What is a .PEM file?
PEM is a text encoding for certificates and keys, recognisable by its BEGIN/END lines.
- Did you know
- PEM is named after Privacy-Enhanced Mail, a 1990s secure-email standard whose encoding outlived it.
- A PEM file is base64-encoded DER wrapped between BEGIN and END lines that label what it contains.
- Because PEM only defines the wrapper, one file can hold almost anything - certificates, keys or chains.
- What Analyser reads
- Identify and decode X.509 security certificates (CRT, CER, PEM, DER) - subject, issuer, validity dates, and key details.
- Depth of analysis
- .PEM is an identification-grade format: Analyser recognises it from its bytes and decodes the header metadata it carries, rather than opening it in a full viewer. Formats that do get a full viewer are marked "Full" on the formats page.
- Open a .PEM file
- Drag a .PEM file onto the Analyser home page (or tap to pick one). It is identified entirely in your browser - nothing is uploaded, there is no account, and it works offline once installed.
- Related formats
- .CRT · .CER · .DER. See all supported file types.