This guide will show you how to convert a .crt certificate file and associated private key, and convert it to a .pfx file using OpenSSL. This can be useful if you need to take a certificate file, and load it onto a Windows server for example.
A PFX file is a way of storing private keys, and certificates in a single encrypted file. It is commonly used to import and export certificates and keys on a Windows PC.
In the example below, the following files will be used:
domain.name.crt – this is the public certificate file.
domain.name.key – This is the private encryption key for the above certificate.
domain.name.pfx – This will be the PFX file outputted from OpenSSL.
Converting the crt certificate and private key to a PFX file
$ openssl pkcs12 -export -out domain.name.pfx -inkey domain.name.key -in domain.name.crt
This will create a pfx output file called “domain.name.pfx”.
You will be asked for the pass-phrase for the private key if needed, and also to set a pass-phrase for the newly created .pfx file too.
You can now load this .pfx file onto a Windows machine, or wherever needed.
