooks. Routed by certificate owner. Daily digest emails with stats and expiring certs. Each `RenewalPolicy` carries an `AlertChannels` matrix (per-severity-tier channel set) + `AlertSeverityMap` (per-threshold tier resolution) so production-tier 7-day alerts page PagerDuty *and* Slack while informational 30-day alerts go email-only. Per-channel dispatch is fault-isolating — a PagerDuty failure does NOT skip Slack/Email at the same threshold. Per-channel dedup row + audit row + Prometheus counter (`certctl_expiry_alerts_total{channel,threshold,result}`). See [`docs/operator/runbooks/expiry-alerts.md`](docs/operator/runbooks/expiry-alerts.md).
**Cloud-managed targets.** Beyond on-server deploys (NGINX, Apache, IIS, F5, ...), certctl pushes renewed certs directly into AWS Certificate Manager (`ImportCertificate` + `DescribeCertificate` snapshot for atomic rollback + tag re-application) and Azure Key Vault (PEM→PKCS#12 import + snapshot CER bytes for rollback + tag carry-forward). The control plane never touches the cloud credentials — agents own them. See [`docs/runbook-cloud-targets.md`](docs/runbook-cloud-targets.md).
**Cloud-managed targets.** Beyond on-server deploys (NGINX, Apache, IIS, F5, ...), certctl pushes renewed certs directly into AWS Certificate Manager (`ImportCertificate` + `DescribeCertificate` snapshot for atomic rollback + tag re-application) and Azure Key Vault (PEM→PKCS#12 import + snapshot CER bytes for rollback + tag carry-forward). The control plane never touches the cloud credentials — agents own them. See [`docs/operator/runbooks/cloud-targets.md`](docs/operator/runbooks/cloud-targets.md).
**Multiple interfaces.** REST API (180+ routes), CLI (`certs` / `agents` / `jobs` / `import` / `est` / `status` / `version` command groups), MCP server (85+ tools for Claude, Cursor, Windsurf), Helm chart, web dashboard. Certificate export in PEM and PKCS#12.
**Multiple interfaces.** REST API (180+ routes), CLI (`certs` / `agents` / `jobs` / `import` / `est` / `status` / `version` command groups), MCP server (85+ tools for Claude, Cursor, Windsurf), Helm chart, web dashboard. Certificate export in PEM and PKCS#12.
**First-run onboarding.** Wizard guides you through connecting a CA, deploying an agent, and issuing your first certificate. Or start with the pre-populated demo — 32 certificates, 10 issuers, 180 days of history.
**First-run onboarding.** Wizard guides you through connecting a CA, deploying an agent, and issuing your first certificate. Or start with the pre-populated demo — 32 certificates, 10 issuers, 180 days of history.
For the complete capability breakdown, see the [Feature Inventory](docs/features.md).
For the complete capability breakdown, see the [Architecture Guide](docs/reference/architecture.md) and the [Connector Reference](docs/reference/connectors/index.md).
## Quick Start
## Quick Start
@@ -227,14 +226,14 @@ Wait ~30 seconds, then open **https://localhost:8443** in your browser. (The shi
docker compose -f deploy/docker-compose.yml -f deploy/docker-compose.demo.yml up -d --build
docker compose -f deploy/docker-compose.yml -f deploy/docker-compose.demo.yml up -d --build
```
```
The `deploy/` directory has four compose files: `docker-compose.yml` (base platform), `docker-compose.demo.yml` (demo data overlay), `docker-compose.dev.yml` (PgAdmin + debug logging), and `docker-compose.test.yml` (standalone integration tests with real CA backends). See the [Docker Compose Environments Guide](deploy/ENVIRONMENTS.md) for a service-by-service walkthrough, or the [Quick Start](docs/quickstart.md#docker-compose-environments) for a summary.
