CertStore Tcl Reference Documentation

CertStore

Current Version: 10.1.0

Represents a collection of certificates. The certificates may be loaded from a PFX (PKCS#12) or from a Windows-based certificate store.

Many of the methods of this class are only applicable when running on a MS Windows operating system. The methods for opening, creating, and modifying Windows-based certificate stores (registry-based, file-based, and memory-based) are (of course) Windows-only. However, the methods for loading certs from PFX (PKCS#12), are valid on all supported operating systems, including Linux, MAC OS X, Windows, etc.

Object Creation

set myCertStore [new CkCertStore]

Properties

AvoidWindowsPkAccess
boolean 1/0
set boolVal [CkCertStore_get_AvoidWindowsPkAccess $myCertStore]
CkCertStore_put_AvoidWindowsPkAccess $myCertStore $boolVal

Applies only when running on a Microsoft Windows operating system. If 1, 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 0.

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DebugLogFilePath
string
# ckStr is a CkString
CkCertStore_get_DebugLogFilePath $myCertStore $ckStr
set strVal [CkCertStore_get_debugLogFilePath $myCertStore]
CkCertStore_put_DebugLogFilePath $myCertStore $strVal

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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LastErrorHtml
string
# ckStr is a CkString
CkCertStore_get_LastErrorHtml $myCertStore $ckStr
set strVal [CkCertStore_get_lastErrorHtml $myCertStore]

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
string
# ckStr is a CkString
CkCertStore_get_LastErrorText $myCertStore $ckStr
set strVal [CkCertStore_get_lastErrorText $myCertStore]

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
string
# ckStr is a CkString
CkCertStore_get_LastErrorXml $myCertStore $ckStr
set strVal [CkCertStore_get_lastErrorXml $myCertStore]

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
boolean 1/0
set boolVal [CkCertStore_get_LastMethodSuccess $myCertStore]
CkCertStore_put_LastMethodSuccess $myCertStore $boolVal

Indicates the success or failure of the most recent method call: 1 means success, 0 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.

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NumCertificates
integer
set intVal [CkCertStore_get_NumCertificates $myCertStore]

The number of certificates held in the certificate store.

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NumEmailCerts
integer
set intVal [CkCertStore_get_NumEmailCerts $myCertStore]

(This property only available on Microsoft Windows operating systems.)
The number of certificates that can be used for sending secure email within this store.

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SmartCardPin
string
# ckStr is a CkString
CkCertStore_get_SmartCardPin $myCertStore $ckStr
set strVal [CkCertStore_get_smartCardPin $myCertStore]
CkCertStore_put_SmartCardPin $myCertStore $strVal
Introduced in version 9.5.0.86

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

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UncommonOptions
string
# ckStr is a CkString
CkCertStore_get_UncommonOptions $myCertStore $ckStr
set strVal [CkCertStore_get_uncommonOptions $myCertStore]
CkCertStore_put_UncommonOptions $myCertStore $strVal
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.

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Utf8
boolean 1/0
set boolVal [CkCertStore_get_Utf8 $myCertStore]
CkCertStore_put_Utf8 $myCertStore $boolVal

When set to 1, all "const char *" arguments are interpreted as utf-8 strings. If set to 0 (the default), then "const char *" arguments are interpreted as ANSI strings. Also, when set to 1, and Chilkat method returning a "const char *" is returning the utf-8 representation. If set to 0, all "const char *" return values are ANSI strings.

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VerboseLogging
boolean 1/0
set boolVal [CkCertStore_get_VerboseLogging $myCertStore]
CkCertStore_put_VerboseLogging $myCertStore $boolVal

If set to 1, then the contents of LastErrorText (or LastErrorXml, or LastErrorHtml) may contain more verbose information. The default value is 0. 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
# ckStr is a CkString
CkCertStore_get_Version $myCertStore $ckStr
set strVal [CkCertStore_get_version $myCertStore]

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

More Information and Examples
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Methods

AddCertificate
# cert is a CkCert
set status [CkCertStore_AddCertificate $cert]

On Windows, this updates or adds cert to the open certificate store.

