mirror of
https://github.com/shankar0123/certctl.git
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shankar0123
aa183efdca
Fact-checked every doc file against actual source code. Key corrections: - Table count 14→17 (added profiles, agent_groups, agent_group_members) - Endpoint count 55→68 (counted from router.go) - Test count 250+→330+ (99 service + 165 handler + 53 frontend + connectors) - Dashboard views 14→16 pages (counted from web/src/pages/) - step-ca marked implemented (was "Planned V2") across all docs - ACME DNS-01 marked implemented (was "planned") in concepts.md - Removed ADCS as separate planned connector (handled via sub-CA mode) - Fixed pointer types in connectors.md interface docs (*string, *time.Time) - Added 3 missing tables to architecture.md ER diagram - Added 5 missing env vars to README config table - Updated M11/M12 to ✅ in README roadmap - Issuer count in quickstart demo data 3→4 (added step-ca) Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 <noreply@anthropic.com>
386 lines
19 KiB
Markdown
386 lines
19 KiB
Markdown
# certctl — Self-Hosted Certificate Lifecycle Platform
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TLS certificate lifespans are shrinking. The CA/Browser Forum passed [Ballot SC-081v3](https://cabforum.org/2025/04/11/ballot-sc081v3-introduce-schedule-of-reducing-validity-and-data-reuse-periods/) unanimously in April 2025, setting a phased reduction: **200 days** by March 2026, **100 days** by March 2027, and **47 days** by March 2029. Manual certificate management is no longer viable at any scale.
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certctl is a self-hosted platform for **end-to-end certificate lifecycle automation** — from issuance through renewal to deployment — with zero human intervention. Track every certificate in your organization, automatically renew them before they expire, and deploy them to your servers without touching a terminal. Private keys never leave your infrastructure.
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[](LICENSE)
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[](https://goreportcard.com/report/github.com/shankar0123/certctl)
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## What It Does
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certctl gives you a single pane of glass for every TLS certificate in your organization. The **web dashboard** shows your full certificate inventory — what's healthy, what's expiring, what's already expired, and who owns each one. The **REST API** (68 endpoints) lets you automate everything. **Agents** deployed on your infrastructure generate private keys locally and submit CSRs — private keys never leave your servers. The background scheduler watches expiration dates and triggers renewals automatically — when certificate lifespans drop to 47 days, certctl handles the constant rotation without human involvement.
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```mermaid
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flowchart LR
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subgraph "Control Plane"
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API["REST API + Dashboard\n:8443"]
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PG[("PostgreSQL")]
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end
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subgraph "Your Infrastructure"
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A1["Agent"] --> T1["NGINX"]
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A2["Agent"] --> T2["Apache / HAProxy"]
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A3["Agent"] --> T3["F5 · IIS"]
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end
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API --> PG
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A1 & A2 & A3 -->|"CSR + status\n(no private keys)"| API
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API -->|"Signed certs"| A1 & A2 & A3
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API -->|"Issue/Renew"| CA["Certificate Authorities\nLocal CA · ACME"]
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```
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### Screenshots
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| | |
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|---|---|
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|  |  |
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| **Dashboard** — certificate stats, expiry timeline, recent jobs | **Certificates** — full inventory with status, environment, owner filters |
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|  |  |
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| **Agents** — fleet health, hostname, heartbeat tracking | **Jobs** — issuance, renewal, deployment job queue |
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|  |  |
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| **Notifications** — threshold alerts grouped by certificate | **Policies** — enforcement rules with enable/disable and delete |
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|  |  |
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| **Issuers** — CA connectors with test connectivity | **Targets** — deployment targets (NGINX, Apache, HAProxy, F5, IIS) |
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|  | |
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| **Audit Trail** — immutable log of every action | |
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## Quick Start
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### Docker Compose (Recommended)
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```bash
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git clone https://github.com/shankar0123/certctl.git
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cd certctl
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docker compose -f deploy/docker-compose.yml up -d --build
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```
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Wait ~30 seconds, then open **http://localhost:8443** in your browser.
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The dashboard comes pre-loaded with 15 demo certificates, 5 agents, policy rules, audit events, and notifications — a realistic snapshot of a certificate inventory so you can explore immediately.
