{
  "id": 5990817,
  "title": "AutoHttps: a zero-dependency automatic HTTPS library for ASP.NET Core / Kestrel",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/06/autohttps-a-zero-dependency-automatic-https-library-for-asp-net-core",
  "topic": "tech",
  "section": "Tech",
  "published": "2026-09-06T14:15:19.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Dev.to",
    "slug": "dev-to",
    "url": "https://dev.to/jhenderson1992/autohttps-a-zero-dependency-automatic-https-library-for-aspnet-core-kestrel-382j"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "AutoHttps is a library designed to provide automatic HTTPS support for ASP.NET Core applications using Kestrel. It obtains a real TLS certificate from Let's Encrypt or any other ACME certificate authority and manages renewal automatically. To use AutoHttps, developers only need to add the package and configure three values in their application.\n\nThe library handles both http-01 and dns-01 challenges, including wildcard certificates through dns-01. It renews certificates using ACME Renewal Information, following the schedule provided by the certificate authority and handling short-lived certificates. AutoHttps works with multiple certificate authorities, including Let's Encrypt, ZeroSSL, Google Trust Services, Buypass, and even private or internal CAs.\n\nThe library can safely run multiple instances of itself, sharing a single certificate through a lock mechanism. It starts by serving a self-signed certificate while waiting for the real one to be issued. AutoHttps provides callbacks for certificate changes and failures, a health check, metrics, and a method to read the current certificate from code.\n\nThe need for AutoHttps arose due to Let's Encrypt's abandonment in April 2025 and its last release targeting .NET 6, which is no longer supported. Additionally, Let's Encrypt is transitioning to shorter certificate lifetimes (now offering 6-day certificates as default and planning to drop to 45 days) and has introduced RFC 9773 for certificate renewal notifications. There was no maintained, dependency-free solution for Kestrel at that time, so AutoHttps was created to address these issues.\n\nAutoHttps operates by attaching to Kestrel, answering the http-01 challenge directly within the request pipeline, writing the certificate and account key to disk for persistence across restarts, and checking for renewal on a timer. If a failure occurs, AutoHttps continues serving the existing certificate and retries, ensuring the application remains operational. The library targets .NET 8.0 and .NET 10.0, is released under the MIT license, and is available on NuGet as AutoHttps. The source code and documentation can be found on GitHub: https://github.com/astralmaster/AutoHttps.",
  "summary": "Hi. I maintain a library called AutoHttps. It gets a real TLS certificate for your ASP.NET Core app from Let's Encrypt (or any ACME certificate authority) and renews it automatically. You add the package, set three values, and Kestrel serves HTTPS. No external service, and no NuGet dependencies. builder.Services.AddAutoHttps(options => { options.DomainNames.Add(\"example.com\");…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}