CLI Reference

Reference for the five console scripts installed with openbadgeslib. Every flag, default and example below is taken directly from the source. For the meaning of config keys see Configuration; for an end-to-end walkthrough see Quick Start.

All scripts except openbadges-init accept -v / --version (prints the library version and exits) and default -c / --config to config.ini in the current directory.

openbadges-init

Bootstraps a working directory: creates the directory plus keys/, images/, log/ and status/ subdirectories (with a restrictive 0o077 umask) and copies the bundled config.ini.example to <DIRECTORY>/config.ini.

This script does not use argparse. It takes a single positional argument and only recognises -h (which prints the usage line). It fails if the target path already exists.

Synopsis

openbadges-init DIRECTORY

Argument	Meaning	Default
DIRECTORY (positional)	Directory to create and populate	required
-h	Print the usage line and exit	—

Example

$ openbadges-init ./myissuer
$ ls myissuer
config.ini  images  keys  log  status

If the target path already exists the script prints [!] <path> already exists and exits with a non-zero status. Edit the generated config.ini before running any other command — see Configuration.

openbadges-keygenerator

Generates a PEM key pair (private signing key + public verification key) for a badge section. The key algorithm is read from the badge's key_type field (RSA, ECC, or ED25519; default RSA), not from a command-line flag. With no -g, it prints help and exits.

Synopsis

openbadges-keygenerator -g BADGE [-c FILE] [-V {1,2,3}] [-d]

Short	Long	Meaning	Default
-c	--config	Config file to use	config.ini
-g	--genkey BADGE	Generate a key pair for section [badge_<BADGE>] (the suffix after badge_)	none (prints help)
-V	--ob-version {1,2,3}	OB spec version; key material is identical for all	3
-d	--debug	Show debug messages at runtime	off
-v	--version	Print version and exit	—

The command refuses to overwrite: if either key file already exists it prints [!] Key file is present at <path> and exits with status 1.

Example

$ openbadges-keygenerator -c ./config/config.ini -g 1
INFO - Generating OpenBadges 3 RSA key pair for issuer 'OpenBadge issuer'
INFO - Private key saved at: ./config/keys/sign_rsa_key_1.pem
INFO - Public key saved at:  ./config/keys/verify_rsa_key_1.pem

Key material is identical for every version, so -V changes only the version shown in the log line; -V 1 / -V 2 produce the same keys:

$ openbadges-keygenerator -c ./config/config.ini -g 1 -V 2

openbadges-signer

Signs a badge image (SVG or PNG) defined in config.ini for a recipient email and writes the baked file to the output directory. OB2 embeds a JWS assertion; OB3 embeds a JWT-VC token. The output filename is <badge>_<receptor>.<ext>; the script exits if that file already exists.

You must choose exactly one of -e / --evidence or -E / --no-evidence. Supplying neither or both exits with Please, choose '-e' OR '-E'.

Synopsis

openbadges-signer -b BADGE -r RECEPTOR (-e URL | -E) [-c FILE] [-o DIR] [-M] [-H] [-x DAYS] [-V {1,2,3}] [-d]

Short	Long	Meaning	Default
-c	--config	Config file to use	config.ini
-b	--badge	Badge name to sign (required)	required
-r	--receptor	Recipient email of the badge (required)	required
-o	--output	Output directory for the signed badge	current dir
-M	--mail-badge	Email the signed badge to the recipient (OB 1.0 only)	off
-H	--hosted	OB 2.0 only (-V 2): use HostedBadge verification (publish the assertion JSON at its own URL) instead of a SignedBadge JWS; requires hosted_assertions_base in the badge section	off
-e	--evidence URL	URL to the recipient's evidence (mutually exclusive with -E)	none
-E	--no-evidence	Sign without evidence (mutually exclusive with -e)	off
-x	--expires DAYS	Expire the badge after DAYS days	none
-V	--ob-version {1,2,3}	1 = legacy JWS (OB 1.0), 2 = strict OB 2.0 JWS, 3 = JWT-VC	3
-d	--debug	Show debug messages at runtime	off
-v	--version	Print version and exit	—

-M / --mail-badge requires an [smtp] section in config.ini (server, port, use_ssl, mail_from, optional username/password) and a mail entry in the badge section pointing to a text file (first line = subject, rest = body). See Configuration.

