Cert Zig Reference Documentation

Cert

Current Version: 11.6.1

Chilkat.Cert

Load, inspect, validate, and use X.509 certificates throughout Chilkat.

Chilkat.Cert is the central certificate object used throughout Chilkat for TLS, S/MIME, PKCS7/CMS, PDF signing, XML signing, code signing, decryption, certificate stores, smart cards, HSMs, PKCS#11, and cloud-based signing. It provides a broad set of features for loading certificates, inspecting certificate fields, checking validity, accessing private keys, building chains, checking revocation status, exporting certificate data, and diagnosing certificate-related problems.

Load certificates

Load public certificates from PEM, DER, Base64, files, strings, binary data, certificate stores, PFX/P12 files, smart cards, and other sources.

Inspect certificate details

Read subject and issuer fields, serial numbers, fingerprints, validity dates, key usage, extensions, SAN values, and other X.509 information.

Private key access

Work with certificates backed by private keys from PFX/P12 files, OS certificate stores, smart cards, HSMs, PKCS#11 modules, or cloud signing providers.

Trust and validation

Build and inspect certificate chains, verify signatures, check expiration, examine trust-related information, and work with revocation data.

Use across Chilkat

Pass Cert objects to other Chilkat classes for TLS client authentication, S/MIME, signing, encryption, decryption, and verification.

Export and diagnostics

Export certificate data in common formats and use detailed diagnostic output to troubleshoot loading, validation, private-key, chain, or store problems.

Common pattern: Use certificate-only formats such as PEM or DER when only the public certificate is needed. Use PFX/P12, an OS certificate store, smart-card loading, PKCS#11 linking, HSM integration, or cloud-signing configuration when a private key operation is required.

Object Creation

// Add the package once:
//     zig fetch --save https://chilkatdownload.com/11.6.1/chilkat-zig-11.6.1.tar.gz
// and in build.zig:
//     const chilkat = b.dependency("chilkat", .{ .target = target, .optimize = optimize });
//     exe.root_module.addImport("chilkat", chilkat.module("chilkat"));
const chilkat = @import("chilkat");

// Once per process, before any other Chilkat call:
try chilkat.unlockBundle("Anything for 30-day trial");

const cert = try chilkat.Cert.init();
defer cert.deinit();
pub fn init() Allocator.Error!Cert

Creates the underlying native Chilkat object. Cert is a one-pointer struct passed by value; copying it copies the handle (two names for one object). Returns error.OutOfMemory if the library could not allocate the object. Use an object from one thread at a time; it may be handed from one thread to another.

pub fn deinit(self: Cert) void

Releases the native object. Call it exactly once per object (usually with defer); the handle is invalid afterwards. Objects returned by methods are owned by the caller too and are released the same way.

pub fn fromHandle(h: *chilkat.c.CkCert.HCkCert) Cert

Wraps a handle obtained from the C API (chilkat.c.CkCert), taking ownership of it. The struct's handle field goes the other way, for anything the Zig API does not cover.

Errors and memory

Methods that can fail return an error union: a method whose only outcome is success or failure returns Error!void; a method producing a string returns (Error || Allocator.Error)![:0]u8; a method producing an object returns Error!T. chilkat.Error is error{ChilkatFailed}; the reason for a failure is in getLastErrorText, and the object remains usable. Properties never fail, and methods that answer a question (hasMember, isUnlocked, ...) return a plain bool.

String arguments are [:0]const u8 (UTF-8; string literals can be passed as is). String results are copies allocated with the allocator argument and owned by the caller, so they stay valid across later calls on the same object.

const text = cert.someMethod(allocator, ...) catch |err| {
    const why = try cert.getLastErrorText(allocator);
    defer allocator.free(why);
    std.debug.print("{s}\n", .{why});
    return err;
};
defer allocator.free(text);

Properties

AuthorityKeyId
// read-only
pub fn getAuthorityKeyId(self: Cert, allocator: Allocator) Allocator.Error![:0]u8
Introduced in version 9.5.0.40

The authority key identifier of the certificate in base64 string format. This is only present if the certificate contains the extension OID 2.5.29.35.

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AvoidWindowsPkAccess
// read/write
pub fn getAvoidWindowsPkAccess(self: Cert) bool
pub fn setAvoidWindowsPkAccess(self: Cert, value: bool) void

Applies only when running on a Microsoft Windows operating system. If true, then any method that returns a certificate will not try to also access the associated private key, assuming one exists. This is useful if the certificate was installed with high-security such that a private key access would trigger the Windows OS to display a security warning dialog. The default value of this property is false.

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CertVersion
// read-only
pub fn getCertVersion(self: Cert) i32

The version of the certificate (1, 2, or 3). A value of 0 indicates an error -- the most likely cause being that the certificate object is empty (i.e. was never loaded with a certificate). Note: This is not the version of the software, it is the version of the X.509 certificate object. The version of the Chilkat certificate software is indicated by the Version property.

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DebugLogFilePath
// read/write
pub fn getDebugLogFilePath(self: Cert, allocator: Allocator) Allocator.Error![:0]u8
pub fn setDebugLogFilePath(self: Cert, value: [:0]const u8) void

If set to a file path, this property logs the LastErrorText of each Chilkat method or property call to the specified file. This logging helps identify the context and history of Chilkat calls leading up to any crash or hang, aiding in debugging.

Enabling the VerboseLogging property provides more detailed information. This property is mainly used for debugging rare instances where a Chilkat method call causes a hang or crash, which should generally not happen.

Possible causes of hangs include:

  • A timeout property set to 0, indicating an infinite timeout.
  • A hang occurring within an event callback in the application code.
  • An internal bug in the Chilkat code causing the hang.

More Information and Examples
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Expired
// read-only
pub fn getExpired(self: Cert) bool

Has a value of true if the certificate or any certificate in the chain of authority has expired. (This information is not available when running on Windows 95/98 computers.)

