# SSL Certificate Checker - Bulk Expiry & Chain (`propped_cloak/ssl-certificate-checker`) Actor

Check SSL/TLS certificates in bulk: validity, expiry date, days left, issuer, chain, hostname match, self-signed, TLS version. Monitor expiries. $1 per 1,000 hosts.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/propped_cloak/ssl-certificate-checker.md
- **Developed by:** [Emmanuel Vingadassalon](https://apify.com/propped_cloak) (community)
- **Categories:** Developer tools, Automation, SEO tools
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $0.80 / 1,000 host checkeds

This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.
Since this Actor supports Apify Store discounts, the price gets lower the higher subscription plan you have.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/actors/running/actors-in-store.md#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

An Actor is a serverless cloud program that runs on the Apify platform. It has two run modes.
In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours,
and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store.
In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server.

Apify vocabulary and the platform model are defined once, in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md.

## How to integrate an Actor?

If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects.
You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready.

Do not guess an integration path. Every one of them is in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md: the Apify MCP server, Agent Skills with the Apify CLI, the JavaScript and Python clients, the REST API, and the account-free path for an agent with no human to sign in. It also carries the rule on stating cost before the first paid run.

For examples already wired to this Actor's own input schema, see the [API](#api) section below.

Each client library has reference documentation the quickstart does not restate: [JavaScript/TypeScript](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md) (`npm install apify-client`) and [Python](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md) (`pip install apify-client`).

# README

## SSL Certificate Checker - Bulk Expiry & Chain

Check the **SSL/TLS certificate of hundreds of websites** in one run: valid or not, **expiry date and days left**, issuer, full chain, hostname match, self-signed, TLS version and cipher. Schedule it daily and never let a certificate expire again.

- **Clear verdict.** `valid` is true only when the chain is trusted, the hostname matches and the certificate has not expired. `error` tells you why it isn't: `CERT_HAS_EXPIRED`, `Hostname does not match the certificate`, `DEPTH_ZERO_SELF_SIGNED_CERT`... Revocation (OCSP, CRL) is not checked: a revoked but unexpired certificate still shows `valid: true`.
- **Expiry monitoring.** `daysToExpiry` and `expiresSoon` (fewer than 30 days by default) for each host. Run it on a schedule and alert on `expiresSoon`.
- **Any port.** `mail.example.com:993`, `api.example.com:8443` or a plain URL all work, not only port 443.
- **Fast and cheap.** Plain TLS handshakes, no browser: **$1 per 1,000 hosts**.

### What can I use it for?

- **Certificate expiry monitoring** for all your domains and subdomains, or your clients' sites.
- **Security audits:** find self-signed, mismatched or old-TLS certificates on a list of hosts.
- **Due diligence:** see which certificate authorities and key types a set of companies uses.
- **AI agents:** let an agent check a site's HTTPS health through the Apify MCP server.

### Input

```json
{
    "hosts": ["apify.com", "https://shop.example.com", "mail.example.com:993"],
    "expiryWarningDays": 30
}
```

### Output

One row per host. Example from a real run (shortened):

```json
{
    "host": "apify.com",
    "port": 443,
    "valid": true,
    "expiresSoon": false,
    "error": null,
    "protocol": "TLSv1.3",
    "cipher": "TLS_AES_128_GCM_SHA256",
    "subject": "*.apify.com",
    "issuer": "Amazon",
    "issuerCommonName": "Amazon RSA 2048 M04",
    "altNames": ["*.apify.com", "apifier.com", "*.apifier.com"],
    "hostnameMatch": true,
    "selfSigned": false,
    "validFrom": "2026-07-03T00:00:00.000Z",
    "validTo": "2027-01-16T23:59:59.000Z",
    "daysToExpiry": 96,
    "keyType": "rsa",
    "keyBits": 2048,
    "serialNumber": "033947021329345FC779537CD9A338FD",
    "fingerprintSha256": "8B:70:D5:07:BC:74:55:22...",
    "chain": [
        { "subject": "Amazon RSA 2048 M04", "issuer": "Amazon", "validTo": "2030-08-23T22:26:35.000Z" },
        { "subject": "Amazon Root CA 1", "issuer": "Starfield Technologies, Inc.", "validTo": "2037-12-31T01:00:00.000Z" }
    ],
    "checkedAt": "2026-10-12T12:07:51.425Z"
}
```

### Pricing

**$0.001 per host checked ($1 per 1,000 hosts)**, plus Apify's small run-start fee. Hosts that refuse the connection or time out count as checked, because that is the answer you need. Invalid names, unknown domains and internal addresses are free.

### Fair use and safety

The Actor only performs a TLS handshake to read the certificate. No HTTP request is sent and no page is downloaded. Private and internal network addresses are refused, including public names that point to them.

### Use it from AI agents (MCP)

Add `ssl-certificate-checker` to the [Apify MCP server](https://mcp.apify.com) in your MCP client (Claude, Cursor, VS Code...).

### Integrations

Apify API, schedules, webhooks, Make, Zapier, n8n. Export as JSON, CSV, Excel or HTML. Pair it with an Apify monitoring alert to get an e-mail when a certificate is close to expiry.

### FAQ

**Need registrar expiry, DNS and email security too?** Use [WHOIS & DNS Domain Lookup](https://apify.com/propped_cloak/whois-dns-domain-lookup).

**Something wrong or missing?** Open an issue on the Issues tab.

# Actor input Schema

## `hosts` (type: `array`):

Domains, URLs or host:port, one per line (port 443 by default). Example: shop.example.com, https://example.org, mail.example.com:993.

## `expiryWarningDays` (type: `integer`):

expiresSoon is true when the certificate expires in fewer days than this.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "hosts": [
    "apify.com",
    "expired.badssl.com",
    "wrong.host.badssl.com"
  ],
  "expiryWarningDays": 30
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `results` (type: `string`):

One row per host: validity, expiry date and days left, issuer, chain, hostname match and TLS version.

# API

You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup.

## JavaScript example

```javascript
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

// Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
// Replace the '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {
    "hosts": [
        "apify.com",
        "expired.badssl.com",
        "wrong.host.badssl.com"
    ]
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("propped_cloak/ssl-certificate-checker").call(input);

// Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any)
console.log('Results from dataset');
console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`);
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
items.forEach((item) => {
    console.dir(item);
});

// 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs

```

## Python example

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

# Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
# Replace '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = { "hosts": [
        "apify.com",
        "expired.badssl.com",
        "wrong.host.badssl.com",
    ] }

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("propped_cloak/ssl-certificate-checker").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print(f"💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/{run.default_dataset_id}")
for item in client.dataset(run.default_dataset_id).iterate_items():
    print(item)

# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{
  "hosts": [
    "apify.com",
    "expired.badssl.com",
    "wrong.host.badssl.com"
  ]
}' |
apify call propped_cloak/ssl-certificate-checker --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,propped_cloak/ssl-certificate-checker"
        }
    }
}
```

The hosted server signs you in with OAuth on first connect, so no API token belongs in this config. Clients without OAuth support can send an `Authorization: Bearer <APIFY_API_TOKEN>` header instead, using a token from API & Integrations in Apify Console (https://console.apify.com/settings/integrations).

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/UrX9WhQDrGhISSiTw/builds/8oZRl6IBLw3GUIse6/openapi.json