Azure Key Vault Certificates SDK for Rust

Client library for Azure Key Vault Certificates — secure storage and management of certificates.

Installation

cargo add azure_security_keyvault_certificates azure_identity

Environment Variables

AZURE_KEYVAULT_URL=https://\x3Cvault-name>.vault.azure.net/

Authentication

use azure_identity::DeveloperToolsCredential;
use azure_security_keyvault_certificates::CertificateClient;

let credential = DeveloperToolsCredential::new(None)?;
let client = CertificateClient::new(
    "https://\x3Cvault-name>.vault.azure.net/",
    credential.clone(),
    None,
)?;

Core Operations

Get Certificate

use azure_core::base64;

let certificate = client
    .get_certificate("certificate-name", None)
    .await?
    .into_model()?;

println!(
    "Thumbprint: {:?}",
    certificate.x509_thumbprint.map(base64::encode_url_safe)
);

Create Certificate

use azure_security_keyvault_certificates::models::{
    CreateCertificateParameters, CertificatePolicy,
    IssuerParameters, X509CertificateProperties,
};

let policy = CertificatePolicy {
    issuer_parameters: Some(IssuerParameters {
        name: Some("Self".into()),
        ..Default::default()
    }),
    x509_certificate_properties: Some(X509CertificateProperties {
        subject: Some("CN=example.com".into()),
        ..Default::default()
    }),
    ..Default::default()
};

let params = CreateCertificateParameters {
    certificate_policy: Some(policy),
    ..Default::default()
};

let operation = client
    .create_certificate("cert-name", params.try_into()?, None)
    .await?;

Import Certificate

use azure_security_keyvault_certificates::models::ImportCertificateParameters;

let params = ImportCertificateParameters {
    base64_encoded_certificate: Some(base64_cert_data),
    password: Some("optional-password".into()),
    ..Default::default()
};

let certificate = client
    .import_certificate("cert-name", params.try_into()?, None)
    .await?
    .into_model()?;

Delete Certificate

client.delete_certificate("certificate-name", None).await?;

List Certificates

use azure_security_keyvault_certificates::ResourceExt;
use futures::TryStreamExt;

let mut pager = client.list_certificate_properties(None)?.into_stream();
while let Some(cert) = pager.try_next().await? {
    let name = cert.resource_id()?.name;
    println!("Certificate: {}", name);
}

Get Certificate Policy

let policy = client
    .get_certificate_policy("certificate-name", None)
    .await?
    .into_model()?;

Update Certificate Policy

use azure_security_keyvault_certificates::models::UpdateCertificatePolicyParameters;

let params = UpdateCertificatePolicyParameters {
    // Update policy properties
    ..Default::default()
};

client
    .update_certificate_policy("cert-name", params.try_into()?, None)
    .await?;

Certificate Lifecycle

1. Create — generates new certificate with policy
2. Import — import existing PFX/PEM certificate
3. Get — retrieve certificate (public key only)
4. Update — modify certificate properties
5. Delete — soft delete (recoverable)
6. Purge — permanent deletion

Best Practices

1. Use Entra ID auth — DeveloperToolsCredential for dev
2. Use managed certificates — auto-renewal with supported issuers
3. Set proper validity period — balance security and maintenance
4. Use certificate policies — define renewal and key properties
5. Monitor expiration — set up alerts for expiring certificates
6. Enable soft delete — required for production vaults

RBAC Permissions

Assign these Key Vault roles:

• Key Vault Certificates Officer — full CRUD on certificates
• Key Vault Reader — read certificate metadata

Reference Links