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ExtendedKeyUsage
// read-only
pub fn getExtendedKeyUsage(self: Cert, allocator: Allocator) Allocator.Error![:0]u8
Introduced in version 9.5.0.85

Returns a string containing a comma separated list of keywords with the extended key usages of the certificate. The list of possible extended key usages are:

  • serverAuth - TLS WWW server authentication
  • clientAuth - TLS WWW client authentication
  • codeSigning - Signing of downloadable executable code
  • emailProtection - Email protection
  • timeStamping - Binding the hash of an object to a time
  • OCSPSigning - Signing OCSP responses

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ForClientAuthentication
// read-only
pub fn getForClientAuthentication(self: Cert) bool

true if this certificate can be used for client authentication, otherwise false.

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ForCodeSigning
// read-only
pub fn getForCodeSigning(self: Cert) bool

true if this certificate can be used for code signing, otherwise false.

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ForSecureEmail
// read-only
pub fn getForSecureEmail(self: Cert) bool

true if this certificate can be used for sending secure email, otherwise false.

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ForServerAuthentication
// read-only
pub fn getForServerAuthentication(self: Cert) bool

true if this certificate can be used for server authentication, otherwise false.

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ForTimeStamping
// read-only
pub fn getForTimeStamping(self: Cert) bool

true if this certificate can be used for time stamping, otherwise false.

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IntendedKeyUsage
// read-only
pub fn getIntendedKeyUsage(self: Cert) u32

Bitflags indicating the intended usages of the certificate. The flags are:
Digital Signature: 0x80
Non-Repudiation: 0x40
Key Encipherment: 0x20
Data Encipherment: 0x10
Key Agreement: 0x08
Certificate Signing: 0x04
CRL Signing: 0x02
Encipher-Only: 0x01

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IsRoot
// read-only
pub fn getIsRoot(self: Cert) bool

true if this is the root certificate, otherwise false.

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IssuerC
// read-only
pub fn getIssuerC(self: Cert, allocator: Allocator) Allocator.Error![:0]u8

The certificate issuer's country.

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IssuerCN
// read-only
pub fn getIssuerCN(self: Cert, allocator: Allocator) Allocator.Error![:0]u8

The certificate issuer's common name.

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IssuerDN
// read-only
pub fn getIssuerDN(self: Cert, allocator: Allocator) Allocator.Error![:0]u8

The issuer's full distinguished name.

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IssuerE
// read-only
pub fn getIssuerE(self: Cert, allocator: Allocator) Allocator.Error![:0]u8

The certificate issuer's email address.

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IssuerL
// read-only
pub fn getIssuerL(self: Cert, allocator: Allocator) Allocator.Error![:0]u8

The certificate issuer's locality, which could be a city, count, township, or other geographic region.

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IssuerO
// read-only
pub fn getIssuerO(self: Cert, allocator: Allocator) Allocator.Error![:0]u8

The certificate issuer's organization, which is typically the company name.

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IssuerOU
// read-only
pub fn getIssuerOU(self: Cert, allocator: Allocator) Allocator.Error![:0]u8

The certificate issuer's organizational unit, which is the unit within the organization.

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IssuerS
// read-only
pub fn getIssuerS(self: Cert, allocator: Allocator) Allocator.Error![:0]u8

The certificate issuer's state or province.

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LastErrorHtml
// read-only
pub fn getLastErrorHtml(self: Cert, allocator: Allocator) Allocator.Error![:0]u8

Provides HTML-formatted information about the last called method or property. If a method call fails or behaves unexpectedly, check this property for details. Note that information is available regardless of the method call's success.

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LastErrorText
// read-only
pub fn getLastErrorText(self: Cert, allocator: Allocator) Allocator.Error![:0]u8

Provides plain text information about the last called method or property. If a method call fails or behaves unexpectedly, check this property for details. Note that information is available regardless of the method call's success.

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LastErrorXml
// read-only
pub fn getLastErrorXml(self: Cert, allocator: Allocator) Allocator.Error![:0]u8

Provides XML-formatted information about the last called method or property. If a method call fails or behaves unexpectedly, check this property for details. Note that information is available regardless of the method call's success.

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LastMethodSuccess
// read/write
pub fn getLastMethodSuccess(self: Cert) bool
pub fn setLastMethodSuccess(self: Cert, value: bool) void

Indicates the success or failure of the most recent method call: true means success, false means failure. This property remains unchanged by property setters or getters. This method is present to address challenges in checking for null or Nothing returns in certain programming languages. Note: This property does not apply to methods that return integer values or to boolean-returning methods where the boolean does not indicate success or failure.

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OcspUrl
// read-only
pub fn getOcspUrl(self: Cert, allocator: Allocator) Allocator.Error![:0]u8

If present in the certificate's extensions, returns the OCSP URL of the certificate. (The Online Certificate Status Protocol (OCSP) is an Internet protocol used for obtaining the revocation status of an X.509 digital certificate.)

More Information and Examples
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PrivateKeyExportable
// read-only
pub fn getPrivateKeyExportable(self: Cert) bool

(Relevant only when running on a Microsoft Windows operating system.) Indicates whether the private key was installed with security settings that allow it to be re-exported.

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Revoked
// read-only
pub fn getRevoked(self: Cert) bool

true if the certificate or any certificate in the chain of authority has been revoked. This information is not available when running on Windows 95/98 computers. Note: If this property is false, it could mean that it was not able to check the revocation status. Because of this uncertainty, a CheckRevoked method has been added. It returns an integer indicating one of three possible states: 1 (revoked) , 0 (not revoked), -1 (unable to check revocation status).

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Rfc822Name
// read-only
pub fn getRfc822Name(self: Cert, allocator: Allocator) Allocator.Error![:0]u8

The RFC822 name of the certificate. (The RFC822 name is one part of the Subject Alternative Name extension of a certificate, if it exists. It is often the only part of the SAN.)

If the certificate contains a list of RFC822 names then this property will return the comma separated list of names.

Starting in Chilkat v9.5.0.85, to get the complete Subject Alternative Name extension as XML, use the SubjectAlternativeName property.

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SelfSigned
// read-only
pub fn getSelfSigned(self: Cert) bool

true if this is a self-signed certificate, otherwise false.

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SerialDecimal
// read-only
pub fn getSerialDecimal(self: Cert, allocator: Allocator) Allocator.Error![:0]u8
Introduced in version 9.5.0.75

The certificate's serial number as a decimal string.

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SerialNumber
// read-only
pub fn getSerialNumber(self: Cert, allocator: Allocator) Allocator.Error![:0]u8

The certificate's serial number as a hexidecimal string.

