Sign CLI Reference for VSIX Packages

Article
08/06/2024

sign - Dotnet tool used to sign files and containers using PFX, CER, or P7B certificates on disk or from Windows Certificate Manager (WCM), Cryptographic Service Providers (CSP), or Azure Key Vault.

Important

Sign CLI only supports SHA-256, SHA-384, and SHA-512 as valid fingerprint algorithms. You can use PowerShell to get fingerprints using: Get-FileHash -Algorithm SHA256 <path to .cer file> | Format-Table -AutoSize

Important

Sign CLI only supports RSA algorithms, therefore using ECDSA to generate your fingerprint will fail signature validation during install. This doesn't block installation, but a “Invalid signature” warnings will show up under the VSIX Installer window during installation.

Synopsis

sign code certificate-store [<PATH(s)>]
    [-cf|--certificate-file <PATH>]
    [-p|--password <PASSWORD>]
    [-cfp|--certificate-fingerprint <SHA>]
    [-csp|--crypto-service-provider <CSPNAME>]
    [-k|--key-container <HASHALGORITHM>]
    [-km|--use-machine-key-container]
    [-d|--description <DESCRIPTION>]
    [-u|--descriptionUrl <URL>]
    [-fd|--file-digest <DIGEST>]
    [-t|--timestamp-url <URL>]
    [-tr|--timestamp-rfc3161 <URL>]
    [-td|--timestamp-digest <DIGEST>]
    [-o|--output <PATH>]
    [-b|--base-directory <wORKINGDIRECTORY>]
    [-f|--force]
    [-m|--max-concurrency <MAXCONCURRENCY>]
    [-fl|--filelist <FILELISTPATH>]

sign code certificate-store -h|--help

Description

Sign CLI is a Dotnet tool that recursively signs files and containers with a certificate and private. The certificate and private key can be obtained from either a file (PFX, P7B, CER) or from a certificate installed in a certificate store by providing a SHA-256, SHA-384, or SHA-512 fingerprint. USB keys can be accessed using a Cryptographic Service Provider (CSP) implemented by the manufacturer and accessed from the certificate store.

Installation

Install Sign CLI globally using dotnet tool install sign --prerelease --global

Offline Installation of Sign CLI

For isolated environments you can download a Sign CLI NuGet package and install it using:

dotnet tool install --global --add-source <path-to-folder> <tool-name> --version <version>

Arguments

VSIX-paths(s)

Specifies the path(s) to the VSIX package to be signed.

Options

-cf|--certificate-file <PATH>

PFX, P7B, or CER file containing a certificate and potentially a private key.
-p|--password <PASSWORD>

Optional password for certificate file.
-cfp|--certificate-fingerprint <SHA>

SHA-256, SHA-384, or SHA-512 fingerprint used to identify a certificate before signing.
-csp|--crypto-service-provider <CSP NAME>

Cryptographic Service Provider containing a private key.

Note

You can see all available CSPs by running certutil -csplist, where legacy CSPs specify a "Provider Type" and CNG providers usually have "Key Storage Provider" in their names. certutil -csptest "<provider name>" provides more information on specific providers.
-k|--key-container <CONTAINER NAME>]

Private key container name.

Note

You can find all keys stored within a CSP by running certutil -csp <Provider Name> -key.
-km|--use-machine-key-container]

Use a machine-level private key container instead of the default user-level container.
-d|--description <DESCRIPTION>

Description of the signing certificate.
-u|--descriptionUrl <URL>

Description Url of the signing certificate.
-fd | --file-digest <DIGEST>

Digest algorithm to hash the file with.
-t|--timestamp-url <URL>

RFC 3161 timestamp server URL. [default: http://timestamp.acs.microsoft.com/]
-tr | --timestamp-rfc3161 <URL>

Specifies the RFC 3161 timestamp server's URL.
-td|--timestamp-digest <DIGEST>

Used with -tr switch to request a digest algorithm used by the RFC 3161 timestamp server.
-o|--output <PATH>

The output file or folder if multiple files are specified. If omitted, input is overwritten.
-b|--base-directory <PATH>

Base directory for files to override the working directory.
--f|--force

Overwrites a signature if it exists.
-m|--max-concurrency <MAXCONCURRENCY>

Maximum concurrency (default is 4)
-fl | --filelist <PATH>

Path to file containing paths of files to sign or to exclude from signing within the container.
-?|-h|--help

Prints a description of how to use the command.

Examples

Sign contoso.vsix with a certificate imported to the user certificate store:

sign code certificate-store contoso.vsix -cfp 24D589...FB9523B36E -d "Constoso VSIX Signature" -u "http://www.contoso.com"

Sign contoso.vsix with certificate cert.pfx (not password protected) using a SHA-512 fingerprint:

sign code certificate-store contoso.vsix -cfp A87A6F...894559B981 -cfpa sha512 -cf D:\certificates\cert.pfx -d "Constoso VSIX Signature" -u "http://www.contoso.com"

Sign contoso.vsix with certificate cert.pfx (password protected):

sign code certificate-store contoso.vsix -s 24D58920B2D24D00A7DF07FB9523B36E -cf cert.pfx -p <password> -d "Constoso VSIX Signature" -u "http://www.contoso.com"

Sign multiple VSIX packages - contoso.vsix and all .vsix files in the directory specified with certificate cert.pfx (not password protected):

sign code certificate-store *.vsix -s 24D58920B2D24D00A7DF07FB9523B36E -cf cert.pfx -d "Constoso VSIX Signature" -u "http://www.contoso.com"

Sign contoso.vsix with a certificate stored in a secure USB drive.

sign code certificate-store contoso.vsix -s 24D58920B2D24D00A7DF07FB9523B36E -csp "Microsoft Software Key Storage Provider" -k "NuGetSigning 0B2D249223B36D00A7DF07FB95E24D58" -d "Constoso VSIX Signature" -u "http://www.contoso.com"

Sign contoso.vsix with a certificate stored in a secure USB drive and accessed from the machine certificate store (-km option).
```
sign code certificate-store contoso.vsix -s 24D58920B2D24D00A7DF07FB9523B36E -csp "Microsoft Software Key Storage Provider" -k "NuGetSigning 0B2D249223B36D00A7DF07FB95E24D58" -km -d "Constoso VSIX Signature" -u "http://www.contoso.com"
```
Note

When -k option isn't provided, the tool checks all containers in the provided CSP for a matching SHA fingerprint certificate.

Sign contoso.vsix with a certificate stored in a secure USB drive specifying file digest algorithm (-fd), timestamp server (-t), and a custom output path (-o) for the signed VSIX.

sign code certificate-store contoso.vsix -s 24D58920B2D24D00A7DF07FB9523B36E -csp "Microsoft Software Key Storage Provider" -k "NuGetSigning 0B2D249223B36D00A7DF07FB95E24D58" -d "Constoso VSIX Signature" -u "http://www.contoso.com" -t "http://timestamp.acs.microsoft.com/" -fd sha256 -o "ContosoSigned.vsix"

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