The `deploy/` directory has four compose files: `docker-compose.yml` (base platform), `docker-compose.demo.yml` (demo data overlay), `docker-compose.dev.yml` (PgAdmin + debug logging), and `docker-compose.test.yml` (standalone integration tests with real CA backends). See the [Docker Compose Environments Guide](deploy/ENVIRONMENTS.md) for a service-by-service walkthrough, or the [Quick Start](docs/getting-started/quickstart.md#docker-compose-environments) for a summary.
The control plane is HTTPS-only (TLS 1.3, no plaintext listener). See [`docs/tls.md`](docs/tls.md) for cert provisioning patterns and [`docs/upgrade-to-tls.md`](docs/upgrade-to-tls.md) if you're upgrading from a pre-v2.2 release.
The control plane is HTTPS-only (TLS 1.3, no plaintext listener). See [`docs/operator/tls.md`](docs/operator/tls.md) for cert provisioning patterns and [`docs/archive/upgrades/to-tls-v2.2.md`](docs/archive/upgrades/to-tls-v2.2.md) if you're upgrading from a pre-v2.2 release.
### Agent Install (One-Liner)
### Agent Install (One-Liner)
@@ -415,21 +414,21 @@ Core lifecycle management — Local CA + ACME v2 issuers, NGINX target connector
### V2: Operational Maturity — Shipped
### V2: Operational Maturity — Shipped
40+ milestones shipping enterprise-grade features for free. Highlights below; the [Feature Inventory](docs/features.md) has the complete reference.
40+ milestones shipping enterprise-grade features for free. Highlights below; the [Architecture Guide](docs/reference/architecture.md) and the [Connector Reference](docs/reference/connectors/index.md) cover the complete surface.
- **Issuers (12).** Local CA (self-signed + sub-CA + tree-mode N-level hierarchy), ACME (DNS-01 / DNS-PERSIST-01 / EAB / ARI / profile selection), step-ca, Vault PKI (with auto-token-renewal at TTL/2), DigiCert CertCentral, Sectigo SCM, Google CAS, AWS ACM PCA, Entrust (mTLS), GlobalSign Atlas HVCA, EJBCA (mTLS auto-reload via `mtlscache`), OpenSSL/Custom CA shell adapter.
- **Issuers (12).** Local CA (self-signed + sub-CA + tree-mode N-level hierarchy), ACME (DNS-01 / DNS-PERSIST-01 / EAB / ARI / profile selection), step-ca, Vault PKI (with auto-token-renewal at TTL/2), DigiCert CertCentral, Sectigo SCM, Google CAS, AWS ACM PCA, Entrust (mTLS), GlobalSign Atlas HVCA, EJBCA (mTLS auto-reload via `mtlscache`), OpenSSL/Custom CA shell adapter.
- **Multi-channel expiry alerts.** Per-policy `AlertChannels` matrix + `AlertSeverityMap`, fault-isolating per-channel dispatch (PagerDuty failure does not skip Slack/Email at the same threshold), per-channel dedup + audit + Prometheus counter. ([runbook](docs/runbook-expiry-alerts.md))
- **Multi-channel expiry alerts.** Per-policy `AlertChannels` matrix + `AlertSeverityMap`, fault-isolating per-channel dispatch (PagerDuty failure does not skip Slack/Email at the same threshold), per-channel dedup + audit + Prometheus counter. ([runbook](docs/operator/runbooks/expiry-alerts.md))
- **Revocation infrastructure.** RFC 5280 DER CRL per issuer (scheduler-pre-generated + ETag-cached) + embedded RFC 6960 OCSP responder (dedicated per-issuer responder cert per §2.6, `id-pkix-ocsp-nocheck`, RFC §4.4.1 nonce echo, OCSP response cache with revoke-invalidate hot path). Single + bulk revocation. ([guide](docs/crl-ocsp.md))
- **Revocation infrastructure.** RFC 5280 DER CRL per issuer (scheduler-pre-generated + ETag-cached) + embedded RFC 6960 OCSP responder (dedicated per-issuer responder cert per §2.6, `id-pkix-ocsp-nocheck`, RFC §4.4.1 nonce echo, OCSP response cache with revoke-invalidate hot path). Single + bulk revocation. ([guide](docs/reference/protocols/crl-ocsp.md))
- **Discovery & lifecycle.** Filesystem, network-CIDR, and cloud secret manager (AWS SM / Azure KV / GCP SM) certificate discovery with triage GUI. Continuous endpoint health monitoring. ACME ARI client-driven renewal timing. Approval workflows. Ownership routing. Agent groups (OS / arch / IP CIDR / version match).
