ssl-checkup 1.2.1

A robust, user-friendly Python CLI tool for inspecting SSL/TLS certificates of remote servers.

ssl-checkup

A robust, modular Python CLI tool for inspecting SSL/TLS certificates of remote servers. Features comprehensive testing, clean architecture, colorized output, and detailed debugging capabilities.

Features

• Certificate Analysis: Check SSL certificate validity, issuer, subject, and SANs for any host
• Colorized Output: Beautiful, readable output with --no-color option for plain text
• Debug Mode: Comprehensive troubleshooting with --debug flag
• Flexible Output: Print PEM certificate, issuer, subject, or SANs only as needed
• Error Handling: Graceful handling of DNS/socket errors with helpful messages
• Modular Architecture: Clean, testable code structure with 95% test coverage
• Easy Installation: Available on PyPI - install with pipx install ssl-checkup

Installation

For Users (Recommended)

Install with pipx for best isolation and to avoid dependency conflicts:

pipx install ssl-checkup

If you don't have pipx, install it first:

# On macOS with Homebrew
brew install pipx

# On Ubuntu/Debian
sudo apt install pipx

# Or with pip
pip install --user pipx
pipx ensurepath

Alternative: Install with pip (may cause dependency conflicts):

pip install ssl-checkup
# Optional enhanced parsing and colors
pip install "ssl-checkup[full]"

After installation, run from anywhere:

ssl-checkup example.com

For Development

Clone and set up development environment:

git clone https://github.com/BaDxKaRMa/ssl-checkup.git
cd ssl-checkup

# Using uv (recommended)
uv sync
uv run ssl-checkup example.com

# Or using pip
pip install -e ".[dev,test,full]"
python -m ssl_checkup.main example.com

Usage

ssl-checkup [OPTIONS] WEBSITE[:PORT]

Arguments:

• WEBSITE - Domain or IP address to check (default port: 443)
• PORT - Optional custom port (e.g., example.com:8443)

Options

Option	Description
--no-color	Disable color output (plain text and pretty JSON)
--json	Output certificate data as JSON
--json-pretty	Pretty-print JSON output (implies JSON mode)
--output FILE	Write output to a file (- keeps stdout)
-p, --print-cert	Print the PEM certificate to stdout
--show-chain	Include certificate chain details in output
--debug	Enable debug output for troubleshooting
-i, --issuer	Print only the certificate issuer
-s, --subject	Print only the certificate subject
-a, --san	Print only the Subject Alternative Names (SANs)
--warn-days N	Warning threshold in days before expiry (default: 30)
--critical-days N	Critical threshold in days before expiry (default: 7)
--timeout SEC	Connection timeout in seconds (default: 10)
--retries N	Retry attempts for transient network errors (default: 0)
--retry-delay SEC	Delay between retry attempts (default: 0.5)
--ip-version	auto, 4, or 6 network family preference
--input FILE	Read targets from file (- reads from stdin)
--workers N	Worker threads for batch mode (--input)
--summary	Show aggregate summary counts for batch runs
--fail-fast	Stop batch processing on first non-success result
--insecure, -k	Allow insecure connections (bypass certificate validation)
--version	Show version and exit
-h, --help	Show help message

Examples

Basic certificate check:

ssl-checkup example.com

Check custom port:

ssl-checkup example.com:8443

Print specific certificate fields:

ssl-checkup -i example.com          # Issuer only
ssl-checkup -s example.com          # Subject only
ssl-checkup -a example.com          # SANs only

Debug and troubleshooting:

ssl-checkup --debug example.com     # Detailed debug output
ssl-checkup --insecure expired.badssl.com  # Skip validation

Export certificate:

ssl-checkup -p example.com > cert.pem       # Save PEM certificate
ssl-checkup --no-color example.com > info.txt  # Plain text output

JSON output and policy exit codes:

ssl-checkup --json example.com
ssl-checkup --json-pretty example.com
ssl-checkup --json-pretty --no-color example.com
ssl-checkup --json --show-chain example.com
ssl-checkup --retries 2 --retry-delay 1.0 example.com
ssl-checkup --warn-days 30 --critical-days 7 example.com
ssl-checkup --input targets.txt --json --summary
ssl-checkup --json example.com --output report.json

--json-pretty uses colorized syntax highlighting when writing to a TTY. Use --no-color for plain pretty JSON.