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Verify the API:
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```bash
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curl http://localhost:8443/health
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# {"status":"healthy"}
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curl -s http://localhost:8443/api/v1/certificates | jq '.total'
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# 15
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```
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### Manual Build
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```bash
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# Prerequisites: Go 1.22+, PostgreSQL 16+
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go mod download
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make build
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# Set up database
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export CERTCTL_DATABASE_URL="postgres://certctl:certctl@localhost:5432/certctl?sslmode=disable"
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export CERTCTL_AUTH_TYPE=none
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make migrate-up
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# Start server
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./bin/server
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# Start agent (separate terminal)
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export CERTCTL_SERVER_URL=http://localhost:8443
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export CERTCTL_API_KEY=change-me-in-production
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export CERTCTL_AGENT_NAME=local-agent
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export CERTCTL_AGENT_ID=agent-local-01
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./bin/agent --agent-id=agent-local-01
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```
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## Documentation
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| Guide | Description |
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|-------|-------------|
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| [Concepts](docs/concepts.md) | TLS certificates explained from scratch — for beginners who know nothing about certs |
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| [Quick Start](docs/quickstart.md) | Get running in 5 minutes with accurate API examples |
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| [Demo Walkthrough](docs/demo-guide.md) | 5-7 minute guided stakeholder presentation |
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| [Advanced Demo](docs/demo-advanced.md) | Issue a certificate end-to-end with technical deep-dives |
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| [Architecture](docs/architecture.md) | System design, data flow diagrams, security model |
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| [Connectors](docs/connectors.md) | Build custom issuer, target, and notifier connectors |
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## Architecture
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```mermaid
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flowchart TB
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subgraph "Control Plane (certctl-server)"
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DASH["Web Dashboard\nReact SPA"]
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API["REST API\nGo 1.22 net/http"]
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SVC["Service Layer"]
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REPO["Repository Layer\ndatabase/sql + lib/pq"]
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SCHED["Scheduler\nRenewal · Jobs · Health · Notifications"]
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end
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subgraph "Data Store"
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PG[("PostgreSQL 16\n17 tables\nTEXT primary keys")]
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end
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subgraph "Agents"
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AG["certctl-agent\nKey generation · CSR · Deployment"]
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end
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DASH --> API
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API --> SVC --> REPO --> PG
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SCHED --> SVC
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AG -->|"Heartbeat + CSR"| API
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API -->|"Cert + Chain"| AG
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```
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### Key Design Decisions
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- **Private keys isolated from the control plane.** Agents generate ECDSA P-256 keys locally and submit CSRs (public key only). The server signs the CSR and returns the certificate — private keys never touch the control plane. Server-side keygen is available via `CERTCTL_KEYGEN_MODE=server` for demo/development only.
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- **TEXT primary keys, not UUIDs.** IDs are human-readable prefixed strings (`mc-api-prod`, `t-platform`, `o-alice`) so you can identify resource types at a glance in logs and queries.
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- **Handler → Service → Repository layering.** Handlers define their own service interfaces for clean dependency inversion. No global service singletons.
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- **Idempotent migrations.** All schema uses `IF NOT EXISTS` and seed data uses `ON CONFLICT (id) DO NOTHING`, safe for repeated execution.