- **Discovery & lifecycle.** Filesystem, network-CIDR, and cloud secret manager (AWS SM / Azure KV / GCP SM) certificate discovery with triage GUI. Continuous endpoint health monitoring. ACME ARI client-driven renewal timing. Approval workflows. Ownership routing. Agent groups (OS / arch / IP CIDR / version match).
- **Secrets at rest.** Issuer + target config encrypted with AES-256-GCM (versioned blob format, PBKDF2-SHA256 100K rounds, fail-closed sentinel `ErrEncryptionKeyRequired`). Vault token + DigiCert API key + EJBCA / GlobalSign / Sectigo credentials migrated to opaque `*secret.Ref` references.
- **Secrets at rest.** Issuer + target config encrypted with AES-256-GCM (versioned blob format, PBKDF2-SHA256 100K rounds, fail-closed sentinel `ErrEncryptionKeyRequired`). Vault token + DigiCert API key + EJBCA / GlobalSign / Sectigo credentials migrated to opaque `*secret.Ref` references.
- **Operator interfaces.** REST API (180+ routes), CLI (`certs` / `agents` / `jobs` / `import` / `est` / `status` / `version` command groups), MCP server (85+ tools for Claude / Cursor / Windsurf), Helm chart, 30+ page web dashboard with first-run onboarding wizard.
- **Operator interfaces.** REST API (180+ routes), CLI (`certs` / `agents` / `jobs` / `import` / `est` / `status` / `version` command groups), MCP server (85+ tools for Claude / Cursor / Windsurf), Helm chart, 30+ page web dashboard with first-run onboarding wizard.
- **Compliance.** SOC 2 Type II, PCI-DSS 4.0, NIST SP 800-57 mapping ([compliance docs](docs/compliance.md)). Disaster-recovery runbook (8-section operator-grade procedure). Migration guides from [certbot](docs/migrate-from-certbot.md), [acme.sh](docs/migrate-from-acmesh.md), and [cert-manager](docs/certctl-for-cert-manager-users.md).
- **Compliance.** SOC 2 Type II, PCI-DSS 4.0, NIST SP 800-57 mapping ([compliance docs](docs/compliance/index.md)). Disaster-recovery runbook (8-section operator-grade procedure). Migration guides from [certbot](docs/migration/from-certbot.md), [acme.sh](docs/migration/from-acmesh.md), and [cert-manager](docs/migration/cert-manager-coexistence.md).
### Forward-looking work — all free, all self-hostable
### Forward-looking work — all free, all self-hostable
Everything ships free under BSL 1.1. No paid tier, no V3 / V4 gating, no enterprise edition. Future revenue path is a managed-service hosting offering — operate certctl-server as a hosted service while customers self-install only the agent.
Everything ships free under BSL 1.1. No paid tier, no V3 / V4 gating, no enterprise edition. Future revenue path is a managed-service hosting offering — operate certctl-server as a hosted service while customers self-install only the agent.
@@ -28,7 +28,7 @@ There is no schema migration tied to this release; the only at-rest state that c
## Procedure — docker-compose operators
## Procedure — docker-compose operators
The shipped `deploy/docker-compose.yml` includes a `certctl-tls-init` init container that self-signs an ECDSA-P256 (SHA-256 signature) cert on first boot and drops `server.crt`, `server.key`, and `ca.crt` into a named volume mounted read-only at `/etc/certctl/tls/` on the server and agent containers. No manual cert provisioning is required for the default stack. (Pre-v2.0.48 this was an ed25519 cert; see [`tls.md`](tls.md) Pattern 1 for the rationale and the `down -v && up --build` migration note.)
