Advanced REST Client version 15 is released with client certificates

Version 15 of Advanced REST Client has been released. You can install it from ARC releases page.

This release comes with a support for client certificates. Read more to learn how to use client certificates in Advanced REST Client.

Client certificates manager in Advanced REST Client

Client certificates is an authentication method that allows to select a certificate that will be used in the request to authenticate the user. The application uses this certificate at the initial handshake with the server. Without the certificate the server that supports certificate based authentication would reject the request with 401 status code (unauthenticated state). 

The application now has a global certificate storage where all client certificates are installed. You can access it from main menu Request > Web session > Client certificates.

When adding a certificate you can choose from P12 (PKCS #12) and PEM (Privacy-Enhanced Mail) formats.

The P12 format requires to select a single file that bundles the public certificate and private key together. If the file requires a password then provide it when the certificate is imported. Currently there is no UI to check / edit password.

PEM import requires to provide 2 files: the public certificate file and the private key. Similarly to P12 you should enter private key’s password if required.

The request will result with internal error with status code 0 (zero) if the password is incorrect.

Once a certificate is stored in application’s data store it can be used with the request editor, specifically with authorization settings. After selecting “Client certificate” option in the authorization drop down, a list of installed certificates appear. Select a certificate you want to use with the current request. The application now handles the rest. When the “send” button is pressed the certificate is restored from the datastore, decrypted if necessary, and passed to the HTTP request engine for processing.

Other updates

• Fixed issues with code snippets rendering (new lines at the end of the body)
• Updated AMF parser to version 4
• As a result of upgrading AMF parser also upgraded API Console
• Added “--skip-app-update” and “--skip-themes-update” command line switches
• Added auto switching to the dark theme when the OS operates in dark mode
• Upgraded Electron version to 7