I needed to grab GoDaddy’s SSL Certificate KeyFile for a CRM company that was connecting my client’s jobs database with my client’s WordPress website.
Specifically, I needed 3 separate files:
- SSL Certificate File
- SSL Certificate Key File (GoDaddy called this the Private Key)
- SSL Certificate Chain File (GoDaddy called this the CRT File)
First, see if your download button is available to the zip for SSL Certificate Keyfile from GoDaddy.
1. Login to GoDaddy.
2. Click your name at top right, then My Products.
3. Scroll down and open SSL Certificates.
4. Click Manage to the right of your SSL.
My Download button was unavailable. If yours is available, then skip this next section.
Next, rekey your SSL Certificate to give you temporary access to the Download button.
5. Click on Rekey & Manage instead to rekey the SSL Certificate. This will give you temporary access to the Download button, and grab the SSL Certificate files.
6. Click the (+) sign by Change encryption algorithm… to open the options.
7. Choose Starfield… from the dropdown menu and SAVE.
8. Scroll down farther, and hit Submit All Saved Changes.
GoDaddy support said to wait about 6 hours for the changes to take effect. I waited 5 minutes, refreshed the Manage screen for the SSL Certificate, and Download button was available!
About 30 minutes later, it was no longer available. So it appears to be temporary access or something. Moving on…
Finally, Download SSL Certificate Keyfiles
10. Click Download.
11. Choose the server type (Apache, in my case, because I’m on cPanel for WordPress.) and click Download Zip File.
The download contains several files. Look for the file whose name begins with gd_bundle... such as gd_bundle_g2.crt. This is the file that you will need to find all 3 of your certificate files for GoDaddy.
12. Separate the 3 certificate pieces that you need.
The file has an unusual extension, like .crt, but it was easy to view and edit in a code editor like Textmate or Coda. You could possibly use Mac’s TextEdit in the plain text format.
The file may be confusing. In this one file, the order of the certificates are as follows:
- SSL Certificate File
- SSL Certificate Key File (GoDaddy called this the Private Key)
- SSL Certificate Chain File (GoDaddy called this the CRT File)
Here is how I did it: I duplicated the “gd_bundle…” file thrice, and renamed the three new files to reflect the 3 certs needed. It doesn’t matter exactly what you name them; I suggest something like above. After that, in each file, I removed all keys but the one named by the filename.
If all you’re looking to download is the private key file, then you can do the following:
CPanel Admin —> Security SSL/TLS —> Private Keys (KEY) Generate, view upload or delete your private keys —> Keys on Server Edit —> Cut and paste decoded private key to a .key file
Hi Trek, are those instructions for how to download the private key within GoDaddy?
Smasus, sorry so late here! I believe Trek is referring to the cPanel Admin. If your website is hosted on GoDaddy, then I think you can get access to cPanel within GoDaddy.
i dont have a cpanel. I am using the server version of ubuntu. i have downloaded the certificate from godaddy ssl. And i have got 3 files as below:
1. .crt file
2. .pem file
3. gd_bundle_g2.crt
Having these 3 files. Now which files should be added as ssl certificate and ssl certificate key in my server machine? should i have to extract any key from these files or should i just use these files?
Vinod,
I think your answer might be the last paragraph of my blog post. Choose the gd_bundle_g2.crt and open it in Text Edit (or text- or code-based application). Are all three keys in there? You have to make 3 separate files out each.
Sarah
which one is which one ? I don’t understand which is key file and which is crt file
Okay, so first of all, What files do you have from Godaddy?
yes but what do you call the three files or is it not important ?
Hi Mark, sorry so late here. I don’t think it matters what you call the three files, as long as it is clear to you. If I remember right, I copied the content and pasted into GoDaddy. I suggest calling the files either by the 3 names I list above, or by what GoDaddy calls them.
Hope that helps!
Thanks! Good job!
Thank you
Hi! In the file that I removed all keys but the one named, should I rename anything else?
Keli, I’m sorry, I’m not following what you’re asking. Are you only working with one file? Can you rephrase the question?
I was working with 3 files, so I am confused by your question. I had duplicated the file two times, resulting in 3 duplicate files. I renamed each one to reflect a different key. Inside, I deleted all but the key named in the filename. Do you follow me?
Sarah
Thank you for the informative blog post on renewing or rekeying SSL certificates with GoDaddy. I found the step-by-step instructions very helpful and easy to follow. It’s essential to keep SSL certificates up to date to ensure website security and avoid any potential warnings or errors for website visitors.
If you only need to download the private key file for your SSL certificate, you can follow these steps:
Log in to your CPanel Admin panel.
Navigate to the Security section and click on SSL/TLS.
From the SSL/TLS menu, click on the Private Keys (KEY) option.
Here, you can generate, view, upload or delete your private keys. Find the key you want to download and click on the “View” button.
On the “Keys on Server” page, click on the “Edit” button next to the key you want to download.
You will see the decoded private key displayed on the screen. Select the entire private key, copy it to your clipboard.
Open a text editor on your local machine, such as Notepad or Sublime Text, and paste the private key into a new file.
Save the file with a .key extension, such as “my_private_key.key”.
You should now have successfully downloaded your private key file from your CPanel Admin panel.