Starting with Chilkat version 10.0.0, on macOS and iOS, this adds the certificate, along with any private keys and intermediate CA certificates, to the Apple Keychain.

Returns 1 for success, 0 for failure.

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CloseCertStore
set status [CkCertStore_CloseCertStore]
Introduced in version 9.5.0.94

(This method only available on Microsoft Windows operating systems.)
Closes the certificate store previously opened by one of the Open* methods.

Returns 1 for success, 0 for failure.

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CreateFileStore
# filename is a string
set status [CkCertStore_CreateFileStore $filename]

(This method only available on Microsoft Windows operating systems.)
Creates a new file-based certificate store. Certificates may be saved to this store by calling AddCertificate.

Returns 1 for success, 0 for failure.

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CreateMemoryStore
set status [CkCertStore_CreateMemoryStore]

(This method only available on Microsoft Windows operating systems.)
Creates an in-memory certificate store. Certificates may be added by calling AddCertificate.

Returns 1 for success, 0 for failure.

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CreateRegistryStore
# regRoot is a string
# regPath is a string
set status [CkCertStore_CreateRegistryStore $regRoot $regPath]

(This method only available on Microsoft Windows operating systems.)
Creates a registry-based certificate store. regRoot must be "CurrentUser" or "LocalMachine". regPath is a registry path such as "Software/MyApplication/Certificates".

Returns 1 for success, 0 for failure.

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FindCertByKeyContainer
# returns a CkCert
# name is a string
set ret_cert [CkCertStore_FindCertByKeyContainer $name]
Introduced in version 9.5.0.77

Finds a certificate by it's key container name.

Returns NULL on failure

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FindCertByRfc822Name
# returns a CkCert
# name is a string
set ret_cert [CkCertStore_FindCertByRfc822Name $name]

Locates and returns a certificate by its RFC 822 name.

If multiple certificates match, then non-expired certificates will take precedence over expired certificates. In other words, Chilkat will aways return the non-expired certificate over the expired certificate.

Returns NULL on failure

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FindCertBySerial
# returns a CkCert
# str is a string
set ret_cert [CkCertStore_FindCertBySerial $str]

Finds and returns the certificate that has the matching serial number.

Returns NULL on failure.

Returns NULL on failure

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FindCertBySha1Thumbprint
# returns a CkCert
# str is a string
set ret_cert [CkCertStore_FindCertBySha1Thumbprint $str]

Finds a certificate by it's SHA-1 thumbprint. The thumbprint is a hexidecimal string.

Returns NULL on failure.

Returns NULL on failure

More Information and Examples
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FindCertBySubject
# returns a CkCert
# str is a string
set ret_cert [CkCertStore_FindCertBySubject $str]

Finds a certificate where one of the Subject properties (SubjectCN, SubjectE, SubjectO, SubjectOU, SubjectL, SubjectST, SubjectC) matches exactly (but case insensitive) with the passed string. A match in SubjectCN will be tried first, followed by SubjectE, and SubjectO. After that, the first match found in SubjectOU, SubjectL, SubjectST, or SubjectC, but in no guaranteed order, is returned. All matches are case insensitive.

Returns NULL on failure.

Returns NULL on failure

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FindCertBySubjectCN
# returns a CkCert
# str is a string
set ret_cert [CkCertStore_FindCertBySubjectCN $str]

Finds a certificate where the SubjectCN property (common name) matches exactly (but case insensitive) with the passed string

Returns NULL on failure.

Returns NULL on failure

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FindCertBySubjectE
# returns a CkCert
# str is a string
set ret_cert [CkCertStore_FindCertBySubjectE $str]

Finds a certificate where the SubjectE property (email address) matches exactly (but case insensitive) with the passed string. This function differs from FindCertForEmail in that the certificate does not need to match the ForSecureEmail property.