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Sha1Thumbprint
// read-only
pub fn getSha1Thumbprint(self: Cert, allocator: Allocator) Allocator.Error![:0]u8

Hexidecimal string of the SHA-1 thumbprint for the certificate. (This is the SHA1 hash of the binary DER representation of the entire X.509 certificate.)

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SignatureVerified
// read-only
pub fn getSignatureVerified(self: Cert) bool

Returns true if the certificate and all certificates in the chain of authority have valid signatures, otherwise returns false.

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SmartCardFailReason
// read-only
pub fn getSmartCardFailReason(self: Cert) i32
Introduced in version 10.1.0

Set after calling LoadFromSmartcard. Possible values are:

  • 0 - No failure. The call to LoadFromSmartcard was successful.
  • 1 - No smartcard or USB token was detected.
  • 2 - The SmartCardPin was provided and the PIN login failed. (Note: Chilkat only PIN authenticates if PKCS11 was the chosen means for communicating with the smartcard.)
  • 3 - The certificate matching the specified criteria was not found.
  • 99 - Some other undefined failure. Consult the LastErrorText for more information.

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SmartCardNoDialog
// read/write
pub fn getSmartCardNoDialog(self: Cert) bool
pub fn setSmartCardNoDialog(self: Cert, value: bool) void
Introduced in version 9.5.0.77

If set to true, then no dialog will automatically popup if the SmartCardPin is incorrect. Instead, the method requiring the private key on the smart card will fail. The default value of this property is false, which means that if the SmartCardPin property is incorrect, a dialog with prompt will be displayed.

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SmartCardPin
// read/write
pub fn getSmartCardPin(self: Cert, allocator: Allocator) Allocator.Error![:0]u8
pub fn setSmartCardPin(self: Cert, value: [:0]const u8) void
Introduced in version 9.5.0.75

Can be set to the PIN value for a certificate / private key stored on a smart card.

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SubjectAlternativeName
// read-only
pub fn getSubjectAlternativeName(self: Cert, allocator: Allocator) Allocator.Error![:0]u8
Introduced in version 9.5.0.85

The subject alternative name (SAN) name of the certificate returned as XML. See the examples linked below.

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SubjectC
// read-only
pub fn getSubjectC(self: Cert, allocator: Allocator) Allocator.Error![:0]u8

The certificate subject's country.

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SubjectCN
// read-only
pub fn getSubjectCN(self: Cert, allocator: Allocator) Allocator.Error![:0]u8

The certificate subject's common name.

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SubjectDN
// read-only
pub fn getSubjectDN(self: Cert, allocator: Allocator) Allocator.Error![:0]u8

The certificate subject's full distinguished name.

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SubjectE
// read-only
pub fn getSubjectE(self: Cert, allocator: Allocator) Allocator.Error![:0]u8

The certificate subject's email address.

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SubjectKeyId
// read-only
pub fn getSubjectKeyId(self: Cert, allocator: Allocator) Allocator.Error![:0]u8
Introduced in version 9.5.0.40

The subject key identifier of the certificate in base64 string format. This is only present if the certificate contains the extension OID 2.5.29.14.

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SubjectL
// read-only
pub fn getSubjectL(self: Cert, allocator: Allocator) Allocator.Error![:0]u8

The certificate subject's locality, which could be a city, count, township, or other geographic region.

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SubjectO
// read-only
pub fn getSubjectO(self: Cert, allocator: Allocator) Allocator.Error![:0]u8

The certificate subject's organization, which is typically the company name.

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SubjectOU
// read-only
pub fn getSubjectOU(self: Cert, allocator: Allocator) Allocator.Error![:0]u8

The certificate subject's organizational unit, which is the unit within the organization.

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SubjectS
// read-only
pub fn getSubjectS(self: Cert, allocator: Allocator) Allocator.Error![:0]u8

The certificate subject's state or province.

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TrustedRoot
// read-only
pub fn getTrustedRoot(self: Cert) bool

Returns true if the certificate has a trusted root authority, otherwise returns false.

Note: As of version 9.5.0.41, the notion of what your application deems as trusted becomes more specific. The TrustedRoots class/object was added in v9.5.0.0. Prior to this, a certificate was considered to be anchored by a trusted root if the certificate chain could be established to a root (self-signed) certificate, AND if the root certificate was located somewhere in the Windows registry-based certificate stores. There are two problems with this: (1) it's a Windows-only solution. This property would always return false on non-Windows systems, and (2) it might be considered not a strong enough set of conditions for trusting a root certificate.

As of version 9.5.0.41, this property pays attention to the new TrustedRoots class/object, which allows for an application to specificallly indicate which root certificates are to be trusted. Certificates may be added to the TrustedRoots object via the LoadCaCertsPem or AddCert methods, and then activated by calling the TrustedRoots.Activate method. The activated trusted roots are deemed to be trusted in any Chilkat API method/property that needs to make this determination. In addition, the TrustedRoots object has a property named TrustSystemCaRoots, which defaults to true, which allows for backward compatibility. It will trust CA certificates stored in the Windows registry-based certificate stores, or if on Linux, will trust certificates found in /etc/ssl/certs/ca-certificates.crt.

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UncommonOptions
// read/write
pub fn getUncommonOptions(self: Cert, allocator: Allocator) Allocator.Error![:0]u8
pub fn setUncommonOptions(self: Cert, value: [:0]const u8) void
Introduced in version 9.5.0.87

This is a catch-all property to be used for uncommon needs. This property defaults to the empty string, and should typically remain empty. Possible comma separated keywords can include:

  • CheckRevokedCacheOnly: Added in v11.2.0. In the CheckRevoked method, prevents network access and only checks the cached revocation information on the local computer.

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ValidFromStr
// read-only
pub fn getValidFromStr(self: Cert, allocator: Allocator) Allocator.Error![:0]u8

The date (in RFC822 string format) that this certificate becomes (or became) valid. It is a GMT/UTC date that is returned.

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ValidToStr
// read-only
pub fn getValidToStr(self: Cert, allocator: Allocator) Allocator.Error![:0]u8

The date (in RFC822 string format) that this certificate expires. It is a GMT/UTC date that is returned.