The shipped `deploy/docker-compose.yml` includes a `certctl-tls-init` init container that self-signs an ECDSA-P256 (SHA-256 signature) cert on first boot and drops `server.crt`, `server.key`, and `ca.crt` into a named volume mounted read-only at `/etc/certctl/tls/` on the server and agent containers. No manual cert provisioning is required for the default stack. (Pre-v2.0.48 this was an ed25519 cert; see [`tls.md`](../../operator/tls.md) Pattern 1 for the rationale and the `down -v && up --build` migration note.)
1.**Pull the HTTPS-everywhere release.** From the repo root:
1.**Pull the HTTPS-everywhere release.** From the repo root:
@@ -74,7 +74,7 @@ The shipped `deploy/docker-compose.yml` includes a `certctl-tls-init` init conta
## Procedure — Helm operators
## Procedure — Helm operators
The Helm chart does not self-sign. It refuses to render (`helm template` exits non-zero) unless you configure one of two cert sources: an operator-supplied Secret, or a cert-manager `Certificate` CR. See [`tls.md`](tls.md) for the full pattern catalog.
The Helm chart does not self-sign. It refuses to render (`helm template` exits non-zero) unless you configure one of two cert sources: an operator-supplied Secret, or a cert-manager `Certificate` CR. See [`tls.md`](../../operator/tls.md) for the full pattern catalog.
1. **Provision cert material.** Pick one of:
1. **Provision cert material.** Pick one of:
@@ -188,13 +188,13 @@ Once every agent is `Online`, confirm a few invariants:
- `curl -sS -o /dev/null -w "%{http_code}\n" http://localhost:8443/health` returns `000` with `Connection refused` (no HTTP listener). Plaintext is gone.
- `curl -sS -o /dev/null -w "%{http_code}\n" http://localhost:8443/health` returns `000` with `Connection refused` (no HTTP listener). Plaintext is gone.
- `openssl s_client -connect localhost:8443 -tls1_2 </dev/null` fails the handshake. TLS 1.2 is rejected.
- `openssl s_client -connect localhost:8443 -tls1_2 </dev/null` fails the handshake. TLS 1.2 is rejected.
- `openssl s_client -connect localhost:8443 -tls1_3 </dev/null` succeeds and prints the server's SAN list. TLS 1.3 is live.
- `openssl s_client -connect localhost:8443 -tls1_3 </dev/null` succeeds and prints the server's SAN list. TLS 1.3 is live.
- A cert rotation test: overwrite the server cert on disk, `kill -HUP` the server PID, confirm the new cert serves on the next `openssl s_client -connect … -showcerts` without a process restart. See the SIGHUP section in [`tls.md`](tls.md).
- A cert rotation test: overwrite the server cert on disk, `kill -HUP` the server PID, confirm the new cert serves on the next `openssl s_client -connect … -showcerts` without a process restart. See the SIGHUP section in [`tls.md`](../../operator/tls.md).
Update your runbooks. Every `http://certctl.example.com` URL in internal documentation, monitoring config, and on-call playbooks should become `https://certctl.example.com` plus a CA-trust note.
Update your runbooks. Every `http://certctl.example.com` URL in internal documentation, monitoring config, and on-call playbooks should become `https://certctl.example.com` plus a CA-trust note.
Operators hit `https://<your-host>/`, get redirected through the OIDC provider, land back at oauth2-proxy with a session cookie, and oauth2-proxy proxies their request to certctl on the internal Docker network. certctl itself is HTTPS-only on `:8443` (TLS 1.3, see [`tls.md`](tls.md)) but operator browsers never see that hop directly. Bind certctl-server's `:8443` to the internal Docker network only — do NOT publish it to the host. The audit trail will record the actor as the gateway-forwarded identity if you also configure a small bearer-token-mapping shim at the gateway (most production deployments do this with a per-user api-key issued by the gateway after OIDC validation).