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### Database Schema
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| Table | Purpose |
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|-------|---------|
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| `managed_certificates` | Certificate records with metadata, status, expiry, tags |
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| `certificate_versions` | Historical versions with PEM chains and CSRs |
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| `renewal_policies` | Renewal window, auto-renew settings, retry config, alert thresholds |
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| `issuers` | CA configurations (Local CA, ACME, etc.) |
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| `deployment_targets` | Target systems (NGINX, F5, IIS) with agent assignments |
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| `agents` | Registered agents with heartbeat tracking, OS/arch/IP metadata |
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| `jobs` | Issuance, renewal, deployment, and validation jobs |
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| `teams` | Organizational groups for certificate ownership |
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| `owners` | Individual owners with email for notifications |
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| `policy_rules` | Enforcement rules (allowed issuers, environments, metadata) |
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| `policy_violations` | Flagged non-compliance with severity levels |
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| `audit_events` | Immutable action log (append-only, no update/delete) |
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| `notification_events` | Email and webhook notification records |
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| `certificate_target_mappings` | Many-to-many cert ↔ target relationships |
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| `certificate_profiles` | Named enrollment profiles with allowed key types, max TTL, crypto constraints |
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| `agent_groups` | Dynamic device grouping by OS, architecture, IP CIDR, version |
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| `agent_group_members` | Manual include/exclude membership for agent groups |
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## Configuration
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All server environment variables use the `CERTCTL_` prefix:
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| Variable | Default | Description |
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|----------|---------|-------------|
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| `CERTCTL_SERVER_HOST` | `127.0.0.1` | Server bind address |
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| `CERTCTL_SERVER_PORT` | `8080` | Server listen port |
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| `CERTCTL_DATABASE_URL` | `postgres://localhost/certctl` | PostgreSQL connection string |
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| `CERTCTL_DATABASE_MAX_CONNS` | `25` | Connection pool size |
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| `CERTCTL_LOG_LEVEL` | `info` | Log level: `debug`, `info`, `warn`, `error` |
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| `CERTCTL_LOG_FORMAT` | `json` | Log format: `json` or `text` |
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| `CERTCTL_AUTH_TYPE` | `api-key` | Auth mode: `api-key`, `jwt`, or `none` |
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| `CERTCTL_AUTH_SECRET` | — | Required for `api-key` and `jwt` auth types |
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| `CERTCTL_KEYGEN_MODE` | `agent` | Key generation mode: `agent` (production) or `server` (demo only) |
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| `CERTCTL_ACME_DIRECTORY_URL` | — | ACME directory URL (e.g., Let's Encrypt staging) |
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| `CERTCTL_ACME_EMAIL` | — | Contact email for ACME account registration |
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| `CERTCTL_ACME_CHALLENGE_TYPE` | — | ACME challenge type: `http-01` (default) or `dns-01` |
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| `CERTCTL_CA_CERT_PATH` | — | Path to CA certificate for sub-CA mode |
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| `CERTCTL_CA_KEY_PATH` | — | Path to CA private key for sub-CA mode |
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| `CERTCTL_STEPCA_URL` | — | step-ca server URL |
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| `CERTCTL_STEPCA_PROVISIONER` | — | step-ca JWK provisioner name |
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Agent environment variables:
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| Variable | Default | Description |
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|----------|---------|-------------|
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| `CERTCTL_SERVER_URL` | `http://localhost:8080` | Control plane URL |
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| `CERTCTL_API_KEY` | — | Agent API key |
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| `CERTCTL_AGENT_NAME` | `certctl-agent` | Agent display name |
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| `CERTCTL_AGENT_ID` | — | Registered agent ID (required) |
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| `CERTCTL_KEY_DIR` | `/var/lib/certctl/keys` | Directory for storing private keys (agent keygen mode) |
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Docker Compose overrides these for the demo stack (see `deploy/docker-compose.yml`): port `8443`, auth type `none`, database pointing to the postgres container.
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## API Overview
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All endpoints are under `/api/v1/` and return JSON. List endpoints support pagination (`?page=1&per_page=50`).
