Overview
You can export the contents of your SSL certificate by manually copying the certificate and key files in your panel to your home computer. Please note that there is currently not an automated way to export your SSL certificate into a single file.
Only Sectigo certificates can be used on another server. Let's Encrypt certificates only function on the server they were issued to.
Exporting your certificate files
- Navigate to the Secure Certificates page in your panel.
- To the right of your domain, click the Settings button.
On this page you will see your Certificate, RSA Private Key, and Intermediate Certificate. - Click the Copy to Clipboard button next to each and then save them as local .crt files on your home computer.
Creating a .pem file
Privacy Enhanced Mail (PEM) files contain a certificate, an RSA private key, and intermediate certificates within a single file. Some hosting providers prefer using .pem files to import third-party SSL certificates. The following describes how you can create a .pem file for your exported DreamHost certificates by running a few simple commands on your server.
Make sure to upload the .crt and .key files to your user before you begin. Change the file names in the commands below to match your uploaded files.
- Connect to your domain via SSH. Visit the SSH article for instructions.
- Once logged into your server via SSH, make sure you're in your user's home directory:
[server]$ cd ~
- Run the following command to add your private key to a new .pem file:
[server]$ cat private.key > example.pem
- Run the following command to add your certificate to the .pem file:
[server]$ cat certificate.crt >> example.pem
- Run the following command to add your intermediate certificate to the .pem file:
[server]$ cat intermediate.crt >> example.pem