[GH-ISSUE #350] [Question] mkcert vs cert-manager #230

New issue

Open

opened 2026-02-25 22:32:54 +03:00 by kerem · 3 comments

kerem commented

2026-02-25 22:32:54 +03:00

Owner

Originally created by @scheung38 on GitHub (Mar 9, 2021).
Original GitHub issue: https://github.com/FiloSottile/mkcert/issues/350

Are these two providing the same functionality in terms of cert management?

Originally created by @scheung38 on GitHub (Mar 9, 2021). Original GitHub issue: https://github.com/FiloSottile/mkcert/issues/350 Are these two providing the same functionality in terms of cert management?

kerem commented

2026-02-25 22:32:55 +03:00

Author

Owner

@noelforte commented on GitHub (Apr 5, 2021):

If you're referring to https://cert-manager.io/ then no, mkcert is a tool aimed at local development to automate the generation of untrusted certificates from a local certificate authority, while cert-manager appears to be a tool for creating certificates for deployment on a Kubernetes cluster. Therefore these 2 are not interchangeable and also mkcert wasn't designed to run in production environments as the certs and CA's it makes need installation on all clients in order to work.

@noelforte commented on GitHub (Apr 5, 2021): If you're referring to https://cert-manager.io/ then no, `mkcert` is a tool aimed at local development to automate the generation of **untrusted** certificates from a local certificate authority, while cert-manager appears to be a tool for creating certificates for deployment on a Kubernetes cluster. Therefore these 2 are not interchangeable and also mkcert wasn't designed to run in production environments as the certs and CA's it makes need installation on all clients in order to work.

kerem commented

2026-02-25 22:32:55 +03:00

Author

Owner

@jsponz commented on GitHub (Apr 14, 2021):

@noelforte what is your recommendation for a production environment?

Thanks,
Jorge

@jsponz commented on GitHub (Apr 14, 2021): @noelforte what is your recommendation for a production environment? Thanks, Jorge

kerem commented

2026-02-25 22:32:55 +03:00

Author

Owner

@noelforte commented on GitHub (Apr 15, 2021):

@jsponz seems a bit off-topic for this issue...nevertheless it depends on what you're trying to do. If you're looking to secure a small site with TLS then Let's Encrypt or any other ACME CA is the best option. For larger environments or enterprise use, your mileage will definitely vary.

@noelforte commented on GitHub (Apr 15, 2021): @jsponz seems a bit off-topic for this issue...nevertheless it depends on what you're trying to do. If you're looking to secure a small site with TLS then [Let's Encrypt](https://letsencrypt.org/) or any other ACME CA is the best option. For larger environments or enterprise use, your mileage will **definitely** vary.