Certificate Viewer
A Visual Studio Code extension that provides a beautiful, read-only viewer for certificate files including PFX, P12, PEM, CER, CRT, and DER formats.
Features
- 🔐 View Certificate Details: Open certificate files directly in VS Code to see certificate information
- 📋 Certificate Information: View subject, issuer, validity dates, serial number, thumbprint, and more
- 🔑 Private Key Detection: See if the file contains a private key and its type
- 📅 Expiry Status: Visual indicators for valid, expiring soon, or expired certificates
- 🔌 Extensions: View certificate extensions like Key Usage, Subject Alternative Names, and more
- 🔒 Password Support: Automatically prompts for password when opening password-protected PFX/P12 files
- 📋 Copy to Clipboard: Click on values like thumbprint or serial number to copy them
- 🔗 Certificate Chains: View all certificates in a chain (PEM and PFX files)
Supported File Types
| Extension |
Format |
Description |
.pfx |
PKCS#12 |
Personal Information Exchange (may contain private key) |
.p12 |
PKCS#12 |
PKCS #12 Archive (may contain private key) |
.pem |
PEM |
Base64-encoded certificate(s), may include private key |
.cer |
DER/PEM |
Certificate file (auto-detects format) |
.crt |
DER/PEM |
Certificate file (auto-detects format) |
.der |
DER |
Binary X.509 certificate |
Usage
Simply open any supported certificate file in VS Code. The extension will automatically display the certificate information in a formatted viewer.
- PFX/P12 files: May prompt for password if the file is encrypted
- PEM/CER/CRT/DER files: Opens directly without password prompt
Certificate Overview
The viewer shows a summary of all certificates in the file, including:
- Number of certificates
- Whether a private key is present
- Key type and size
Certificate Details
Expand each certificate to see:
- Subject information (Common Name, Organization, etc.)
- Issuer information
- Validity period with expiry status
- Technical details (Serial Number, Thumbprint, Signature Algorithm, Public Key)
- Extensions (Key Usage, Extended Key Usage, Subject Alternative Names, etc.)
Extension Settings
| Setting |
Default |
Description |
pfx-view.logLevel |
info |
Controls the log level for the extension. Options: off, error, warn, info, debug, trace |
Requirements
No additional requirements. The extension bundles all necessary dependencies.
Known Issues
- Some exotic certificate extensions may not be fully parsed and will display as raw values
- Encrypted private keys in PEM files are detected but not decrypted (password prompt not yet supported for PEM)
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