Operators hit `https://<your-host>/`, get redirected through the OIDC provider, land back at oauth2-proxy with a session cookie, and oauth2-proxy proxies their request to certctl on the internal Docker network. certctl itself is HTTPS-only on `:8443` (TLS 1.3, see [`tls.md`](../../operator/tls.md)) but operator browsers never see that hop directly. Bind certctl-server's `:8443` to the internal Docker network only — do NOT publish it to the host. The audit trail will record the actor as the gateway-forwarded identity if you also configure a small bearer-token-mapping shim at the gateway (most production deployments do this with a per-user api-key issued by the gateway after OIDC validation).
### Traefik ForwardAuth pattern (Kubernetes)
### Traefik ForwardAuth pattern (Kubernetes)
@@ -154,8 +154,8 @@ There is no on-disk state that changes with this upgrade — no migrations to ro
- [`tls.md`](tls.md) — TLS provisioning patterns. The gateway proxying to certctl-server still needs to trust certctl's TLS cert; same patterns apply.
- [`tls.md`](../../operator/tls.md) — TLS provisioning patterns. The gateway proxying to certctl-server still needs to trust certctl's TLS cert; same patterns apply.
@@ -6,11 +6,11 @@ These guides map certctl's features to three widely referenced compliance framew
## What's Covered
## What's Covered
**[SOC 2 Type II](compliance-soc2.md)** — Maps certctl features to AICPA Trust Service Criteria. Covers logical access controls (CC6), system operations and monitoring (CC7), change management (CC8), and availability (A1). Most relevant for organizations undergoing SOC 2 audits where certificate management is in scope.
**[SOC 2 Type II](soc2.md)** — Maps certctl features to AICPA Trust Service Criteria. Covers logical access controls (CC6), system operations and monitoring (CC7), change management (CC8), and availability (A1). Most relevant for organizations undergoing SOC 2 audits where certificate management is in scope.
**[PCI-DSS 4.0](compliance-pci-dss.md)** — Maps certctl features to PCI Data Security Standard version 4.0 requirements. Covers data-in-transit protection (Req 4), cryptographic key management (Req 3), authentication (Req 8), audit logging (Req 10), secure development (Req 6), and access control (Req 7). Most relevant for organizations handling cardholder data where TLS certificates protect transmission channels.
**[PCI-DSS 4.0](pci-dss.md)** — Maps certctl features to PCI Data Security Standard version 4.0 requirements. Covers data-in-transit protection (Req 4), cryptographic key management (Req 3), authentication (Req 8), audit logging (Req 10), secure development (Req 6), and access control (Req 7). Most relevant for organizations handling cardholder data where TLS certificates protect transmission channels.
**[NIST SP 800-57](compliance-nist.md)** — Maps certctl's key management practices to NIST Special Publication 800-57 Part 1 Rev 5 (2020). Covers key generation, storage, cryptoperiods, key state lifecycle, algorithm selection, key transport, and revocation. Most relevant for organizations aligning with US federal cryptographic guidance or using NIST as a key management baseline.
**[NIST SP 800-57](nist-sp-800-57.md)** — Maps certctl's key management practices to NIST Special Publication 800-57 Part 1 Rev 5 (2020). Covers key generation, storage, cryptoperiods, key state lifecycle, algorithm selection, key transport, and revocation. Most relevant for organizations aligning with US federal cryptographic guidance or using NIST as a key management baseline.