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VerboseLogging
// read/write
pub fn getVerboseLogging(self: Cert) bool
pub fn setVerboseLogging(self: Cert, value: bool) void

If set to true, then the contents of LastErrorText (or LastErrorXml, or LastErrorHtml) may contain more verbose information. The default value is false. Verbose logging should only be used for debugging. The potentially large quantity of logged information may adversely affect peformance.

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Version
// read-only
pub fn getVersion(self: Cert, allocator: Allocator) Allocator.Error![:0]u8

Version of the component/library, such as "10.1.0"

More Information and Examples
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Methods

BuildCertChain
pub fn buildCertChain(self: Cert, cert_chain: chilkat.CertChain) Error!void
Introduced in version 11.0.0

Builds the certificate chain in cert_chain containing all the certificates (including this one), in the chain of authentication to the trusted root (if possible). If this certificate object was loaded from a PFX, then the certiicates contained in the PFX are automatically available for building the certificate chain. The UseCertVault method can be called to provide additional certificates that might be required to build the cert chain. Finally, the TrustedRoots object can be used to provide a way of making trusted root certificates available.

Note: Returns true even if certificate chain is not completed to the root. The certificate chain's ReachesRoot property can be examined to see if the chain was completed to the root.

On Windows systems, the registry-based certificate stores are automatically consulted if needed to locate intermediate or root certificates in the chain. Chilkat searches certificate stores in the following order. See System Store Locations for more information.

  1. Current-User CA Certificate Store
  2. Local-Machine CA Certificate Store
  3. Current-User Root Certificate Store
  4. Local-Machine Root Certificate Store
  5. Current-User MY Certificate Store
  6. Local-Machine MY Certificate Store
  7. Current-User ADDRESSBOOK Certificate Store (if it exists)
  8. Local-Machine ADDRESSBOOK Certificate Store (if it exists)

Returns error.ChilkatFailed on failure; getLastErrorText explains why.

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CheckRevoked
pub fn checkRevoked(self: Cert) i32

Returns 1 if the certificate has been revoked, 0 if not revoked, and -1 if unable to check the revocation status.

Note: This method is only implemented on Windows systems. It uses the underlying Microsoft CertVerifyRevocation Platform SDK function to check the revocation status of a certificate. (Search CertVerifyRevocation to get information about it.) Starting in v11.2.0, the keyword "CheckRevokedCacheOnly" can be included in the UncommonOptions to prevent the Microsoft revocation handler from accessing any network based resources for revocation checking. In other words, just check the cached revocation information on the local computer.

Non-Windows (and Windows) applications can send an OCSP request as shown in the example below.

More Information and Examples
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CheckSmartCardPin
pub fn checkSmartCardPin(self: Cert) i32
Introduced in version 9.5.0.77

Verifies that the SmartCardPin property setting is correct. Returns 1 if correct, 0 if incorrect, and -1 if unable to check because the underlying CSP does not support the functionality.

More Information and Examples
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ExportCertDerBd
pub fn exportCertDerBd(self: Cert, cer_data: chilkat.BinData) Error!void
Introduced in version 9.5.0.70

Exports the digital certificate in ASN.1 DER format to a BinData object.

Returns error.ChilkatFailed on failure; getLastErrorText explains why.

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ExportCertDerFile
pub fn exportCertDerFile(self: Cert, path: [:0]const u8) Error!void

Exports the digital certificate to ASN.1 DER format binary file.

Returns error.ChilkatFailed on failure; getLastErrorText explains why.

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ExportCertPem
pub fn exportCertPem(self: Cert, allocator: Allocator) (Error || Allocator.Error)![:0]u8

Exports the digital certificate to an unencrypted PEM formatted string.

Returns error.ChilkatFailed on failure; getLastErrorText explains why. The string is allocated with allocator and owned by the caller (defer allocator.free(s)).

More Information and Examples
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ExportCertPemFile
pub fn exportCertPemFile(self: Cert, path: [:0]const u8) Error!void

Exports the digital certificate to an unencrypted PEM formatted file.

Returns error.ChilkatFailed on failure; getLastErrorText explains why.

More Information and Examples
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ExportCertXml
pub fn exportCertXml(self: Cert, allocator: Allocator) (Error || Allocator.Error)![:0]u8

Exports a certificate to an XML format where the XML tags are the names of the ASN.1 objects that compose the X.509 certificate. Binary data is either hex or base64 encoded. (The binary data for a bits ASN.1 tag is hex encoded, whereas for all other ASN.1 tags, such as octets, it is base64.)

Returns error.ChilkatFailed on failure; getLastErrorText explains why. The string is allocated with allocator and owned by the caller (defer allocator.free(s)).

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ExportToPfxBd
pub fn exportToPfxBd(self: Cert, password: [:0]const u8, include_cert_chain: bool, pfx_data: chilkat.BinData) Error!void
Introduced in version 9.5.0.70

Exports the certificate and private key (if available) to pfx_data. The password is what will be required to access the PFX contents at a later time. If include_cert_chain is true, then the certificates in the chain of authority are also included in the PFX.

Returns error.ChilkatFailed on failure; getLastErrorText explains why.

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ExportToPfxFile
pub fn exportToPfxFile(self: Cert, pfx_filename: [:0]const u8, pfx_password: [:0]const u8, b_include_cert_chain: bool) Error!void

Exports the certificate and private key (if available) to a PFX (.pfx or .p12) file. The output PFX is secured using the pfx_password. If b_include_cert_chain is true, then the certificates in the chain of authority are also included in the PFX output file.

Returns error.ChilkatFailed on failure; getLastErrorText explains why.

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FindIssuer
pub fn findIssuer(self: Cert) Error!Cert

Finds and returns the issuer certificate. If the certificate is a root or self-issued, then the certificate returned is a copy of the caller certificate. (The IsRoot property can be check to see if the certificate is a root (or self-issued) certificate.)

Returns error.ChilkatFailed on failure; getLastErrorText explains why. The returned object is owned by the caller: release it with deinit.

More Information and Examples
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GetEncoded
pub fn getEncoded(self: Cert, allocator: Allocator) (Error || Allocator.Error)![:0]u8

Returns a base64 encoded string representation of the certificate's binary DER format, which can be passed to SetFromEncoded to recreate the certificate object.

