---
id: rfc3161-client
version: "1.0.8"
license: unclear
license_treatment: permissive
maintenance: active
---

# rfc3161-client

License: permissive · Maintenance: active · Downloads: 899.3K/mo

## What it is and what it does

rfc3161-client is a Python library that implements the Time-Stamp Protocol (TSP) from RFC 3161, enabling you to create timestamp requests and verify timestamp responses from Time-Stamp Authorities (TSAs). The library is built on Rust bindings (via PyO3) for performance and correctness, wrapping ASN.1 encoding/decoding and cryptographic operations. It depends on cryptography for certificate handling.

The library provides two main workflows: building a timestamp request to send to a TSA server (which you must handle via your own HTTP client), and verifying the returned timestamp response against a set of trusted root certificates. It does not perform network activity itself—you control how requests are sent and responses are fetched. This design keeps the library focused on protocol correctness rather than network concerns.

Use it for:

- Build RFC 3161 timestamp requests to submit to a Time-Stamp Authority server for non-repudiation proof.
- Verify timestamp responses from TSAs against trusted root certificates to validate authenticity.
- Add cryptographic timestamping to document signing workflows to prove when a document existed.
- Validate the authenticity of timestamped data by verifying the TSA's signature chain.
- Integrate timestamping into compliance or audit logging systems requiring proof of time.

## Worth the install?

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

Implements RFC 3161 Time-Stamp Protocol to build timestamp requests and verify timestamp responses using cryptographic certificates.

Yes. The library is actively maintained, production-stable, has no known vulnerabilities, and solves a specific RFC 3161 compliance need. The permissive Apache 2.0 license and broad platform support (cp39-abi3 wheels) make adoption straightforward. Medium install friction is acceptable for a specialized cryptographic tool. Install if you need RFC 3161 timestamping; skip if you don't need protocol-compliant timestamp verification.

## Install

pip install rfc3161-client
uv add rfc3161-client
poetry add rfc3161-client

## Installing rfc3161-client

Before you install: Medium install friction due to compiled Rust bindings (cp39-abi3 wheels across multiple platforms). Active maintenance with recent release 16 days old and ongoing repository activity.

License in practice: Apache 2.0 permissive license allows commercial and private use with minimal restrictions; attribution required.

Quickstart:

from rfc3161_client import TimestampRequestBuilder, decode_timestamp_response

message = b"Hello, World!"
timestamp_request = TimestampRequestBuilder().data(message).build()
# Send timestamp_request.as_bytes() to TSA server via your HTTP client
# Then decode the response:
timestamp_response = decode_timestamp_response(response_content)

Requires Python 3.9+; network requests must be handled separately (library does not perform network activity).

Verify before relying:

- Whether the library supports all hash algorithms or only a subset of RFC 3161 options.
- Performance characteristics when verifying timestamps against large certificate sets.
- Compatibility with non-standard or legacy TSA servers beyond RFC 3161 compliance.

## Package facts

- License: not declared (permissive)
- Python support: supports_current
- Install friction: medium
- Maintenance: active
- Downloads: 899.3K/month (top 5,000 on PyPI)
- Known vulnerabilities: none known

## Tags

RFC 3161 timestamp protocol, time-stamp request response, TSP client library, timestamp verification, cryptographic timestamping, RFC 3161 implementation, timestamp authority client, cryptography, timestamp-protocol, rfc-3161

[View on SkillFed](https://skillfed.io/packages/rfc3161-client) · [View on PyPI](https://pypi.org/project/rfc3161-client/)