papercut-mf-ssl-certificates-macos

PaperCut MF - SSL certificate (macOS)

Keeping your server secure is a top priority and a valid SSL certificate makes this easy.

If you already have.your own certificate then you can skip to step Step 4: Create a PFX file

If you don’t have a certificate then we can fetch a free SSL certificate from ZeroSSL. We will bundle the files together. Then, we will install them into PaperCut MF on the macOS server.

What you need

• Terminal access with administrative privileges on your macOS server.
• OpenSSL installed on your server.
• A free account at ZeroSSL.com.

Step 1: Fetch a certificate

Generate a free 90-day certificate quickly. The ZeroSSL dashboard handles the heavy lifting for you.

1. Go to ZeroSSL.com and log in.
2. Navigate to the dashboard and click New Certificate.
3. Type your exact domain in the domain field and click Next.
4. Select 90-Day Certificate (Free) and click Next.
5. Toggle the Auto-Generate CSR option to On and click Next.
6. Select the Free plan.

Step 2: Verify domain ownership

ZeroSSL needs to verify that you own the domain. Choose the method that works best for you.

1. Select an email, DNS, or HTTP verification method.
2. Follow the on-screen prompts to complete your chosen method.
3. Click Verify Domain.

Step 3: Download and extract

ZeroSSL issues your certificate after verification. You need to download and unzip these files.

1. Create a new folder

   mkdir ~/Desktop/CertRenew
   

2. Click Download Certificate.

3. Save the downloaded .zip file

4. Double-click the .zip file to extract the files to ~/Desktop/CertRenew/

Step 4: Create a PFX file

A PFX file packages your private key and certificate chain. It makes one password-protected file for PaperCut.

1. Create a folder on your desktop named CertRenew.
2. Move your extracted certificate files into this folder.
3. Go to your utilities folder and open Terminal.
4. Navigate to your new folder using this command:

cd ~/Desktop/CertRenewCombine the files by running this command:

openssl pkcs12 -export -out certificate.pfx -inkey private.key -in certificate.crt -certfile ca_bundle.crt

Type a strong password when prompted.

Step 5: Import the PFX into PaperCut MF

PaperCut uses a Java utility called keytool to handle certificates. We need to import your PFX into a Java keystore.

In your terminal, navigate to the PaperCut JRE directory:

cd "/Applications/PaperCut MF/runtime/jre/bin"

Run the import command to create the keystore file:

sudo ./keytool -importkeystore -srckeystore ~/Desktop/CertRenew/certificate.pfx -srcstoretype pkcs12 -destkeystore "/Applications/PaperCut MF/server/custom/my-ssl-keystore" -deststoretype JKS

Type a new password for your destination keystore.

Type your PFX export password for the source keystore.

Step 6: Configure PaperCut

Tell PaperCut where to find your new keystore file. You need to edit the server properties.

Open the server properties file with this command:

sudo nano "/Applications/PaperCut MF/server/server.properties"

1. Find the server.ssl section in the file.
2. Remove the # from the start of the keystore lines.
3. Update the lines to match this configuration:

server.ssl.keystore=custom/my-ssl-keystore
server.ssl.keystore-password=[Your Destination Password]
server.ssl.key-password=[Your PFX Password]

Press Ctrl+O, press Enter, and press Ctrl+X to save.

Step 7: Restart and verify

Restart the application server. This allows your changes to take effect.

Run this command to stop the server:

sudo "/Applications/PaperCut MF/server/bin/macosx/stop-server"

Run this command to start the server:

sudo "/Applications/PaperCut MF/server/bin/macosx/start-server"

Open a browser and navigate to your admin console.

Click the padlock icon to verify the certificate details.