---
id: wincertstore
version: "0.2.1"
license: PSFL
license_treatment: permissive
maintenance: abandoned
---

# wincertstore — Python module to extract CA and CRL certs from Windows' cert store (ctypes based).

License: permissive · Maintenance: abandoned · Downloads: 395.3K/mo

## What it is and what it does

wincertstore is a Windows-specific library that provides direct access to the operating system's certificate stores (CA and CRL) using ctypes to call the Windows crypt32.dll API. It allows you to enumerate certificates from Windows' system stores, filter them by enhanced key usage (such as SERVER_AUTH or CLIENT_AUTH), and extract them in PEM format or as a temporary certificate file for use with Python's ssl module.

The package is explicitly deprecated: since Python 2.7.9, the standard library's ssl.create_default_context() automatically loads certificates from Windows' cert store, making this package unnecessary for most modern use cases. The project is abandoned (last commit 2021-06-28, repository archived), and it targets only Python 2.7 and Python 3.0–3.3, making it incompatible with current Python versions.

Use it for:

- Extract CA certificates from Windows system store for legacy Python 2.7 applications that predate automatic cert loading.
- Access CRL (Certificate Revocation List) certificates from Windows' cert store in older codebases.
- Build a temporary certificate bundle file from Windows system stores for use with ssl.wrap_socket on Python 2.7.
- Enumerate certificates by enhanced key usage (e.g., SERVER_AUTH, CLIENT_AUTH) on Windows in pre-2.7.9 Python environments.

## Worth the install?

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

Accesses Windows system certificate stores (CA and CRL) via ctypes and crypt32.dll to extract certificates for SSL/TLS operations.

No. The package is abandoned, deprecated by design, and incompatible with Python 3.4+. Modern Python (2.7.9+) handles Windows certificate stores automatically via ssl.create_default_context(). Install only if you are maintaining legacy Python 2.7 code that predates this built-in behavior and cannot upgrade.

## Install

pip install wincertstore
uv add wincertstore
poetry add wincertstore

## Installing wincertstore

Before you install: Low install friction, but the package is abandoned as of 2021 and deprecated by design—Python 2.7.9+ and modern Python 3 versions handle Windows cert stores automatically via ssl.create_default_context().

License in practice: Licensed under the Python Software Foundation License (PSFL), a permissive license. No restrictions on use, modification, or distribution for most purposes.

Quickstart:

import wincertstore
for storename in ("CA", "ROOT"):
    with wincertstore.CertSystemStore(storename) as store:
        for cert in store.itercerts(usage=wincertstore.SERVER_AUTH):
            print(cert.get_pem().decode("ascii"))
            print(cert.get_name())

Windows XP or newer required; Windows-only (uses crypt32.dll). Not compatible with Python 3.4+.

Verify before relying:

- Whether the package works reliably on modern Windows versions (last release 2021-06-08, no recent maintenance).
- Current compatibility with Python 3.3 given the requires_python constraint excludes 3.4+.

## Package facts

- License: PSFL (permissive)
- Python support: unspecified
- Install friction: low
- Maintenance: abandoned
- Downloads: 395.3K/month (top 15,000 on PyPI)
- Known vulnerabilities: none known

## Tags

windows certificate store access, extract windows ca certificates, windows ssl cert store, crypt32 certificate retrieval, windows root certificate store, windows-only, deprecated, legacy

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