CA Certificate File Info

The CA (Certificate Authority) certificate file is needed so that PHPCap can verify that the REDCap instance it is connecting to is actually the instance that was specified.

In PHPCap, it is possible to set SSL verification to false, so that a CA certificate file is not required, however, this is insecure, and is not recommended. At most, setting SSL verification to false should only be used for initial testing with non-critical data.

It is possible that your system may already be set up to use a correct CA certificate file. This can be tested by trying to access a project with SSL verification set to true, but with no CA certificate file specified, for example:

<?php

require('PHPCap/autoloader.php');

use IU\PHPCap\RedCapProject;

$apiUrl = 'https://redcap.someplace.edu/api/'; # Replace with your REDCap's API URL
$apiToken = '1234567890A1234567890B1234567890';  # Replace with your API token

$sslVerify = true;
$project = RedCapProject($apiUrl, $apiToken, $sslVerify);
$project->exportProjectInfo();

If this works, then that would indicate that your system is already set up with a CA certificate file. If it fails, and you get an error message about a security certificate, such as

SSL certificate problem: self signed certificate in certificate chain

then your system is not already set up.

Creating a CA Certificate File with Firefox

To use the Firefox web browser to create a CA (Certificate Authority) certificate file for use with PHPCap, use the following steps:

1. Access your REDCap site with Firefox.

2. Click on the padlock icon to the left of the URL displayed in Firefox, and then the connection, and then "More Information".

   

3. If the previous step succeeded, a "Page Info" window should open up. In this window, click on the "Security" tab, if it is not already selected.

   

4. Click on the "View Certificate" button

5. Click on the "Detail" tab of the "Certificate Viewer" dialog.

   

6. Select the top entry in the "Certificate Hierarchy" box.
7. Click the "Export..." button.

8. In the "Save Certificate to File" window that should appear:

   1. navigate to where you want to save the file
   2. change the name of the file if you don't want to use the default name
   3. set "Save as type" to "X.509 Certificate (PEM)"

   4. click on the "Save" button.