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### Certificates
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```
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GET /api/v1/certificates List (filter: status, environment, owner_id, team_id)
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POST /api/v1/certificates Create
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GET /api/v1/certificates/{id} Get
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PUT /api/v1/certificates/{id} Update
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DELETE /api/v1/certificates/{id} Archive (soft delete)
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GET /api/v1/certificates/{id}/versions Version history
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POST /api/v1/certificates/{id}/renew Trigger renewal → 202 Accepted
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POST /api/v1/certificates/{id}/deploy Trigger deployment → 202 Accepted
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```
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### Agents
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```
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GET /api/v1/agents List
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POST /api/v1/agents Register
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GET /api/v1/agents/{id} Get
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POST /api/v1/agents/{id}/heartbeat Record heartbeat
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POST /api/v1/agents/{id}/csr Submit CSR for issuance
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GET /api/v1/agents/{id}/certificates/{certId} Retrieve signed certificate
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GET /api/v1/agents/{id}/work Poll for pending deployment jobs
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POST /api/v1/agents/{id}/jobs/{jobId}/status Report job completion/failure
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```
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### Infrastructure
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```
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GET /api/v1/issuers List issuers
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POST /api/v1/issuers Create
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GET /api/v1/issuers/{id} Get
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PUT /api/v1/issuers/{id} Update
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DELETE /api/v1/issuers/{id} Delete
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POST /api/v1/issuers/{id}/test Test connectivity
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GET /api/v1/targets List deployment targets
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POST /api/v1/targets Create
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GET /api/v1/targets/{id} Get
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PUT /api/v1/targets/{id} Update
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DELETE /api/v1/targets/{id} Delete
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```
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### Organization
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```
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GET /api/v1/teams List teams
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POST /api/v1/teams Create
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GET /api/v1/teams/{id} Get
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PUT /api/v1/teams/{id} Update
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DELETE /api/v1/teams/{id} Delete
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GET /api/v1/owners List owners
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POST /api/v1/owners Create
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GET /api/v1/owners/{id} Get
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PUT /api/v1/owners/{id} Update
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DELETE /api/v1/owners/{id} Delete
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```
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### Operations
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```
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GET /api/v1/jobs List (filter: status, type)
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GET /api/v1/jobs/{id} Get
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POST /api/v1/jobs/{id}/cancel Cancel
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GET /api/v1/policies List policy rules
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POST /api/v1/policies Create
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PUT /api/v1/policies/{id} Update (enable/disable)
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DELETE /api/v1/policies/{id} Delete
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GET /api/v1/policies/{id}/violations List violations for rule
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GET /api/v1/audit Query audit trail
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GET /api/v1/notifications List notifications
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POST /api/v1/notifications/{id}/read Mark as read
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```
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### Auth
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```
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GET /api/v1/auth/info Auth mode info (no auth required)
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GET /api/v1/auth/check Validate credentials
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```
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### Health
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```
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GET /health Server health check
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GET /ready Readiness check
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```
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## Supported Integrations
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### Certificate Issuers
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| Issuer | Status | Type |
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|--------|--------|------|
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| Local CA (self-signed + sub-CA) | Implemented | `GenericCA` |
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| ACME v2 (Let's Encrypt, Sectigo) | Implemented (HTTP-01 + DNS-01) | `ACME` |
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| step-ca | Implemented | `StepCA` |
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| OpenSSL / Custom CA | Planned (V2) | — |
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| Vault PKI | Planned | — |
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| DigiCert | Planned | — |
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**Note:** ADCS integration is handled via the Local CA's sub-CA mode — certctl operates as a subordinate CA with its signing certificate issued by ADCS.
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### Deployment Targets
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| Target | Status | Type |
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|--------|--------|------|
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| NGINX | Implemented | `NGINX` |
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| Apache httpd | Implemented | `Apache` |
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| HAProxy | Implemented | `HAProxy` |
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| F5 BIG-IP | Interface only (V2) | `F5` |
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| Microsoft IIS | Interface only (V2) | `IIS` |
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| Kubernetes Secrets | Planned | — |
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### Notifiers
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| Notifier | Status | Type |
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|----------|--------|------|
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| Email (SMTP) | Implemented | `Email` |
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| Webhooks | Implemented | `Webhook` |
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| Slack | Planned | — |
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## Development
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```bash
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# Install dev tools (golangci-lint, migrate CLI, air)
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make install-tools
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# Run tests
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make test
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# Run with coverage
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make test-coverage
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# Lint
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make lint
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# Format
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make fmt
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```
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### Docker Compose
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```bash
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make docker-up # Start stack (server + postgres + agent)
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make docker-down # Stop stack
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make docker-logs-server # Server logs
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make docker-logs-agent # Agent logs
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make docker-clean # Stop + remove volumes
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```
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## Security
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### Private Key Management
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- **Agent keygen mode (default)**: Agents generate ECDSA P-256 keys locally and store them with 0600 permissions in `CERTCTL_KEY_DIR` (default `/var/lib/certctl/keys`). Only the CSR (public key) is sent to the control plane. Private keys never leave agent infrastructure.
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- **Server keygen mode (demo only)**: Set `CERTCTL_KEYGEN_MODE=server` for development/demo with Local CA. The control plane generates RSA-2048 keys server-side. A log warning is emitted at startup.