Returns NULL on failure.

Returns NULL on failure

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FindCertBySubjectO
# returns a CkCert
# str is a string
set ret_cert [CkCertStore_FindCertBySubjectO $str]

Finds a certificate where the SubjectO property (organization) matches exactly (but case insensitive) with the passed string.

Returns NULL on failure.

Returns NULL on failure

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FindCertForEmail
# returns a CkCert
# emailAddress is a string
set ret_cert [CkCertStore_FindCertForEmail $emailAddress]

(This method only available on Microsoft Windows operating systems.)
Finds a certificate that can be used to send secure email to the passed email address. A certificate matches only if the ForSecureEmail property is TRUE, and the email address matches exactly (but case insensitive) with the SubjectE property. Returns NULL if no matches are found.

Returns NULL on failure.

Returns NULL on failure

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GetCertificate
# returns a CkCert
# index is an integer
set ret_cert [CkCertStore_GetCertificate $index]

Returns the Nth certificate in the store. The first certificate is at index 0.

Returns NULL on failure.

Returns NULL on failure

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GetEmailCert
# returns a CkCert
# index is an integer
set ret_cert [CkCertStore_GetEmailCert $index]

(This method only available on Microsoft Windows operating systems.)
Returns the Nth email certificate in the store. The first certificate is at index 0. Use the NumEmailCertificates property to get the number of email certificates.

Returns NULL on failure.

Returns NULL on failure

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LoadPemFile
# pemPath is a string
set status [CkCertStore_LoadPemFile $pemPath]

Loads the certificates contained within a PEM formatted file.

Returns 1 for success, 0 for failure.

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LoadPemStr
# pemString is a string
set status [CkCertStore_LoadPemStr $pemString]

Loads the certificates contained within an in-memory PEM formatted string.

Returns 1 for success, 0 for failure.

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LoadPfxData
# pfxData is a CkByteData
# password is a string
set status [CkCertStore_LoadPfxData $pfxData $password]

Loads a PFX from an in-memory image of a PFX file. Once loaded, the certificates within the PFX may be searched via the Find* methods. It is also possible to iterate from 0 to NumCertficates-1, calling GetCertificate for each index, to retrieve each certificate within the PFX.

Returns 1 for success, 0 for failure.

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LoadPfxFile
# pfxFilename is a string
# password is a string
set status [CkCertStore_LoadPfxFile $pfxFilename $password]

Loads a PFX file. Once loaded, the certificates within the PFX may be searched via the Find* methods. It is also possible to iterate from 0 to NumCertficates-1, calling GetCertificate for each index, to retrieve each certificate within the PFX.

Note: This method does not import certificates into the Windows certificate stores. The purpose of this method is to load a .pfx/.p12 into this object so that other API methods can be called to explore or search the contents of the PFX. The Chilkat Pfx class also provides similar functionality.

Returns 1 for success, 0 for failure.

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OpenCurrentUserStore
# readOnly is a boolean
set status [CkCertStore_OpenCurrentUserStore $readOnly]

On Windows, this method opens the Current-User\Personal certificate store in the registry. Set readOnly to 1 to open the store in read-only mode, which allows you to fetch certificates without adding or removing them. This prevents "permission denied" errors that require read-write access.

Starting in version 10.0.0, this method opens the Apple Keychain on MacOS and iOS systems. The readOnly is ignored.

After opening the store, you can search for certificates using the Find* methods. Alternatively, you can iterate through the certificates by indexing from 0 to NumCertificates-1, using GetCertificate to access each one.

Returns 1 for success, 0 for failure.

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OpenFileStore
# filename is a string
# readOnly is a boolean
set status [CkCertStore_OpenFileStore $filename $readOnly]

(This method only available on Microsoft Windows operating systems.)
Opens a file-based certificate store.