Returns error.ChilkatFailed on failure; getLastErrorText explains why. The string is allocated with allocator and owned by the caller (defer allocator.free(s)).

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GetExtensionAsText
pub fn getExtensionAsText(self: Cert, allocator: Allocator, oid: [:0]const u8) (Error || Allocator.Error)![:0]u8
Introduced in version 9.5.0.89

Returns the certificate extension data as a string. This method should only be called for those extensions with text values NOT stored as binary ASN.1. In most cases, applications should call GetExtensionAsXml because most extensions contain ASN.1 values that need to be decoded..

Returns error.ChilkatFailed on failure; getLastErrorText explains why. The string is allocated with allocator and owned by the caller (defer allocator.free(s)).

More Information and Examples
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GetExtensionAsXml
pub fn getExtensionAsXml(self: Cert, allocator: Allocator, oid: [:0]const u8) (Error || Allocator.Error)![:0]u8
Introduced in version 9.5.0.49

Returns the certificate extension data in XML format (converted from ASN.1). The oid is an OID, such as the ones listed here: http://www.alvestrand.no/objectid/2.5.29.html

Note: In many cases, the data within the XML is returned base64 encoded. An application may need to take one further step to base64 decode the information contained within the XML.

Returns error.ChilkatFailed on failure; getLastErrorText explains why. The string is allocated with allocator and owned by the caller (defer allocator.free(s)).

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GetExtensionBd
pub fn getExtensionBd(self: Cert, oid: [:0]const u8, bd: chilkat.BinData) Error!void
Introduced in version 9.5.0.96

Returns the certificate extension data specified by oid in bd.

Returns error.ChilkatFailed on failure; getLastErrorText explains why.

More Information and Examples
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GetIssuer
pub fn getIssuer(self: Cert, issuer: Cert) Error!void
Introduced in version 11.0.0

Finds and returns the issuer certificate in issuer. If the certificate is a root or self-issued, then the certificate returned is a copy of the caller certificate. (The IsRoot property can be check to see if the certificate is a root (or self-issued) certificate.)

Returns error.ChilkatFailed on failure; getLastErrorText explains why.

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GetPrivateKey
pub fn getPrivateKey(self: Cert, priv_key: chilkat.PrivateKey) Error!void
Introduced in version 11.0.0

Loads the priv_key with the certificate's private key, if it exists. Returns false if the certificate has no associated private key.

Returns error.ChilkatFailed on failure; getLastErrorText explains why.

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GetPrivateKeyPem
pub fn getPrivateKeyPem(self: Cert, allocator: Allocator) (Error || Allocator.Error)![:0]u8

Exports the certificate's private key to a PEM string (if the private key is available).

Returns error.ChilkatFailed on failure; getLastErrorText explains why. The string is allocated with allocator and owned by the caller (defer allocator.free(s)).

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GetPubKeyDer
pub fn getPubKeyDer(self: Cert, prefer_pkcs1: bool, bd: chilkat.BinData) Error!void
Introduced in version 9.5.0.92

Loads the bd with the certificate's public key in ASN.1 DER format. If the key type (such as RSA) supports both PKCS1 and PKCS8 formats, then prefer_pkcs1 selects which format to return.

Returns error.ChilkatFailed on failure; getLastErrorText explains why.

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GetPublicKey
pub fn getPublicKey(self: Cert, pub_key: chilkat.PublicKey) Error!void
Introduced in version 11.0.0

Loads the pub_key with the certificate's public key.

Returns error.ChilkatFailed on failure; getLastErrorText explains why.

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GetSignature
pub fn getSignature(self: Cert, bd: chilkat.BinData) Error!void
Introduced in version 9.5.0.92

Loads the bd with the certificate's signature.

Returns error.ChilkatFailed on failure; getLastErrorText explains why.

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GetSpkiFingerprint
pub fn getSpkiFingerprint(self: Cert, allocator: Allocator, hash_alg: [:0]const u8, encoding: [:0]const u8) (Error || Allocator.Error)![:0]u8
Introduced in version 9.5.0.55

Returns the SPKI Fingerprint suitable for use in pinning. (See RFC 7469.) An SPKI Fingerprint is defined as the output of a known cryptographic hash algorithm whose input is the DER-encoded ASN.1 representation of the Subject Public Key Info (SPKI) of an X.509 certificate. The hash_alg specifies the hash algorithm and may be sha256, sha384, sha512, sha1, md2, md5, haval, ripemd128, ripemd160,ripemd256, or ripemd320. The encoding specifies the encoding, and may be base64, hex, or any of the encoding modes specified in the article at the link below.

Returns error.ChilkatFailed on failure; getLastErrorText explains why. The string is allocated with allocator and owned by the caller (defer allocator.free(s)).

More Information and Examples
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GetSubjectPart
pub fn getSubjectPart(self: Cert, allocator: Allocator, part_name_or_oid: [:0]const u8) (Error || Allocator.Error)![:0]u8
Introduced in version 9.5.0.85

Returns a part of the certificate's subject by name or OID. The part_name_or_oid can be a part name, such as CN, O, OU, E, S, L, C, or SERIALNUMBER, or it can be an OID such as 2.5.4.3.

Returns error.ChilkatFailed on failure; getLastErrorText explains why. The string is allocated with allocator and owned by the caller (defer allocator.free(s)).

More Information and Examples
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HashOf
pub fn hashOf(self: Cert, allocator: Allocator, part: [:0]const u8, hash_alg: [:0]const u8, encoding: [:0]const u8) (Error || Allocator.Error)![:0]u8
Introduced in version 9.5.0.75

Returns an encoded hash of a particular part of the certificate. The part may be one of the following:

  • IssuerDN
  • IssuerPublicKey
  • SubjectDN
  • SubjectPublicKey

The hash_alg is the name of the hash algorithm, such as sha1, sha256, sha384, sha512, md5, etc. The encoding is the format to return, such as hex, base64, etc.

Returns error.ChilkatFailed on failure; getLastErrorText explains why. The string is allocated with allocator and owned by the caller (defer allocator.free(s)).

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HasPrivateKey
pub fn hasPrivateKey(self: Cert) bool

Returns true if a private key associated with the certificate is available.

