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Sign Java files with Jarsigner using JCE library

Jarsigner is a command-line tool and JCE is a framework within the Java Development Kit (JDK). It is used to digitally sign Java Archive (JAR) files and other related artifacts.

Tip

Signing with JCE is recommended over PKCS11 and KSP library options because it is:

  • Compatible with any operating system that supports Java (Windows, Linux, macOS, Solaris, and AIX)

  • Compatible with any Java architecture, including: 64-bit, 32-bit, and ARM processors.

Follow these instructions to sign directly using Jarsigner, JCE and securely reference your private key stored in Software Trust Manager.

Prerequisites

  • Download JCE library

  • Install JDK or OpenJDK (compatible with version 8 and higher)

    Note

    Testing for EdDSA signature generation requires Java version 15 or higher.

  • Configure your credentials

    Note

    Your API key and client authentication certificate password must be provided using one of the following methods:

    • Session-based environment variables.

    • Persistent environment variables.

  • Keypair alias

  • Unsigned jar file

What files can Jarsigner sign using the JCE library?

  • .jar

  • .ear

  • .sar

  • .war

Jarsigner parameters for JCE

Jarsigner parameters are case-sensitive and must be passed in each request.

Table 1. Common parameters for jarsigner and keytool

Parameter

Value

-keystore

none

-storepass

changeit

-storetype

DIGICERT

-providerclass

com.digicert.jce.Provider


Jarsigner commands for JCE

The examples shown for the commands below use Java JDK 8, however DigiCert​​®​​ Software Trust Manager supports JDK version 8 and higher.

Note

The parameters may vary depending on which JDK version is installed.

To list jarsigner parameters, run:

jarsigner

Sign

To sign, run:

Verify signature

To verify if a file is signed, run:

jarsigner -verify "<path to signed jar file>" -certs -verbose

Note

To return more details, include -certs -verbose as an optional parameters.

Sample command:

jarsigner -verify "C:\Users\Name\Desktop\Signed\example.jar"
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