# square/certstrap

Tools to bootstrap CAs, certificate requests, and signed certificates.

Repository: https://github.com/square/certstrap
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/certstrap
Language: Go
License: Apache-2.0
License Family: permissive
Topics: crypto, golang, certificate, bootstrap, certificate-authority, ssl, csr, tls
Last push: 2026-02-03T22:27:34+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 52/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 65, release rhythm 8, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 4194, "days_push": 211, "days_rel": null, "gap_med": null, "n_releases_24m": 0}
- flags: none
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 2452, forks 212 (observed 2026-08-28T04:06:52.987023+00:00)

## What it is
certstrap is a Go-based CLI tool for bootstrapping your own certificate authorities and managing a simple public key infrastructure. It initializes CAs, generates certificate signing requests and keypairs, and signs certificates without needing OpenSSL config files.

## Use cases
- create a local certificate authority for development
- generate self-signed TLS certificates for internal services
- sign certificate signing requests without openssl
- bootstrap a small PKI for mutual TLS
- issue client certificates for service authentication

## When to choose
- you want simple CA/certificate creation without OpenSSL's complexity
- you need to bootstrap a private PKI quickly
- you prefer a single static Go binary over OpenSSL config files

## When to avoid
- you need a full-featured PKI with revocation infrastructure at scale
- you require advanced X.509 extensions or complex certificate policies
- you already have an established CA workflow with OpenSSL or a commercial CA

## Facets
- artifact type: cli-tool
- maturity: active
- function: cryptography, security, cli
- domain: security, developer-tools
- platform: windows, go, cli, cross-platform
- tags: certificate-authority, tls, x509, csr, pki, openssl-alternative, command-line, linux, macos

## Member repositories
- square/certstrap (main) score 52

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:06:52.987023+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-30T02:30:10.913165+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/square/certstrap (fetched 2026-08-28T04:06:52.987023+00:00, sha 7935b5145dee)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.