Pem Python Reference Documentation

Pem

Current Version: 10.0.0

For creating, loading, parsing, converting, and saving in the PEM format.

Note: There are many types of objects that can be stored in PEM format. Chilkat supports certificates, private keys, and public keys. There is still much more to do. If there is a need to support a particular type of content, contact Chilkat (support@chilkatsoft.com).

Object Creation

obj = chilkat2.Pem()

Properties

AppendMode
bool AppendMode
Introduced in version 9.5.0.49

When set to True, each of the Load* methods appends to the current contents of this PEM object. When set to False, a Load* method replaces the contents of this PEM object. The default is False.

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DebugLogFilePath
string DebugLogFilePath

If set to a file path, causes each Chilkat method or property call to automatically append it's LastErrorText to the specified log file. The information is appended such that if a hang or crash occurs, it is possible to see the context in which the problem occurred, as well as a history of all Chilkat calls up to the point of the problem. The VerboseLogging property can be set to provide more detailed information.

This property is typically used for debugging the rare cases where a Chilkat method call hangs or generates an exception that halts program execution (i.e. crashes). A hang or crash should generally never happen. The typical causes of a hang are:

  1. a timeout related property was set to 0 to explicitly indicate that an infinite timeout is desired,
  2. the hang is actually a hang within an event callback (i.e. it is a hang within the application code), or
  3. there is an internal problem (bug) in the Chilkat code that causes the hang.

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LastErrorHtml
string LastErrorHtml (read-only)

Provides information in HTML format about the last method/property called. If a method call returns a value indicating failure, or behaves unexpectedly, examine this property to get more information.

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LastErrorText
string LastErrorText (read-only)

Provides information in plain-text format about the last method/property called. If a method call returns a value indicating failure, or behaves unexpectedly, examine this property to get more information.

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LastErrorXml
string LastErrorXml (read-only)

Provides information in XML format about the last method/property called. If a method call returns a value indicating failure, or behaves unexpectedly, examine this property to get more information.

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LastMethodSuccess
bool LastMethodSuccess

Indicate whether the last method call succeeded or failed. A value of True indicates success, a value of False indicates failure. This property is automatically set for method calls. It is not modified by property accesses. The property is automatically set to indicate success for the following types of method calls:

  • Any method that returns a string.
  • Any method returning a Chilkat object, binary bytes, or a date/time.
  • Any method returning a standard boolean status value where success = True and failure = False.
  • Any method returning an integer where failure is defined by a return value less than zero.

Note: Methods that do not fit the above requirements will always set this property equal to True. For example, a method that returns no value (such as a "void" in C++) will technically always succeed.

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NumCerts
int NumCerts (read-only)
Introduced in version 9.5.0.49

The number of certificates in the loaded PEM. To get the 1st certificate, call GetCert(0).

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NumCrls
int NumCrls (read-only)
Introduced in version 9.5.0.77

The number of certificate revocation lists (CRLs) in the loaded PEM.

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NumCsrs
int NumCsrs (read-only)
Introduced in version 9.5.0.50

The number of certificate signing requests (CSRs) in the loaded PEM.

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NumPrivateKeys
int NumPrivateKeys (read-only)
Introduced in version 9.5.0.49

The number of private keys in the loaded PEM. To get the 1st private key, call GetPrivateKey(0).

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NumPublicKeys
int NumPublicKeys (read-only)
Introduced in version 9.5.0.49

The number of public keys in the loaded PEM. To get the 1st public key, call GetPublicKey(0).

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PrivateKeyFormat
string PrivateKeyFormat
Introduced in version 9.5.0.49

Controls the format to be used for unencrypted private keys when writing a PEM. Possible values are "pkcs1" and "pkcs8". (OpenSSL typically uses the "pkcs8" format.) When writing encrypted private keys to PEM, the format is always PKCS8, and the PEM header is "BEGIN ENCRYPTED PRIVATE KEY". The default is "pkcs8".

The PKCS1 format uses the PEM header: BEGIN RSA PRIVATE KEY.
The PKCS8 format uses the PEM header: BEGIN PRIVATE KEY.

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PublicKeyFormat
string PublicKeyFormat
Introduced in version 9.5.0.49

Controls the format to be used for public keys when writing a PEM. Possible values are "pkcs1" and "pkcs8". (OpenSSL typically uses the "pkcs8" format.) The default is "pkcs8".

The PKCS1 format uses the PEM header: BEGIN RSA PUBLIC KEY.
The PKCS8 format uses the PEM header: BEGIN PUBLIC KEY.

