How to read a .PEM file online
Three steps, a few seconds.
Open your .PEM file
Drop it on the box or click to choose it. A bundle holding several certificates is split for you automatically.
Unlock if needed
A password-protected file asks for its export password. It is used only to unlock the file.
Check the details
Read the chain from your certificate up to the root, see every domain it covers, when it expires and copy its SHA-256 fingerprints.
What is a .PEM file?
What's inside .crt, .pem and .p12 files, in plain words.
A PEM file is a text container for cryptographic data, most often an SSL/TLS certificate, a private key, or both. Open it in any text editor to see what the BEGIN line says, then use OpenSSL to inspect or convert it. If the file contains a PRIVATE KEY, treat it like a password and never upload it anywhere.
Programs that open .PEM files
| Full name | PEM — Base64-encoded certificate / key container (X.509, PKCS) |
|---|---|
| Developer | IETF (PEM encoding, RFC 7468); the name dates to the 1990s 'Privacy-Enhanced Mail' work |
| First released | PEM email RFCs 1421-1424 (1993); the encoding lives on as the textual format, codified in RFC 7468 (2015) |
| Category | Data & Other |
| MIME type | application/x-pem-file |
Related viewers
Other free tools to open and preview your files.
Frequently asked questions
Is it safe to open my .PEM file here?
Yes. Certificates are public by design, and decoding and signature checks run with the Web Crypto API.
What does “chain verified” mean?
Each certificate is signed by the one above it. The viewer checks those signatures mathematically, so you can see whether your server certificate, intermediate and root actually belong together - the most common cause of “incomplete chain” errors.
My .p12 / .pfx asks for a password. Which one?
The password chosen when the file was exported (for example from Windows, a browser or your CA's portal). Some files have an empty password - try leaving the field blank.
Why don't you show my private key?
A private key is the secret half of the certificate. Anyone who sees it can impersonate you, so the viewer only tells you that a key is present and what type and size it is.
Can it check if a certificate is revoked?
Not yet. Revocation (OCSP/CRL) needs to contact the certificate authority, which we keep for the server-side version of this tool.
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