This application is intended for creating and managing X.509 certificates, certificate requests, RSA, DSA and EC private keys, Smartcards and CRLs.
Publisher’s description
What is XCA?
XCA by Christian Hohnstaedt is open-source Windows software in the finance & crypto category. It ranks 11th by popularity among finance & crypto in this catalogue. It is written in C++. Besides Windows, it is available for Linux.
Installation and requirements
The publisher provides MSI installers for 64-bit Windows. Installation asks for administrator rights. A silent install is possible with the installer’s documented switches. An MSI package is available for deployment with Group Policy, Intune or Configuration Manager.
Updates and version history
The current version is 2.9.0, released on March 28, 2025. The version history goes back to May 7, 2021: 8 releases, all linked to the official files. That is about 1.6 releases a year. The last update is more than a year old.
Popularity and file types
The Chocolatey package has been downloaded 13,870 times. The source code on GitHub (chris2511/xca) has 2,025 stars. Similar programs include GnuCash, Binance and Electrum.
Project description on GitHub: “X Certificate and Key management”
Pros / Cons
Pros
- Open source: the code can be inspected and built by anyone
- MSI package for managed deployment
- Documented silent install
- Also runs on Linux
Cons
- No native ARM64 build
- Installation needs administrator rights
- No update for more than a year
In short: XCA is an open-source finance & crypto tool for 64-bit PCs. Updates have slowed down. Administrators can deploy it unattended.
Key features
- Start your own PKI and create all kinds of private keys, certificates, requests or CRLs
- Import and export them in any format like PEM, DER, PKCS#7, PKCS#12
- Use them for your IPsec, OpenVPN, TLS or any other certificate based setup
- Manage your Smart-Cards via PKCS#11 interface
- Export certificates and requests as OpenSSL config file
- Create Subject- and/or Extension- templates to ease issuing similar certs
- Convert existing certificates or requests to templates
- Get the broad support of x509v3 extensions as flexible as OpenSSL but user friendlier
- Adapt the columns to have your important information at a glance
AppStream · Flathub
Is XCA safe to download?
- The file is served by github.com, the publisher’s own domain
- The download link uses HTTPS
- A SHA256 hash is published, so you can verify the file:
B26886CFFB0170C4246A09C5E64965FAD9DA601C9A83E6B24AD2EE1B5F173638· Open the VirusTotal report for this hash - The link has not been checked yet
- The source code is public
- ExeAtlas does not host, wrap or modify installers
Related guide: How to check a file’s SHA256 hash on Windows
Security practices (OpenSSF Scorecard)
Automated checks of the chris2511/xca repository on GitHub by the Open Source Security Foundation, last run on October 19, 2026.
- No dangerous workflows10
- No binaries in the repository10
- Licence declared9
- Code review3
- Branch protection3
- Actively maintained0
- Restricted token permissions0
- Pinned dependencies0
- OpenSSF Best Practices badge0
- Security policy0
- Fuzzing0
- Signed releases0
- Static code analysis0
The score rates how the project is developed and released, not whether the program is safe to install. scorecard.dev
Recent versions
All 8 versions ›8 versions over 5 years · about 1.6 a year
| Version | Date | Size | Files |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2.9.0Latest | March 28, 2025 | — | 64-bit MSI |
| 2.8.0 | October 13, 2024 | — | 64-bit MSI |
| 2.7.0 | August 27, 2024 | — | 64-bit MSI |
| 2.6.0 | February 26, 2024 | — | 64-bit MSI |
| 2.5.0 | September 24, 2023 | — | 64-bit MSI |
| 2.4.0 | May 7, 2021 | — | 64-bit MSI |
| 2.3.0 | April 29, 2020 | — | 64-bit MSI |
| RELEASE.2.4.0 | May 7, 2021 | — | 64-bit MSI |
Install from the command line
Silent install ›winget install --id ChristianHohnstadt.xca -echoco install xca -yscoop install extras/xcamsiexec /i xca-2.9.0-win64.msi /qn /norestartmsiexec /x {9CD31286-F9BC-476F-8025-05B06EEF7510} /qn /norestartRelated guide: How to use winget: install and update apps
Also for other systems
brew install --cask xcaflatpak install flathub de.hohnstaedt.xcaInformation
- Publisher
- Christian Hohnstaedt
- Category
- Finance & crypto
- Licence
- BSD License
- Price
- Free
- Source code
- github.com/chris2511/xca
- Written in
- C++
- Content rating
- All ages
- Requires
- Windows 11 / 10
- Architecture
- 64-bit
- Installer
- MSI
- Other platforms
- Linux
- Version
- 2.9.0
- Released
- March 28, 2025
- Added to the catalogue
- March 30, 2021
- Versions listed
- 8
- Updates / year
- 1.6
- Chocolatey downloads
- 13,870
- GitHub stars
- 2,025
- GitHub forks
- 251
- Website
- hohnstaedt.de
- winget ID
- ChristianHohnstadt.xca
- Chocolatey package
- xca
- Scoop package
- extras/xca
- MSI product code
- {9CD31286-F9BC-476F-8025-05B06EEF7510}
Ratings and reviews
No reviews yet. Be the first to rate it.
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Frequently asked questions
Is XCA free?
Yes. XCA is open-source software under the BSD License licence.
Is XCA safe to download?
The download comes from github.com, which belongs to the publisher; ExeAtlas does not host or change the file. Compare its SHA256 hash with the one shown here, or open the VirusTotal report for that hash.
How do I install XCA with winget?
Open PowerShell or Windows Terminal and run the winget command shown on this page. winget downloads the official installer and checks its SHA256 hash before running it.
Can XCA be installed silently?
Yes. The silent install page lists the exact command for each installer, including msiexec for the MSI package.
Does XCA run on ARM (Windows on Arm)?
There is no ARM64 build; Windows 11 on Arm can run the 64-bit version through emulation.
Where can I download an older version of XCA?
The versions page lists all 8 versions with links to their official installer files, back to May 7, 2021.
What are alternatives to XCA?
GnuCash, Binance, Electrum, Bisq and Gridcoin. The alternatives page compares them.
