gen-webid-cert.sh

gen-webid-cert.sh is a shell script to create a self-signed certificate for use with WebID. A WebID can be used to login to a website using a client certificate, along with a FOAF document providing information about you.

It works by creating a self-signed client certificate, where the Subject Alternative Name (SAN) in the certificate points to the URI of yourself in a FOAF document. The FOAF document the references the Public Key of your certificate, allowing you to prove that you are the person described in the FOAF document.

The script requires:

• A bourne compatible shell, such as Bash
• The openssl command line tool

When you run the shell script it asks you for:

• Your Name
• Your WebID (a URI that can be de-referenced in a FOAF document)

It then outputs:

• webid.pem - a PEM encoded file containing your private key and certificate
• webid.p12 (optional) - a P12 encoded file, for loading into Firefox
• A snippet of a RDF/XML encoded FOAF document to STDOUT

If running on Mac OS, it will offer to add the certificate to your Keychain.

Testing

A shell script called test.sh is provided to ensure that the main script is working on your system.

This script is run by Travis: https://travis-ci.com/njh/gen-webid-cert/

License

gen-webid-cert.sh is licensed using The Unlicense.