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### Authentication
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- Agent-to-server: API key (registered at agent creation)
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- API key and JWT auth types supported; `none` for demo/development
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- Auth type and secret configured via `CERTCTL_AUTH_TYPE` and `CERTCTL_AUTH_SECRET`
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### Audit Trail
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- Immutable append-only log in PostgreSQL (`audit_events` table)
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- Every action attributed to an actor with timestamp and resource reference
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- No update or delete operations on audit records
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## Roadmap
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### V1 (v1.0.0 released)
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All nine development milestones (M1–M9) are complete. The backend covers the full certificate lifecycle: Local CA and ACME v2 issuers, NGINX/Apache/HAProxy/F5/IIS target connectors, threshold-based expiration alerting, agent-side ECDSA P-256 key generation, API auth with rate limiting, and a React dashboard with 16 pages wired to the real API. The CI pipeline runs build, vet, test with coverage gates (service layer 30%+, handler layer 50%+), frontend type checking, Vitest test suite, and Vite production build on every push. 330+ tests total: 277+ Go tests across service, handler, integration, and connector layers, plus 53 frontend Vitest tests covering API client functions and utility helpers. Docker images are published to GitHub Container Registry on every version tag via the release workflow.
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### V2: Operational Maturity
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- **M10: Agent Metadata + Targets** ✅ — agents report OS, architecture, IP, hostname, version via heartbeat; Apache httpd and HAProxy target connectors
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- **M11: Crypto Policy + Profiles + Ownership** ✅ — certificate profiles (named enrollment profiles with allowed key types, max TTL, crypto constraints), certificate ownership tracking (owners + teams + notification routing), dynamic agent groups (OS/arch/IP CIDR/version matching), interactive renewal approval (AwaitingApproval state)
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- **M12: Sub-CA + DNS-01 + step-ca** ✅ — Local CA sub-CA mode (enterprise root chain with RSA/ECDSA/PKCS#8), ACME DNS-01 challenges (script-based DNS hooks for any provider, wildcard cert support), step-ca issuer connector (native /sign API with JWK provisioner auth)
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- **M13: GUI Operations** — bulk cert operations (renew, revoke, reassign), deployment timeline, inline policy editor, target config wizard, audit export, short-lived credentials dashboard
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- **M14: Enterprise Connectors** — SSE/WebSocket real-time updates, F5 BIG-IP, IIS, ADCS, OpenSSL/Custom CA implementations
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- **M15: Revocation Infrastructure** — revocation API with reason codes, embedded OCSP responder, CRL endpoint, bulk revocation by profile/owner/agent, revocation webhooks
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- **M16: Team Adoption** — OIDC/SSO, RBAC (profile-gated), CLI tool, Slack/Teams/PagerDuty/OpsGenie notifiers, bulk cert import
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- **M17: Observability** — expiration calendar, health scores, compliance scoring, Prometheus metrics (issuance/revocation rates, OCSP latency), deployment rollback
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- **M18: Integrations** — MCP server (OpenClaw/Claude/Cursor), CT Log monitoring, DigiCert issuer, filesystem cert discovery
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### V3: Discovery, Visibility & Cloud
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Discovery engine (passive/active scanning, cert chain validation, unknown cert detection, triage workflows), Kubernetes cert-manager external issuer, cloud targets (AWS ALB/IAM Roles Anywhere, Azure Key Vault/Managed Identity, Palo Alto, FortiGate, Citrix ADC, Kubernetes Secrets), extended issuers (Entrust, GlobalSign, Google CAS, EJBCA, Vault PKI), ServiceNow integration, Ansible module
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### V4+: Platform & Scale
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Kubernetes CRD, Terraform provider, multi-region, HA control plane, HSM support, LDAP auth, API key scoping, multi-tenancy, SPIFFE/SPIRE federation, OPA policy backend, compliance reporting (NIST, SOC 2, PCI-DSS)
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## License
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Certctl is licensed under the [Business Source License 1.1](LICENSE). The source code is publicly available and free to use, modify, and self-host. The one restriction: you may not offer certctl as a managed/hosted certificate management service to third parties.
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