Once loaded, the certificates within the store may be searched via the Find* methods. An application may also iterate from 0 to NumCertficates-1 and call GetCertificate to access each certificate by index.

Returns 1 for success, 0 for failure.

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OpenLocalSystemStore
# readOnly is a boolean
set status [CkCertStore_OpenLocalSystemStore $readOnly]

(This method is only available on Microsoft Windows operating systems.)
Opens the registry-based Local-Computer\Personal certificate store. Set readOnly = 1 if only fetching certificates and not updating the certificate store (i.e. certificates will not be added or removed). Setting readOnly = 1 causes the certificate store to be opened read-only, and will prevent "permission denied" errors caused by the need for read-write permission.

Once loaded, the certificates within the store may be searched via the Find* methods. An application may also iterate from 0 to NumCertficates-1 and call GetCertificate to access each certificate by index.

Returns 1 for success, 0 for failure.

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OpenRegistryStore
# regRoot is a string
# regPath is a string
# readOnly is a boolean
set status [CkCertStore_OpenRegistryStore $regRoot $regPath $readOnly]

(This method only available on Microsoft Windows operating systems.)
Opens an arbitrary registry-based certificate store. regRoot must be "CurrentUser" or "LocalMachine". regPath is a registry path such as "Software/MyApplication/Certificates".

Setting readOnly = 1 causes the certificate store to be opened read-only, and will prevent "permission denied" errors caused by the need for read-write permission.

Once loaded, the certificates within the store may be searched via the Find* methods. An application may also iterate from 0 to NumCertficates-1 and call GetCertificate to access each certificate by index.

Returns 1 for success, 0 for failure.

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OpenSmartcard
# csp is a string
set status [CkCertStore_OpenSmartcard $csp]
Introduced in version 9.5.0.80

On Windows, the system utilizes Microsoft CNG and/or CryptoAPI for accessing connected smartcards and USB tokens. For potentially better results, use Cert.LoadFromSmartcard, which can automatically detect and select between PKCS11, ScMinidriver, MS CNG, and MS CryptoAPI. On macOS and iOS, the Apple Keychain is employed.

Note: Chilkat version 10.0.0 and later supports Apple Keychain. csp is deprecated and unused; always pass an empty string for csp.

Returns 1 for success, 0 for failure.

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OpenWindowsStore
# storeLocation is a string
# storeName is a string
# readOnly is a boolean
set status [CkCertStore_OpenWindowsStore $storeLocation $storeName $readOnly]
Introduced in version 9.5.0.49

(This method only available on Microsoft Windows operating systems.)
Opens a Microsoft Windows certificate store. storeLocation must be "CurrentUser" or "LocalMachine". storeName is the name of the certificate store to open. It may be any of the following:

  • AddressBook: Certificate store for other users.
  • AuthRoot: Certificate store for third-party certification authorities (CAs).
  • CertificationAuthority: Certificate store for intermediate certification authorities (CAs).
  • Disallowed: Certificate store for revoked certificates.
  • My: Certificate store for personal certificates.
  • Root: Certificate store for trusted root certification authorities (CAs).
  • TrustedPeople: Certificate store for directly trusted people and resources.
  • TrustedPublisher: Certificate store for directly trusted publishers.

Setting readOnly = 1 causes the certificate store to be opened read-only, and will prevent "permission denied" errors caused by the need for read-write permission.

Once loaded, the certificates within the store may be searched via the Find* methods. An application may also iterate from 0 to NumCertficates-1 and call GetCertificate to access each certificate by index.

Returns 1 for success, 0 for failure.

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RemoveCertificate
# cert is a CkCert
set status [CkCertStore_RemoveCertificate $cert]

(This method only available on Microsoft Windows operating systems.)
Removes the passed certificate from the store. The certificate object passed as the argument can no longer be used once removed.

Returns 1 for success, 0 for failure.

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