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IsEcdsa
pub fn isEcdsa(self: Cert) bool
Introduced in version 10.1.0

Returns true if certificate is ECDSA-based (i.e. has an ECDSA key).

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IsRsa
pub fn isRsa(self: Cert) bool
Introduced in version 10.1.0

Returns true if certificate is RSA-based (i.e. has an RSA key).

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LinkPkcs11
pub fn linkPkcs11(self: Cert, session: chilkat.Pkcs11) Error!void
Introduced in version 9.5.0.96

Links to the certificate's private key located on an HSM (smart card, token, or cloud HSM). Once linked, the certificate can be used for signing where the signing occurs on the HSM. See the example below for more detailed information.

Returns error.ChilkatFailed on failure; getLastErrorText explains why.

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LoadByCommonName
pub fn loadByCommonName(self: Cert, cn: [:0]const u8) Error!void

This method searches for a certificate with the specified common name (CN) on different operating systems. - On Windows, it searches the Local Machine and Current User certificate stores. - On macOS and iOS, it searches the Default and System Keychains. If the certificate is found, it is loaded and ready for use.

Note: Chilkat v10.0.0 or later is needed for Apple Keychain.

Returns error.ChilkatFailed on failure; getLastErrorText explains why.

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LoadByEmailAddress
pub fn loadByEmailAddress(self: Cert, email_address: [:0]const u8) Error!void

This method searches for a certificate with the specified email address on different operating systems. - On Windows, it searches the Local Machine and Current User certificate stores. - On macOS and iOS, it searches the Default and System Keychains. If the certificate is found, it is loaded and ready for use.

Note: Chilkat v10.0.0 or later is needed for Apple Keychain.

Returns error.ChilkatFailed on failure; getLastErrorText explains why.

More Information and Examples
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LoadByIssuerAndSerialNumber
pub fn loadByIssuerAndSerialNumber(self: Cert, issuer_cn: [:0]const u8, serial_number: [:0]const u8) Error!void

This method searches for a certificate with the specified issuer common name (issuer_cn) and serial number (serial_number) on different operating systems. - On Windows, it searches the Local Machine and Current User certificate stores. - On macOS and iOS, it searches the Default and System Keychains. If the certificate is found, it is loaded and ready for use.

Note: Chilkat v10.0.0 or later is needed for Apple Keychain.

Returns error.ChilkatFailed on failure; getLastErrorText explains why.

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LoadBySubjectOid
pub fn loadBySubjectOid(self: Cert, oid: [:0]const u8, value: [:0]const u8) Error!void
Introduced in version 9.5.0.85

This method searches for a certificate containing a subject part matching the oid and value. On Windows, it searches the Local Machine and Current User certificate stores. - On macOS and iOS, it searches the Default and System Keychains. If the certificate is found, it is loaded and ready for use.

Note: Chilkat v10.0.0 or later is needed for Apple Keychain.

Returns error.ChilkatFailed on failure; getLastErrorText explains why.

More Information and Examples
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LoadByThumbprint
pub fn loadByThumbprint(self: Cert, thumbprint: [:0]const u8, encoding: [:0]const u8) Error!void
Introduced in version 9.5.0.83

This method searches for a certificate with the specified thumbprint. The thumbprint is passed as a string using the encoding specified by encoding (such as base64, hex, etc.).

On Windows, it searches the Local Machine and Current User certificate stores. - On macOS and iOS, it searches the Default and System Keychains. If the certificate is found, it is loaded and ready for use.

Note: Chilkat v10.0.0 or later is needed for Apple Keychain.

Returns error.ChilkatFailed on failure; getLastErrorText explains why.

More Information and Examples
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LoadFromBase64
pub fn loadFromBase64(self: Cert, encoded_cert: [:0]const u8) Error!void

Loads an ASN.1 or DER encoded certificate represented in a Base64 string.

Returns error.ChilkatFailed on failure; getLastErrorText explains why.

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LoadFromBd
pub fn loadFromBd(self: Cert, cert_bytes: chilkat.BinData) Error!void
Introduced in version 9.5.0.70

Loads an X.509 certificate from data contained in cert_bytes.

Note: The cert_bytes may contain the certificate in any format. It can be binary DER (ASN.1), PEM, Base64, etc. Chilkat will automatically detect the format.

Returns error.ChilkatFailed on failure; getLastErrorText explains why.

More Information and Examples
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LoadFromFile
pub fn loadFromFile(self: Cert, path: [:0]const u8) Error!void

Loads a certificate from a .cer, .crt, .p7b, or .pem file. This method accepts certificates from files in any of the following formats:
1. DER encoded binary X.509 (.CER)
2. Base-64 encoded X.509 (.CER)
3. Cryptographic Message Syntax Standard - PKCS #7 Certificates (.P7B)
4. PEM format
This method decodes the certificate based on the contents if finds within the file, and not based on the file extension. If your certificate is in a file having a different extension, try loading it using this method before assuming it won't work. This method does not load .p12 or .pfx (PKCS #12) files.

Returns error.ChilkatFailed on failure; getLastErrorText explains why.

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LoadFromSmartcard
pub fn loadFromSmartcard(self: Cert, cert_spec: [:0]const u8) Error!void
Introduced in version 9.5.0.77

Important: It's important to set the SmartCardPin property before calling this method.

Loads a certificate and its associated private key (if available) from a connected USB token or smart card. This function works on Windows, Linux, MacOS, iOS, and Alpine Linux. If multiple USB tokens and/or smartcards are connected to the system, then each will be searched and the first matching certificate will be loaded.