@@ -220,7 +220,7 @@ certctl implements revocation using three complementary mechanisms:
**Certificate Revocation List (CRL)**: certctl serves DER-encoded X.509 CRLs per issuer at `GET /.well-known/pki/crl/{issuer_id}` (RFC 5280 §5 wire format, RFC 8615 well-known namespace). The endpoint is unauthenticated so any relying party — browser, TLS client, hardware appliance — can fetch it without a certctl API key. The CRL is signed by the issuing CA's key and has 24-hour validity; clients can download it periodically to check revocation status offline. The response carries `Content-Type: application/pkix-crl`. The CRL is **pre-generated** by a scheduler-driven loop (`crlGenerationLoop`, default interval 1 hour, configurable via `CERTCTL_CRL_GENERATION_INTERVAL`) and persisted in the `crl_cache` table — HTTP fetches read from the cache rather than rebuilding per request, so a busy CA does not DOS itself at scale. Concurrent regeneration requests for the same issuer are coalesced via an in-tree singleflight gate.
**Certificate Revocation List (CRL)**: certctl serves DER-encoded X.509 CRLs per issuer at `GET /.well-known/pki/crl/{issuer_id}` (RFC 5280 §5 wire format, RFC 8615 well-known namespace). The endpoint is unauthenticated so any relying party — browser, TLS client, hardware appliance — can fetch it without a certctl API key. The CRL is signed by the issuing CA's key and has 24-hour validity; clients can download it periodically to check revocation status offline. The response carries `Content-Type: application/pkix-crl`. The CRL is **pre-generated** by a scheduler-driven loop (`crlGenerationLoop`, default interval 1 hour, configurable via `CERTCTL_CRL_GENERATION_INTERVAL`) and persisted in the `crl_cache` table — HTTP fetches read from the cache rather than rebuilding per request, so a busy CA does not DOS itself at scale. Concurrent regeneration requests for the same issuer are coalesced via an in-tree singleflight gate.
**OCSP Responder**: For real-time revocation checking, certctl includes an embedded OCSP responder serving both forms RFC 6960 §A.1.1 defines: `GET /.well-known/pki/ocsp/{issuer_id}/{serial}` (URL-path lookup, useful for ops curl-debugging) and `POST /.well-known/pki/ocsp/{issuer_id}` with a binary `application/ocsp-request` body (the form most production clients use — Firefox, OpenSSL `s_client -status`, cert-manager, Intune device-state validators). Both forms are unauthenticated and return signed OCSP responses (good, revoked, or unknown) with `Content-Type: application/ocsp-response`. OCSP responses are signed by a **dedicated per-issuer OCSP responder cert** (RFC 6960 §2.6 / §4.2.2.2) — NOT by the CA private key directly — that carries the `id-pkix-ocsp-nocheck` extension (RFC 6960 §4.2.2.2.1) so OCSP clients do not recursively check the responder cert's own revocation status. The responder cert auto-rotates within 7 days of expiry (configurable via `CERTCTL_OCSP_RESPONDER_ROTATION_GRACE`), letting the responder key live on disk or rotate frequently while the CA key stays cold. See [`crl-ocsp.md`](crl-ocsp.md) for endpoint examples (curl, OpenSSL, Firefox, Intune) and the responder cert lifecycle.
**OCSP Responder**: For real-time revocation checking, certctl includes an embedded OCSP responder serving both forms RFC 6960 §A.1.1 defines: `GET /.well-known/pki/ocsp/{issuer_id}/{serial}` (URL-path lookup, useful for ops curl-debugging) and `POST /.well-known/pki/ocsp/{issuer_id}` with a binary `application/ocsp-request` body (the form most production clients use — Firefox, OpenSSL `s_client -status`, cert-manager, Intune device-state validators). Both forms are unauthenticated and return signed OCSP responses (good, revoked, or unknown) with `Content-Type: application/ocsp-response`. OCSP responses are signed by a **dedicated per-issuer OCSP responder cert** (RFC 6960 §2.6 / §4.2.2.2) — NOT by the CA private key directly — that carries the `id-pkix-ocsp-nocheck` extension (RFC 6960 §4.2.2.2.1) so OCSP clients do not recursively check the responder cert's own revocation status. The responder cert auto-rotates within 7 days of expiry (configurable via `CERTCTL_OCSP_RESPONDER_ROTATION_GRACE`), letting the responder key live on disk or rotate frequently while the CA key stays cold. See [`crl-ocsp.md`](../reference/protocols/crl-ocsp.md) for endpoint examples (curl, OpenSSL, Firefox, Intune) and the responder cert lifecycle.