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VerboseLogging
bool VerboseLogging

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
string Version (read-only)

Version of the component/library, such as "9.5.0.94"

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Methods

AddCert
bool AddCert(Cert cert, bool includeChain)
Introduced in version 9.5.0.49

Adds a certificate, and potentially the certs in its chain of authentication to the PEM. If includeChain is True, then certificates in the cert's chain of authentication up to and including the root are automatically added.

Returns True for success, False for failure.

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AddItem
bool AddItem(string itemType, string encoding, string itemData)
Introduced in version 9.5.0.59

Adds a certificate, private key, public key, or csr to the PEM. The possible values for itemType are "certificate" (or "cert"), "privateKey", "publicKey", or "csr". The encoding can be "Base64", "modBase64", "Base32", "QP" (for quoted-printable), "URL" (for url-encoding), "Hex", "url_oauth", "url_rfc1738", "url_rfc2396", and "url_rfc3986". The itemData contains the ASN.1 data in string format according to the encoding specified in encoding.

Returns True for success, False for failure.

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AddPrivateKey
bool AddPrivateKey(PrivateKey privateKey)
Introduced in version 9.5.0.49

Adds a private key to the PEM object.

Returns True for success, False for failure.

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AddPrivateKey2
bool AddPrivateKey2(PrivateKey privKey, CertChain certChain)
Introduced in version 9.5.0.49

Adds a private key and it's associated certificate chain to the PEM object.

Returns True for success, False for failure.

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AddPublicKey
bool AddPublicKey(PublicKey pubkey)
Introduced in version 9.5.0.49

Adds a public key to the PEM object.

Returns True for success, False for failure.

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Clear
bool Clear()
Introduced in version 9.5.0.49

Removes all content from this PEM object.

Returns True for success, False for failure.

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GetCert
Cert GetCert(int index)
Introduced in version 9.5.0.49

Returns the Nth certificate from the PEM. The first certificate is at index 0.

Returns None on failure

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GetEncodedItem
string GetEncodedItem(string itemType, string itemSubType, string encoding, int index)
Introduced in version 9.5.0.50

Returns the encoded contents of the Nth item of a particular type (0-based index). The possible values for itemType are "certificate" (or "cert"), "privateKey", "publicKey", or "csr". Input string args are case-insensitive. If the itemType is "privateKey", the itemSubType may be "der" or "pkcs8". If the itemType is "publicKey", the itemSubType may be "der" or "pkcs1". The itemSubType is ignored for other values of itemType. The valid encoding modes are "Base64", "modBase64", "Base32", "Base58", "QP" (for quoted-printable), "URL" (for url-encoding), "Hex", "url_oauth", "url_rfc1738", "url_rfc2396", and "url_rfc3986".

Returns None on failure

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GetPrivateKey
PrivateKey GetPrivateKey(int index)
Introduced in version 9.5.0.49

Returns the Nth private key from the PEM. The first private key is at index 0.

Returns None on failure

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GetPublicKey
PublicKey GetPublicKey(int index)
Introduced in version 9.5.0.49

Returns the Nth public key from the PEM. The first public key is at index 0.

Returns None on failure

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LoadP7b
bool LoadP7b(memoryview p7bData)
Introduced in version 9.5.0.49

Loads the PEM from the contents of an in-memory PKCS7 container (.p7b).

Returns True for success, False for failure.

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LoadP7bAsync (1)
Task LoadP7bAsync(memoryview p7bData)
Introduced in version 9.5.0.49

Creates an asynchronous task to call the LoadP7b method with the arguments provided. (Async methods are available starting in Chilkat v9.5.0.52.)

Returns None on failure

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LoadP7bFile
bool LoadP7bFile(string path)
Introduced in version 9.5.0.49

Loads the contents of a PKCS7 container (.p7b file).

Returns True for success, False for failure.

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LoadP7bFileAsync (1)
Task LoadP7bFileAsync(string path)
Introduced in version 9.5.0.49

Creates an asynchronous task to call the LoadP7bFile method with the arguments provided. (Async methods are available starting in Chilkat v9.5.0.52.)

Returns None on failure

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LoadPem
bool LoadPem(string pemContent, string password)
Introduced in version 9.5.0.49

Loads the PEM from a PEM string. If encrypted, then the password is required for decryption. Otherwise, an empty string (or any string) may be passed for the password.

Returns True for success, False for failure.

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LoadPemAsync (1)
Task LoadPemAsync(string pemContent, string password)
Introduced in version 9.5.0.49

Creates an asynchronous task to call the LoadPem method with the arguments provided. (Async methods are available starting in Chilkat v9.5.0.52.)

Returns None on failure

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LoadPemFile
bool LoadPemFile(string path, string password)
Introduced in version 9.5.0.49

Loads the PEM from a PEM file. If encrypted, then the password is required for decryption. Otherwise, an empty string (or any string) may be passed for the password.