The cert_spec can have the following formats and values:

  • Empty String: Passing the empty string is the most common way to call this function. Pass the empty string when only one HSM (USB token or smart card) is connected to the system, and it contains only one certificate with a private key. The HSM can contain other certificates, but Chilkat will automatically choose and load the certificate that has the associated private key also located on the HSM.
  • cn=<cert subject common name>: Finds and loads the certificate having the specified subject common name (CN).
  • subjectdn_withtags=<distinguished name with tags>: Finds and loads the certificate having the specified DN with tags. For example, subjectdn_withtags=C=US, O=Example Corporation, OU=IT Department, CN=www.example.com
  • subjectdn=<distinguished name without tags>: Finds and loads the certificate having the specified DN without tags. For example, subjectdn=US, California, San Francisco, Example Corp, Engineering, www.example.com, support@example.com
  • issuercn=<subject hex serial:issuer common name>: Finds and loads the certificate having the specified hex serial number and an issuer with the specified common name. For example, 01020304: Let's Encrypt Authority X1
  • serial=<hex serial number>: Finds and loads the certificate having the specified hexidecimal serial number.
  • thumbprint=<hex SHA1 thumbprint>: Finds and loads the certificate having the specified hexidecimal SHA1 thumbprint.
  • policyoid=<certificate policy OID>: Finds and loads the certificate having a policy OID equal to the specified value, such as 2.16.840.1.101.2.1.11.39.
  • o=<subject organization>: Finds and loads the certificate having the O subject part equal to the specified value.
  • c=<subject country>: Finds and loads the certificate having the C subject part equal to the specified value.
  • l=<subject locality>: Finds and loads the certificate having the L subject part equal to the specified value.
  • ou=<subject organizational unit>: Finds and loads the certificate having the OU subject part equal to the specified value.
  • st=<subject state>: Finds and loads the certificate having the ST subject part equal to the specified value.
  • e=<subject email>: Finds and loads the certificate having the E subject part equal to the specified value.

On Windows systems, cert_spec can specify a CSP (Cryptographic Service Provider) name, such as YubiHSM Key Storage Provider. This option is retained for legacy support, as Chilkat initially handled USB tokens and smartcards only on Windows via CSPs. Chilkat now supports HSMs across multiple platforms (Windows, Linux, macOS, iOS, Alpine Linux) and uses various methods to communicate with HSMs, including PKCS11, macOS Keychain services, Windows ScMinidriver, MsCNG, and legacy Windows CryptoAPI. Chilkat automatically detects the HSM make/model and selects the optimal communication method.

Some possible CSP values are:

  • Microsoft Smart Card Key Storage Provider
  • Microsoft Base Smart Card Crypto Provider
  • Bit4id Universal Middleware Provider
  • YubiHSM Key Storage Provider (starting in v9.5.0.83)
  • SafeSign Standard Cryptographic Service Provider
  • SafeSign Standard RSA and AES Cryptographic Service Provider
  • eToken Base Cryptographic Provider
  • cryptoCertum3 CSP
  • FTSafe ePass1000 RSA Cryptographic Service Provider
  • SecureStoreCSP
  • EnterSafe ePass2003 CSP v2.0
  • Gemalto Classic Card CSP
  • PROXKey CSP India V1.0
  • PROXKey CSP India V2.0
  • TRUST KEY CSP V1.0
  • Watchdata Brazil CSP V1.0
  • Luna Cryptographic Services for Microsoft Windows
  • Luna SChannel Cryptographic Services for Microsoft Windows
  • Safenet RSA Full Cryptographic Provider
  • nCipher Enhanced Cryptographic Provider
  • MySmartLogon NFC CSP
  • NFC Connector Enterprise
  • ActivClient Cryptographic Service Provider
  • EnterSafe ePass2003 CSP v1.0
  • Oberthur Card Systems Cryptographic Provider
  • Athena ASECard Crypto CSP
  • many others...

Returns error.ChilkatFailed on failure; getLastErrorText explains why.

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LoadPem
pub fn loadPem(self: Cert, str_pem: [:0]const u8) Error!void
Introduced in version 9.5.0.49

Loads the certificate from a PEM string.

Returns error.ChilkatFailed on failure; getLastErrorText explains why.

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LoadPfxBd
pub fn loadPfxBd(self: Cert, pfx_data: chilkat.BinData, password: [:0]const u8) Error!void
Introduced in version 9.5.0.70

Loads the certificate from the PFX contained in pfx_data. Note: If the PFX contains multiple certificates, the 1st certificate in the PFX is loaded.

Returns error.ChilkatFailed on failure; getLastErrorText explains why.

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LoadPfxFile
pub fn loadPfxFile(self: Cert, pfx_path: [:0]const u8, password: [:0]const u8) Error!void

Loads a PFX file. Note: If the PFX contains multiple certificates, the 1st certificate in the PFX is loaded.

Returns error.ChilkatFailed on failure; getLastErrorText explains why.

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PemFileToDerFile
pub fn pemFileToDerFile(self: Cert, from_path: [:0]const u8, to_path: [:0]const u8) Error!void

Converts a PEM file to a DER file.

Returns error.ChilkatFailed on failure; getLastErrorText explains why.

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SaveToFile
pub fn saveToFile(self: Cert, path: [:0]const u8) Error!void

Saves a certificate object to a .cer file.

Returns error.ChilkatFailed on failure; getLastErrorText explains why.

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SetCloudSigner
pub fn setCloudSigner(self: Cert, json: chilkat.JsonObject) Error!void
Introduced in version 9.5.0.96

Provides information for a cloud signing service to do the signing via a remote signing server. Current supported services are AWS KMS, Azure Key Vault, and ARSS (Aruba Remote Signing Service). See the examples below.

Returns error.ChilkatFailed on failure; getLastErrorText explains why.

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SetFromEncoded
pub fn setFromEncoded(self: Cert, encoded_cert: [:0]const u8) Error!void

Initializes the certificate object from a base64 encoded string representation of the certificate's binary DER format.

Returns error.ChilkatFailed on failure; getLastErrorText explains why.

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SetPrivateKey
pub fn setPrivateKey(self: Cert, priv_key: chilkat.PrivateKey) Error!void

Used to associate a private key with the certificate for subsequent (PKCS7) signature creation or decryption.

Returns error.ChilkatFailed on failure; getLastErrorText explains why.

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SetPrivateKeyPem
pub fn setPrivateKeyPem(self: Cert, priv_key_pem: [:0]const u8) Error!void

Same as SetPrivateKey, but the key is provided in unencrypted PEM format. (Note: The priv_key_pem is not a file path, it is the actual PEM text.)

Returns error.ChilkatFailed on failure; getLastErrorText explains why.

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Unload
pub fn unload(self: Cert) Error!void
Introduced in version 11.0.0

Unload the certificate, which could mean closing a PKCS11 session if the certificate was loaded from a smart card.

Returns error.ChilkatFailed on failure; getLastErrorText explains why.

