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---
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layout: docs
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page_title: PKI - Secrets Engines
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description: The PKI secrets engine for Vault generates TLS certificates.
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---
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# PKI Secrets Engine
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The PKI secrets engine generates dynamic X.509 certificates. With this secrets
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engine, services can get certificates without going through the usual manual
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process of generating a private key and CSR, submitting to a CA, and waiting for
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a verification and signing process to complete. Vault's built-in authentication
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and authorization mechanisms provide the verification functionality.
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By keeping TTLs relatively short, revocations are less likely to be needed,
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keeping CRLs short and helping the secrets engine scale to large workloads. This
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in turn allows each instance of a running application to have a unique
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certificate, eliminating sharing and the accompanying pain of revocation and
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rollover.
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In addition, by allowing revocation to mostly be forgone, this secrets engine
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allows for ephemeral certificates. Certificates can be fetched and stored in
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memory upon application startup and discarded upon shutdown, without ever being
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written to disk.
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## Table of Contents
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The PKI Secrets Engine documentation is split into the following pieces:
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- [Overview](/docs/secrets/pki) - this document.
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- [Setup and Usage](/docs/secrets/pki/setup) - a brief description of setting
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up and using the PKI Secrets Engine to issue certificates.
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- [Quick Start - Root CA Setup](/docs/secrets/pki/quick-start-root-ca) - A
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quick start guide for setting up a root CA.
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- [Quick Start - Intermediate CA Setup](/docs/secrets/pki/quick-start-intermediate-ca) - A
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quick start guide for setting up an intermediate CA.
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- [Considerations](/docs/secrets/pki/considerations) - A list of helpful
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considerations to keep in mind when using and operating the PKI Secrets
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Engine.
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- [Rotation Primitives](/docs/secrets/pki/rotation-primitives) - A document
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which explains different types of certificates used to achieve rotation.
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2022-05-20 01:04:46 +00:00
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## Tutorial
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Refer to the [Build Your Own Certificate Authority (CA)](https://learn.hashicorp.com/vault/secrets-management/sm-pki-engine)
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guide for a step-by-step tutorial.
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Have a look at the [PKI Secrets Engine with Managed Keys](https://learn.hashicorp.com/tutorials/vault/managed-key-pki?in=vault/enterprise)
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for more about how to use externally managed keys with PKI.
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## API
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The PKI secrets engine has a full HTTP API. Please see the
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[PKI secrets engine API](/api-docs/secret/pki) for more
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details.
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