Breaking change release. Plaintext HTTP listener removed. The certctl
control plane now terminates TLS 1.3 on :8443 via
http.Server.ListenAndServeTLS. No CERTCTL_TLS_ENABLED=false escape
hatch. No dual-listener mode. One-step cutover per docs/upgrade-to-tls.md.
Server
- cmd/server/tls.go: certHolder with SIGHUP hot-reload + atomic cert
swap, buildServerTLSConfig (TLS 1.3 min, GetCertificate callback),
preflightServerTLS validation
- cmd/server/main.go: ListenAndServeTLS in place of ListenAndServe,
watchSIGHUP wiring, cert/key path config threading
- tls_test.go: 418-line regression coverage of reload, preflight,
callback behavior, SAN validation
Config
- CERTCTL_TLS_CERT_PATH / CERTCTL_TLS_KEY_PATH (required)
- Plaintext rejection: agents/CLI/MCP pre-flight-fail on http://
URLs with a pointer to docs/upgrade-to-tls.md
Agents, CLI, MCP
- All three pre-flight-reject http:// URLs with fail-loud diagnostic
- CERTCTL_SERVER_CA_BUNDLE_PATH for private-CA trust
- CERTCTL_SERVER_TLS_INSECURE_SKIP_VERIFY for dev-only bypass
(loud warning on startup)
- install-agent.sh emits both vars as commented template lines
docker-compose
- certctl-tls-init sidecar generates SAN-valid self-signed cert into
deploy/test/certs/ on first boot
- All demo-stack curls pin against ca.crt with --cacert
Helm chart
- Three TLS provisioning modes, exactly one required:
- server.tls.existingSecret (operator-supplied)
- server.tls.certManager.enabled (cert-manager integration)
- server.tls.selfSigned.enabled (eval only — not for production)
- server-certificate.yaml template for cert-manager mode
- helm install without a TLS source fails at template render with
a pointer to docs/tls.md
CI
- .github/workflows/ci.yml Helm Chart Validation step renders the
chart in both existingSecret and cert-manager modes, plus an
inverse guard-regression test that asserts helm template MUST
refuse to render when no TLS source is configured. Previously
the single `helm template` invocation hit the certctl.tls.required
fail-loud guard and exit-1'd CI. Four invocations now: lint
(existingSecret), template (existingSecret), template
(cert-manager), template (no args — must fail).
Integration tests
- deploy/test/integration_test.go stands up the Compose stack over
HTTPS, extracts the CA bundle, and exercises every certctl API
over https://localhost:8443
- All 34 integration subtests green (per Phase 8 local CI-parity)
Documentation
- New: docs/tls.md (provisioning patterns, rotation, SIGHUP reload)
- New: docs/upgrade-to-tls.md (one-step cutover, no-downgrade
warnings, fleet-roll sequencing)
- CHANGELOG.md: v2.2.0 "HTTPS Everywhere — The Irony" entry
(file heading unchanged; release tag is v2.0.47)
- All curls in docs/, examples/, deploy/helm/ guides use
https://localhost:8443 --cacert
Verification
- grep -rn "ListenAndServe[^T]" cmd/ internal/ → 0 hits
- grep -rn "\"http://" cmd/ internal/ → 2 benign hits (Caddy admin
API default, SSRF doc comment) — zero certctl endpoints
- Tasks #197–#206 (Phases 0–8) all closed in the tracker
Files: 65 changed, 3489 insertions, 372 deletions (pre-CI-fix).
why-certctl.md said March 1, CHART_SUMMARY.md said March 28. The
LICENSE file is authoritative: Change Date is March 14, 2033.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Three related ACME ecosystem changes shipped as a single milestone:
1. ACME Certificate Profile Selection: Custom JWS-signed newOrder POST with
`profile` field (e.g., `tlsserver`, `shortlived` for 6-day certs) bypassing
acme.Client.AuthorizeOrder() since golang.org/x/crypto lacks profile support.
ES256 JWS signing with kid mode, nonce management, directory discovery.
Empty profile delegates to standard library path (zero behavior change).
Configurable via CERTCTL_ACME_PROFILE env var. GUI: profile dropdown on
ACME issuer config.
2. ARI RFC 9702 → 9773 Renumber: All 25+ references updated across Go source,
docs, README, and examples. Zero remaining occurrences of RFC 9702.
3. 45-Day / Short-Lived Certificate Positioning: 5 domain tests validating
renewal thresholds against SC-081v3 validity reduction timeline (200→100→47
days) and Let's Encrypt 45-day/6-day profiles. ARI (RFC 9773) is the
expected renewal path for 6-day shortlived certs.
New tests: 13 profile + 5 domain threshold + 1 frontend = 19 new tests.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Replace brittle test count numbers (1,554+, 1,088+, 211, etc.) with
descriptions of testing approach and CI-enforced coverage gates.
Counts go stale every milestone — coverage thresholds are machine-
verified and never drift.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Fix stale competitive claims (IIS shipped in M39, target count now 10),
add 47-day operational math as forcing function, add credibility signals
(1554 tests, 97 API operations, CI pipeline), restructure competitive
comparisons by category for scannability, add "What Else Ships Free"
feature surface section, add "Who Should Look Elsewhere" disqualification,
move ownership message to opening paragraph.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 <noreply@anthropic.com>
M25: After deploying a certificate, the agent probes the live TLS
endpoint and compares SHA-256 fingerprints to verify the correct cert
is being served. Best-effort — failures don't block deployments.
New endpoints: POST /jobs/{id}/verify, GET /jobs/{id}/verification.
Migration 000008 adds verification columns to jobs table.
M26: Traefik target connector (file provider, auto-reload) and Caddy
target connector (dual-mode: admin API hot-reload or file-based).
Both wired into agent dispatch.
Also: restructured README to highlight supported integrations (issuers,
targets, notifiers) earlier, moved API/CLI/MCP sections lower. Updated
all docs (features, connectors, architecture, testing guide, why-certctl)
and fixed integration tests for 18-param RegisterHandlers signature.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Replace verbose bullet-list comparisons with dense single-paragraph
summaries for all 7 competitors. Each paragraph covers what the tool
is, what it lacks vs certctl, and where it leads. 48 lines cut.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 <noreply@anthropic.com>
README: Remove Contents section (GitHub auto-generates ToC), replace
12-bullet Core capabilities block with link to Feature Inventory,
replace 21-row Database Schema table with one-liner linking to
Architecture Guide. Visitors now hit screenshots ~60 lines sooner.
why-certctl: Remove Feature Summary section (duplicated README and
Feature Inventory content). Competitive comparisons remain as the
focused value of this page.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 <noreply@anthropic.com>
The detailed prose comparisons in why-certctl.md are sufficient.
Tables were redundant with the per-competitor sections.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 <noreply@anthropic.com>
README: Replace old 5-column comparison table with 7-competitor table
(certctl, CertKit, CertWarden, Certimate, CZERTAINLY, KeyTalk, cert-manager)
with Free tier row. Remove CertKit from documentation table link text.
Version badge v2.0.4 → v2.0.5, add Why certctl? and Feature Inventory
to docs table, condense ToC, trim Configuration/API/Roadmap sections
with links to detailed docs.
why-certctl.md: Add detailed comparison sections for Certimate (cloud/CDN
focus, no agent, ACME-only), CZERTAINLY (K8s-required microservices,
pluggable connectors, broader vision), and KeyTalk (proprietary, multi-cert-type,
no public docs). Add 14-row summary comparison table covering all 7 competitors.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Shankar