JSON schema (stable fields):

Field	Type	Notes
target	string	Original target input (e.g. example.com:8443)
hostname	string	Parsed hostname used for TLS SNI
port	integer	Parsed port
resolved_ip	string | null	Remote IP if available
tls_version	string | null	Negotiated TLS version
cipher	array | string | null	Cipher details from Python SSL
insecure	boolean	Whether --insecure was enabled
hostname_match	boolean	Hostname verification result against cert SAN/CN
issuer	string | null	Issuer organization when available
subject	string | null	Subject common name when available
san	array[string]	DNS SAN entries
not_before	string | null	Certificate notBefore
not_after	string | null	Certificate notAfter
checked_at	string	UTC timestamp in ISO-8601 format
warning_days	integer	Effective warning threshold
critical_days	integer	Effective critical threshold
chain_source	string | null	Chain source: verified, unverified, or leaf-only
chain	array[object]	Present with --show-chain; includes index, is_leaf, subject, issuer, not_before, not_after
status	string	Present in policy mode: valid, warning, critical, expired
days_left	integer	Present in policy mode

When --summary is used with --json, output becomes:

• results: array of per-target objects
• summary: aggregate counts (total, valid, warning, critical, expired, errors)

Exit codes in policy mode:

• 0 valid
• 1 warning
• 2 critical/expired
• 10+ operational errors (DNS/socket/SSL/internal)

Batch checks:

ssl-checkup --input targets.txt --workers 8
cat targets.txt | ssl-checkup --input - --json --workers 4

Requirements

• Python: 3.11 or higher
• Optional Dependencies (install with pip install "ssl-checkup[full]"):
  • termcolor>=3.1.0 (enhanced colorized output)
  • cryptography>=45.0.5 (advanced certificate parsing)

Note: The tool works without optional dependencies, with graceful fallbacks for missing features.

Development

Architecture details: see ARCHITECTURE.md.

Quick Start

# Clone and set up development environment
git clone https://github.com/BaDxKaRMa/ssl-checkup.git
cd ssl-checkup
uv sync

# Run tests
make test

# Run with coverage
make test-coverage

# Run all quality checks
make check-all

Contributing

1. Fork and clone the repository
2. Set up development environment: uv sync
3. Run tests to ensure everything works: make test
4. Make your changes with appropriate tests
5. Run quality checks: make check-all
6. Submit a pull request

Releasing (Maintainers)

This project uses automated PyPI publishing via GitHub Actions. To release a new version:

Option 1: Using Makefile (Recommended)

# Create and push a new release in one command
make release-push VERSION=1.2.0

Option 2: Manual Process

# 1. Update version in pyproject.toml
version = "1.2.0"

# 2. Commit and tag the release
git add pyproject.toml
git commit -m "Release v1.2.0"
git tag v1.2.0

# 3. Push to trigger automated PyPI upload
git push && git push --tags

What happens automatically:

• GitHub Actions builds the package with uv
• Runs quality checks with twine check
• Uploads to PyPI using stored API token
• New version is available within minutes

Requirements for automated releases:

• PyPI API token stored in GitHub Secrets as PYPI_API_TOKEN
• Version must follow semantic versioning (e.g., 1.0.0, 1.1.0, 2.0.0)

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

Missing dependencies:

# For development - sync all dependencies
uv sync

# Or install individual packages if needed
uv pip install termcolor cryptography

Connection issues:

# Use debug mode for detailed troubleshooting
ssl-checkup --debug example.com

# Test insecure connections for self-signed certificates
ssl-checkup --insecure your-internal-server.com

Installation issues:

# Ensure Python 3.11+
python --version

# Install with pipx (recommended for CLI tools)
pipx install ssl-checkup

# If pipx isn't available, install it first
pip install --user pipx
pipx ensurepath

# Alternative: Install with pip (may cause conflicts)
pip install ssl-checkup

# Or use uv for development
uv sync && uv run ssl-checkup example.com

# Force reinstall if needed
pipx reinstall ssl-checkup

License

GPL-3.0 License - see LICENSE file for details.

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Project maintained by BaDxKaRMa. Contributions welcome!