---
id: requests-pkcs12
version: "1.27"
license: ISC
license_treatment: permissive
maintenance: aging
---

# requests-pkcs12 — Add PKCS#12 support to the requests library in a clean way, without monkey patching or temporary files

License: permissive · Maintenance: aging · Downloads: 1.3M/mo

## What it is and what it does

requests-pkcs12 extends the requests library to handle PKCS#12 (p12/pfx) certificate files for mutual TLS authentication. Instead of monkey patching or writing unencrypted temporary files, it creates a custom TransportAdapter that provides a custom SSLContext, integrating cleanly into requests' design. You can use it as a drop-in replacement for one-off requests or mount it to a session for repeated authenticated calls.

The package depends on cryptography for certificate handling and requests itself. It supports both file-based and in-memory certificate data, accepts optional password protection, and allows SSL protocol version configuration. The authors position it as a transitional solution until requests adds native PKCS#12 support.

Use it for:

- Authenticate to APIs that require client certificates in PKCS#12 format without managing temporary unencrypted files.
- Build a requests Session with persistent PKCS#12-based authentication for repeated calls to the same endpoint.
- Migrate legacy systems using p12 certificates to Python without rewriting certificate handling infrastructure.
- Test HTTPS endpoints that enforce mutual TLS with client certificate validation during CI/CD pipelines.

## Worth the install?

AI-flagged interpretation of the facts above — verify before relying.

Adds PKCS#12 certificate support to the requests library without monkey patching, enabling client certificate authentication over HTTPS.

Yes, if you need PKCS#12 support for requests. The implementation is clean, dependencies are minimal, and the license is permissive. The aging maintenance status (341 days since last release) is a minor concern but not a blocker—the package is stable and the repository remains active. No known vulnerabilities. Install if client certificate authentication is a requirement; skip if you can use PEM certificates directly.

## Install

pip install requests-pkcs12
uv add requests-pkcs12
poetry add requests-pkcs12

## Installing requests-pkcs12

Before you install: Low friction install with only two runtime dependencies (cryptography and requests). Maintenance is aging—last release was 341 days ago—but the repository remains active and the package is marked Production/Stable.

License in practice: ISC license is permissive and places minimal restrictions on use or redistribution, making it suitable for most commercial and open-source projects.

Quickstart:

pip install requests-pkcs12

from requests_pkcs12 import get
r = get('https://example.com/test', pkcs12_filename='clientcert.p12', pkcs12_password='correcthorsebatterystaple')

Requires Python 3.7 or later; cryptography and requests must be installed as runtime dependencies.

Verify before relying:

- Whether the package is actively maintained or in maintenance-only mode given the 341-day gap since last release.
- Performance characteristics when handling large or many PKCS#12 certificates in high-throughput scenarios.

## Package facts

- License: ISC (permissive)
- Python support: supports_current
- Install friction: low
- Maintenance: aging
- Downloads: 1.3M/month (top 5,000 on PyPI)
- Known vulnerabilities: none known

## Tags

pkcs12 certificate requests, client certificate authentication python, requests ssl certificate, p12 certificate support, https client cert python, requests custom ssl context, certificate-based authentication, tls-client-auth, certificate-handling

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