About SignServer

SignServer is a platform for digitally signing code, documents, timestamps, and ePassports. It helps ensure that your signature keys are secure and your workflows are easy, safe, and auditable.

SignServer is a server-side signing software with plug-ins for different types of signatures. Signature keys are kept centrally and securely, preferably within a Hardware Security Module (HSM), and users are authenticated to perform signatures.

The SignServer community project is an open-source project sponsored by Keyfactor and is available under the LGPL v2.1 license. This means it’s available for you to download and use at no cost as Docker containers, binaries or source code. In addition, SignServer is available as an Enterprise edition, and there is a 30-day free trial available on AWS and Azure.

Using one central signing solution instead of various distributed signing islands across teams allows for better management, higher security, and lower costs.

Why users select SignServer

This software is popular among engineers because it supports multiple users, groups, organizations. and use cases. Additional instances can be added to scale the software indefinitely. This means that SignServer provides support for projects from prototyping to full deployment.

The architecture of SignServer is flexible and component based. A variety of client interfaces can be used to submit data or files for signing, such as a standard web browser, the client application SignClient, or integration with third-party applications such as cURL.

The SignServer internal architecture is based on workers, components that handle requests, perform authentication and authorization, and interact with external applications. SignServer can be operated from the command line, through a graphical user interface, or by integrating it directly into your application. In addition, various development APIs are available to enable custom implementations.

History of SignServer

The first version of SignServer was released in 2005 by PrimeKey when new signing solutions were needed for the then new biometric passports, an area where private key protection is important. PrimeKey offered consultancy around the open-source product until the Enterprise edition was developed and offered in 2012.

During the years since then, SignServer has grown with many signature types and has become a very popular server-side signature solution suitable for code signing, time stamping and document signing. The Community edition is available as pre-built binaries, containers, or source code that you can build yourself. SignServer Enterprise can additionally be deployed on AWS or Azure cloud, or as software or hardware appliances.

When your organization requires a more advanced signature solution and guaranteed stability and support, then you should explore the SignServer Enterprise edition.

As of June 2021, PrimeKey is a part of Keyfactor and during 2022 the two companies will merge under the Keyfactor brand.