Returns True for success, False for failure.

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LoadPemFileAsync (1)
Task LoadPemFileAsync(string path, string password)
Introduced in version 9.5.0.49

Creates an asynchronous task to call the LoadPemFile method with the arguments provided. (Async methods are available starting in Chilkat v9.5.0.52.)

Returns None on failure

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LoadTaskCaller
bool LoadTaskCaller(Task task)
Introduced in version 9.5.0.80

Loads the caller of the task's async method.

Returns True for success, False for failure.

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RemoveCert
bool RemoveCert(int index)
Introduced in version 9.5.0.49

Removes the Nth certificate from the PEM. The first certificate is at index 0.

Returns True for success, False for failure.

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RemovePrivateKey
bool RemovePrivateKey(int index)
Introduced in version 9.5.0.49

Removes the Nth private key from the PEM. The first private key is at index 0.

Returns True for success, False for failure.

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ToJks
JavaKeyStore ToJks(string alias, string password)
Introduced in version 9.5.0.49

Converts the PEM to JKS and returns the Java KeyStore object. If the alias is non-empty, the 1st object (private key or certificate) will use the alias, and all others (if any) will receive auto-generated aliases. The JKS returned will be encrypted using the provided password. If the PEM contains only certificates (no private keys), then the password is unused.

Returns None on failure

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ToPem
string ToPem()
Introduced in version 9.5.0.47

Write the PFX to a PEM formatted string. The resultant PEM will contain the private key, as well as the certs in the chain of authentication (or whatever certs are available in the PFX). For example:

 -----BEGIN RSA PRIVATE KEY-----
...
... the private key associated with the main certificate.
...
-----END RSA PRIVATE KEY-----
-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----
...
... the main certificate
...
-----END CERTIFICATE-----
-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----
...
... an intermediate CA certificate (if present)
...
-----END CERTIFICATE-----
-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----
...
... the root CA certificate
...
-----END CERTIFICATE----- 

Returns None on failure

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ToPemEx
string ToPemEx(bool extendedAttrs, bool noKeys, bool noCerts, bool noCaCerts, string encryptAlg, string password)
Introduced in version 9.5.0.49

Write the PFX to a PEM formatted string. If extendedAttrs is True, then extended properties (Bag Attributes and Key Attributes) are output. If noKeys is True, then no private keys are output. If noCerts is True, then no certificates are output. If noCaCerts is True, then no CA certs or intermediate CA certs are output. If encryptAlg is not empty, it indicates the encryption algorithm to be used for encrypting the private keys (otherwise the private keys are output unencrypted). The possible choices for the encryptAlg are "des3", "aes128", "aes192", and "aes256". (All encryption algorithm choices use CBC mode.) If the private keys are to be encrypted, then password is the password to be used. Otherwise, password may be left empty. For example:

Bag Attributes
    Microsoft Local Key set: <No Values>
    localKeyID: 01 00 00 00 
    friendlyName: le-2b09a3d2-9037-4a05-95cc-4d44518e8607
    Microsoft CSP Name: Microsoft RSA SChannel Cryptographic Provider
Key Attributes
    X509v3 Key Usage: 10 
 -----BEGIN RSA PRIVATE KEY-----
...
... the private key associated with the main certificate.
...
-----END RSA PRIVATE KEY-----
Bag Attributes
    localKeyID: 01 00 00 00 
    1.3.6.1.4.1.311.17.3.92: 00 08 00 00 
    1.3.6.1.4.1.311.17.3.20: C2 53 54 F3 ...
    1.3.6.1.4.1.311.17.3.71: 49 00 43 00 ...
    1.3.6.1.4.1.311.17.3.75: 31 00 42 00 ...
subject=/OU=Domain Control Validated/OU=PositiveSSL/CN=something.com
issuer=/C=GB/ST=Greater Manchester/L=Salford/O=COMODO CA Limited/CN=COMODO RSA Domain Validation Secure Server CA
-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----
...
... the main certificate
...
-----END CERTIFICATE-----
...
-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----
...
... an intermediate CA certificate (if present)
...
-----END CERTIFICATE-----
...
-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----
...
... the root CA certificate
...
-----END CERTIFICATE----- 

Returns None on failure

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ToPfx
Pfx ToPfx()
Introduced in version 9.5.0.49

Converts the PEM to PKCS12 and returns the PFX object. The PFX object has method for saving to a file, exporting to an encoded string, converting to a JKS (Java Keystore), or even converting back to PEM.

Note: The PEM must contain at least one private key to convert to PKCS12. The typical case is that a PKCS12 contains a single private key, along with the associated certificate and the certificates in the chain of authentication.

Returns None on failure

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