# OpenVPN/easy-rsa

easy-rsa - Simple shell based CA utility

Repository: https://github.com/OpenVPN/easy-rsa
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/easy-rsa
Language: Shell
License: NOASSERTION
License Family: other
Last push: 2026-07-25T17:46:41+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 80/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 94, release rhythm 50, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 5206, "days_push": 39, "days_rel": 173, "gap_med": 108, "n_releases_24m": 6}
- flags: no_license
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 4475, forks 1230 (observed 2026-08-28T04:08:51.058755+00:00)

## What it is
easy-rsa is a shell-based CLI utility for building and managing a PKI certificate authority. It creates root and intermediate CAs, signs certificate requests, and manages certificate revocation lists (CRLs).

## Use cases
- set up a certificate authority for OpenVPN
- generate and sign TLS certificates from the command line
- create a root CA and intermediate CA
- revoke certificates and manage a CRL
- issue client certificates for VPN users
- manage x509 certificates with a simple shell script

## When to choose
- you need a lightweight, scriptable CA without running a full PKI stack
- you are setting up OpenVPN or another service that needs its own CA
- you want POSIX shell tooling that works across Linux, macOS, and Windows

## When to avoid
- you need an ACME/Let's Encrypt workflow for public certificates
- you require a full-featured CA with web UI, database, or automated issuance
- you need certificates managed at scale with policies and compliance features

## Facets
- artifact type: cli-tool
- maturity: active
- function: security, cryptography, cli
- domain: security, developer-tools, networking
- platform: windows, cli, cross-platform
- tags: pki, certificate-authority, openvpn, openssl, x509, shell, linux, macos

## Member repositories
- OpenVPN/easy-rsa (main) score 80

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:08:51.058755+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 2026-08-29T18:20:34.431464+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/OpenVPN/easy-rsa (fetched 2026-08-28T04:08:51.058755+00:00, sha 3960f00e5439)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.