head to head · open source
Certipy vs certstrap
Certipy has 3,672 GitHub stars, 483 forks, 25 open issues and last shipped 2 months ago. certstrap has 2,454 stars, 212 forks, 32 open issues and last shipped 8 months ago. Certipy leads on adoption by 50% (3,672 vs 2,454 stars). Certipy is written in Python under MIT; certstrap is written in Go under Apache-2.0. Certipy has attracted 13% as many forks as stars, certstrap 9%. Certipy was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee.
Two open source projects, one decision. Both are free and self-hostable — the differences are community size, license terms, language stack and release pace.
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Side by side
| Certipy | certstrap | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 3.7K | ★ 2.5K |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | Python | Go |
| Last push | 2026-07-30 | 2026-02-03 |
| Forks | ⑂ 483 | ⑂ 212 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Certipy if
- You weight community size — 3.7K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick certstrap if
- You want the certstrap feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Go
- You evaluated both and certstrap fits your workflow better
About Certipy
Certipy is an open source Python toolkit, published under the MIT licence on PyPI as certipy ad , for enumerating and abusing Active Directory Certificate Services (AD CS), built for red teamers, penetration testers, and defenders who need to assess AD CS misconfigurations in Windows Active Directory environments.
read the full Certipy overview →
About certstrap
certstrap is a simple certificate manager written in Go that bootstraps a private certificate authority and public key infrastructure, aimed at operators and developers who need to issue TLS certificates without wrestling with openssl.
read the full certstrap overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Certipy or certstrap more popular?
Certipy has 3,672 GitHub stars and certstrap has 2,454. Certipy has the larger community by that measure.
Are Certipy and certstrap free?
Both are open source. Certipy is licensed under MIT and certstrap under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Certipy and certstrap?
Certipy is written in Python and certstrap in Go. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, Certipy or certstrap?
Choose Certipy if you want the larger community (3,672 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose certstrap if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.