Short-lived certificates (those assigned to profiles with TTL under 1 hour) are exempt from CRL and OCSP — their rapid expiry is considered sufficient revocation. This is a deliberate design choice to reduce infrastructure overhead for ephemeral machine-to-machine credentials.
Short-lived certificates (those assigned to profiles with TTL under 1 hour) are exempt from CRL and OCSP — their rapid expiry is considered sufficient revocation. This is a deliberate design choice to reduce infrastructure overhead for ephemeral machine-to-machine credentials.
@@ -291,4 +291,4 @@ The agent fleet overview page groups agents by OS, architecture, and version, sh
Now that you understand the concepts, head to the [Quick Start Guide](quickstart.md) to get certctl running locally in under 5 minutes. You'll see a pre-loaded dashboard with demo certificates, explore the API, and understand how everything fits together.
Now that you understand the concepts, head to the [Quick Start Guide](quickstart.md) to get certctl running locally in under 5 minutes. You'll see a pre-loaded dashboard with demo certificates, explore the API, and understand how everything fits together.
For a deeper look at the system design, see the [Architecture Guide](architecture.md). For terminal-based workflows, check out the CLI Guide (docs coming soon). For AI-native integration, see the [MCP Server Guide](mcp.md). For the full API reference, see the [OpenAPI Spec Guide](openapi.md).
For a deeper look at the system design, see the [Architecture Guide](../reference/architecture.md). For terminal-based workflows, check out the CLI Guide (docs coming soon). For AI-native integration, see the [MCP Server Guide](../reference/mcp.md). For the full API reference, see the [OpenAPI Spec Guide](../reference/api.md).
The full walkthrough — including how HTTP-01 challenges work, adding multiple domains, switching to staging for testing, and a production checklist — is in the [example README](../examples/acme-nginx/acme-nginx.md).
The full walkthrough — including how HTTP-01 challenges work, adding multiple domains, switching to staging for testing, and a production checklist — is in the [example README](../examples/acme-nginx/acme-nginx.md).
**Migrating from Certbot?** certctl discovers your existing `/etc/letsencrypt/live/` certificates automatically. You keep your ACME account, disable the Certbot cron, and certctl takes over renewal with centralized visibility and deployment verification. The step-by-step process is in [Migrating from Certbot](migrate-from-certbot.md).
**Migrating from Certbot?** certctl discovers your existing `/etc/letsencrypt/live/` certificates automatically. You keep your ACME account, disable the Certbot cron, and certctl takes over renewal with centralized visibility and deployment verification. The step-by-step process is in [Migrating from Certbot](../migration/from-certbot.md).
---
---
@@ -52,7 +52,7 @@ docker compose up -d
The full walkthrough — including DNS-PERSIST-01 (set a TXT record once, never touch DNS again on renewals), adapting scripts for other providers, and propagation troubleshooting — is in the [example README](../examples/acme-wildcard-dns01/acme-wildcard-dns01.md).
The full walkthrough — including DNS-PERSIST-01 (set a TXT record once, never touch DNS again on renewals), adapting scripts for other providers, and propagation troubleshooting — is in the [example README](../examples/acme-wildcard-dns01/acme-wildcard-dns01.md).
**Migrating from acme.sh?** Your existing `dns_*` hook scripts are compatible with certctl's DNS-01 — they use the same pattern (shell scripts creating TXT records). The migration guide covers script adaptation, discovery of existing acme.sh certificates, and phasing out the acme.sh cron. See [Migrating from acme.sh](migrate-from-acmesh.md).