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UploadToCloud
pub fn uploadToCloud(self: Cert, json_in: chilkat.JsonObject, json_out: chilkat.JsonObject) Error!void
Introduced in version 9.5.0.96

This is an open-ended method to accomodate uploading the private key to a cloud service, such as AWS KMS, or Azure Key Vault. For details, see the examples below.

Returns error.ChilkatFailed on failure; getLastErrorText explains why.

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UseCertVault
pub fn useCertVault(self: Cert, vault: chilkat.XmlCertVault) Error!void
Introduced in version 9.5.0.40

Adds an XML certificate vault to the object's internal list of sources to be searched for certificates for help in building certificate chains and verifying the certificate signature to the trusted root.

Returns error.ChilkatFailed on failure; getLastErrorText explains why.

More Information and Examples
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VerifySignature
pub fn verifySignature(self: Cert) bool
Introduced in version 9.5.0.40

Verifies the certificate signature, as well as the signatures of all certificates in the chain of authentication to the trusted root. Returns true if all signatures are verified to the trusted root. Otherwise returns false.

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X509PKIPathv1
pub fn x509PKIPathv1(self: Cert, allocator: Allocator) (Error || Allocator.Error)![:0]u8
Introduced in version 9.5.0.77

Returns the base64 representation of an X509PKIPathv1 containing just the calling certificate. This is typically used in an X.509 Binary Security Token. It is a PKIPath that contains an ordered list of X.509 public certificates packaged in a PKIPath. The X509PKIPathv1 token type may be used to represent a certificate path. (This is sometimes used in XAdES signatures.)

Returns error.ChilkatFailed on failure; getLastErrorText explains why. The string is allocated with allocator and owned by the caller (defer allocator.free(s)).

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Events

All Chilkat methods are synchronous: the call returns when the work is done. During a call, Cert raises three events so your program can show progress and offer a way out. Declare any subset of abortCheck, percentDone and progressInfo in a struct of your own and install a pointer to it with setEventHandler:

const Progress = struct {
    pub fn percentDone(_: *Progress, pct: i32) bool {
        std.debug.print("{d}%\n", .{pct});
        return false; // return true to abort the method in progress
    }
    pub fn progressInfo(_: *Progress, name: [:0]const u8, value: [:0]const u8) void {
        std.debug.print("{s}: {s}\n", .{ name, value });
    }
};

var progress = Progress{};
cert.setEventHandler(&progress); // progress must outlive the installation
defer cert.clearEventHandler();
cert.setHeartbeatMs(250); // abortCheck 4 times per second during Chilkat calls
pub fn setEventHandler(self: Cert, handler: anytype) void

Installs handler, a pointer to any struct, as the receiver of this object's events, replacing any handler installed earlier. The dispatch is resolved at compile time: only the methods the struct declares are called, and a struct declaring none of the three is a compile error. The struct must stay alive, at the same address, until clearEventHandler or deinit.

pub fn clearEventHandler(self: Cert) void

Removes the handler; events are no longer delivered.

AbortCheck fires at regular intervals controlled by the HeartbeatMs property (0, the default, disables it); PercentDone fires when an operation's completion percentage is known; ProgressInfo delivers named progress values. Returning true from abortCheck or percentDone aborts the running method, which then returns error.ChilkatFailed.

Events fire on the thread that called the method, before that method returns. To abort a long operation from another thread, have abortCheck read a std.atomic.Value(bool), or set the object's AbortCurrent property.

AbortCheck
// handler struct method (optional); install with setEventHandler
pub fn abortCheck(self: *T) bool

Enables a method call to be aborted by triggering the AbortCheck event at intervals defined by the HeartbeatMs property. If HeartbeatMs is set to its default value of 0, no events will occur. For instance, set HeartbeatMs to 200 to trigger 5 AbortCheck events per second.

More Information and Examples

Example

const Abort = struct {
    stop: std.atomic.Value(bool) = .init(false),
    pub fn abortCheck(self: *Abort) bool {
        return self.stop.load(.acquire); // another thread may call abort.stop.store(true, .release)
    }
};

var abort = Abort{};
cert.setHeartbeatMs(250); // call abortCheck 4 times per second
cert.setEventHandler(&abort);
defer cert.clearEventHandler();
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PercentDone
// handler struct method (optional); install with setEventHandler
pub fn percentDone(self: *T, pct: i32) bool

This provides the percentage completion for any method involving network communications or time-consuming processing, assuming the progress can be measured as a percentage. This event is triggered only when it's possible and logical to express the operation's progress as a percentage. The pctDone argument will range from 1 to 100. For methods that finish quickly, the number of PercentDone callbacks may vary, but the final callback will have pctDone equal to 100. For longer operations, callbacks will not exceed one per percentage point (e.g., 1, 2, 3, ..., 98, 99, 100).

The PercentDone callback also acts as an AbortCheck event. For fast methods where PercentDone fires, an AbortCheck event may not trigger since the PercentDone callback already provides an opportunity to abort. For longer operations, where time between PercentDone callbacks is extended, AbortCheck callbacks enable more responsive operation termination.

To abort the operation, set the abort output argument to true. This will cause the method to terminate and return a failure status or corresponding failure value.

More Information and Examples

Example

const Progress = struct {
    pub fn percentDone(_: *Progress, pct: i32) bool {
        // pct ranges from 1 to 100.
        std.debug.print("Percent done: {d}\n", .{pct});
        return false; // return true to abort the method in progress
    }
};

var progress = Progress{};
cert.setEventHandler(&progress);
defer cert.clearEventHandler();
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ProgressInfo
// handler struct method (optional); install with setEventHandler
pub fn progressInfo(self: *T, name: [:0]const u8, value: [:0]const u8) void

This event callback provides tag name/value pairs that detail what occurs during a method call. To discover existing tag names, create code to handle the event, emit the pairs, and review them. Most tag names are self-explanatory.

Note: Some Chilkat methods don't fire any ProgressInfo events.

More Information and Examples

Example

const Info = struct {
    pub fn progressInfo(_: *Info, name: [:0]const u8, value: [:0]const u8) void {
        std.debug.print("{s}: {s}\n", .{ name, value });
    }
};

var info = Info{};
cert.setEventHandler(&info);
defer cert.clearEventHandler();
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