**Migrating from acme.sh?** Your existing `dns_*` hook scripts are compatible with certctl's DNS-01 — they use the same pattern (shell scripts creating TXT records). The migration guide covers script adaptation, discovery of existing acme.sh certificates, and phasing out the acme.sh cron. See [Migrating from acme.sh](../migration/from-acmesh.md).
---
---
@@ -105,7 +105,7 @@ docker compose up -d
The full walkthrough — including profile-based issuer assignment, testing with ACME staging, Local CA enterprise sub-CA mode, and scaling beyond Docker Compose — is in the [example README](../examples/multi-issuer/multi-issuer.md).
The full walkthrough — including profile-based issuer assignment, testing with ACME staging, Local CA enterprise sub-CA mode, and scaling beyond Docker Compose — is in the [example README](../examples/multi-issuer/multi-issuer.md).
**Using cert-manager for Kubernetes?** certctl complements cert-manager — cert-manager handles in-cluster certs, certctl handles everything outside: VMs, bare metal, network appliances, Windows servers. They can share the same CA (ACME, step-ca, Vault PKI). See [certctl for cert-manager Users](certctl-for-cert-manager-users.md).
**Using cert-manager for Kubernetes?** certctl complements cert-manager — cert-manager handles in-cluster certs, certctl handles everything outside: VMs, bare metal, network appliances, Windows servers. They can share the same CA (ACME, step-ca, Vault PKI). See [certctl for cert-manager Users](../migration/cert-manager-coexistence.md).
---
---
@@ -117,4 +117,4 @@ These 5 scenarios cover the most common deployment patterns, but certctl support
If you're bringing your own cert (internal CA, cert-manager, operator-supplied Secret), see [`docs/tls.md`](tls.md) for the full provisioning matrix. If you're cutting over an existing install, see [`docs/upgrade-to-tls.md`](upgrade-to-tls.md) for the failure modes (out-of-date `http://…` agents fail at the TLS handshake) and the one-step procedure.
If you're bringing your own cert (internal CA, cert-manager, operator-supplied Secret), see [`docs/operator/tls.md`](../operator/tls.md) for the full provisioning matrix. If you're cutting over an existing install, see [`docs/archive/upgrades/to-tls-v2.2.md`](../archive/upgrades/to-tls-v2.2.md) for the failure modes (out-of-date `http://…` agents fail at the TLS handshake) and the one-step procedure.
## Open the Dashboard
## Open the Dashboard
@@ -496,7 +496,7 @@ The `-v` flag removes the PostgreSQL data volume for a clean slate.
**Ready to deploy with your stack?** The [Deployment Examples](examples.md) page has 5 turnkey docker-compose scenarios — pick the one closest to your setup and have it running in minutes. It also covers migration paths from Certbot, acme.sh, and cert-manager.
**Ready to deploy with your stack?** The [Deployment Examples](examples.md) page has 5 turnkey docker-compose scenarios — pick the one closest to your setup and have it running in minutes. It also covers migration paths from Certbot, acme.sh, and cert-manager.
- **[Advanced Demo](demo-advanced.md)** — Issue a real certificate via the Local CA end-to-end
- **[Advanced Demo](advanced-demo.md)** — Issue a real certificate via the Local CA end-to-end
- **[Architecture](architecture.md)** — How the control plane, agents, and connectors work together
- **[Architecture](../reference/architecture.md)** — How the control plane, agents, and connectors work together
- **[Connector Reference](connectors.md)** — Configuration for all 7 issuers and 10 targets
- **[Connector Reference](connectors.md)** — Configuration for all 7 issuers and 10 targets
- **[Concepts Guide](concepts.md)** — TLS certificates, CAs, and private keys explained from scratch
- **[Concepts Guide](concepts.md)** — TLS certificates, CAs, and private keys explained from scratch
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