Example (OB2, JWS)

$ openbadges-signer -c ./config/config.ini -b 1 \
    -r recipient@example.com \
    -e https://example.com/proof \
    -o /tmp/ -V 2
2026-04-22T10:00:00 badge_1 OB2 SIGNED for recipient@example.com at: /tmp/badge_1_recipient@example.com.svg

Example (OB3, JWT-VC)

$ openbadges-signer -c ./config/config.ini -b 1 \
    -r recipient@example.com \
    -E -o /tmp/ -V 3
2026-04-22T10:00:00 badge_1 OB3 SIGNED for recipient@example.com at: /tmp/badge_1_recipient@example.com.svg

For OB3 the signer auto-detects the algorithm from the private key (RS256 for RSA, ES256 for ECC, EdDSA for Ed25519).

openbadges-verifier

Extracts the embedded assertion/credential from a signed badge image, checks the cryptographic signature, and verifies that the recipient identity matches -r.

For OB3 the baked payload's format is autodetected: a compact JWT-VC is verified as before, while a JSON credential document secured with a W3C Data Integrity proof (eddsa-rdfc-2022) is verified through the same flags — no new options — provided the [ldp] extra is installed (pip install "openbadgeslib[ldp]"; without it the failure reason carries that hint). See Installation and Python API OB3.

Trust note: to get a [+] trusted result you must supply the issuer's public key out-of-band, via -l BADGE (read from config.ini) or -k FILE (a PEM path). For OB2, if you supply neither, the verifier falls back to the key the badge itself points to and reports a [~] warning — the signature is only internally consistent, which does not prove issuer identity. For OB3, supplying neither is a hard error (or pass --resolve-did, which for a Data Integrity credential resolves the proof's verificationMethod). See Security Model.

Synopsis

openbadges-verifier -i FILE -r RECEPTOR [-l BADGE | -k FILE] [-c FILE] [-s] [--check-status] [--resolve-did] [--json] [-V {1,2,3}] [-d]

Short	Long	Meaning	Default
-c	--config	Config file to use	config.ini
-i	--filein	Signed badge file to verify (required)	required
-r	--receptor	Recipient email to check against (required)	required
-l	--local BADGE	Verify against the public key from this badge section in config.ini	none
-k	--pubkey FILE	Verify against this trusted PEM public key file (OB2 and OB3)	none
-s	--show	Print the assertion/credential before the result	off
	--check-status	OB3 only: fetch the credentialStatus list and reject a revoked/suspended credential (requires network)	off
	--resolve-did	OB3 only: when no trusted key is given, resolve the issuer DID (did:key/did:web) from the token to obtain the verification key	off
	--json	Emit a machine-readable JSON result instead of the human output (exit 0 = valid and issuer-trusted, 2 = valid signature but issuer untrusted, 1 = failure)	off
-V	--ob-version {1,2,3}	1 = legacy JWS (OB 1.0), 2 = strict OB 2.0 JWS, 3 = JWT-VC	3
-d	--debug	Show debug messages at runtime	off
-v	--version	Print version and exit	—

For OB3, --check-status resolves each credentialStatus entry (W3C Bitstring Status List v1.0 or the legacy StatusList2021), fetches the referenced status list over HTTPS, and rejects the badge if its revocation/suspension bit is set. It is fail-closed: an unreachable or malformed status list is treated as a verification failure, not a pass. Only the published status bit is checked, not the status-list credential's own signature. See Security Model.

Example (OB2, trusted via local config)

$ openbadges-verifier -i /tmp/badge_1_recipient@example.com.svg \
    -r recipient@example.com -l 1
[+] Signature is correct for the identity recipient@example.com

Without -l or -k, the same badge yields the untrusted warning:

$ openbadges-verifier -i /tmp/badge_1_recipient@example.com.svg \
    -r recipient@example.com
[~] Signature is internally consistent for recipient@example.com, but it was verified against the key embedded in the badge itself, not a trusted issuer key. This does NOT prove issuer identity. Re-run with --local BADGE or --pubkey FILE to anchor trust.

Example (OB3, trusted via PEM file)

$ openbadges-verifier -i /tmp/badge_1_recipient@example.com.svg \
    -r recipient@example.com -V 3 \
    -k ./config/keys/verify_rsa_key_1.pem
[+] OB3 signature is valid for the identity recipient@example.com

OB3 without -l/-k/--resolve-did exits with [!] OB3 verification requires --local BADGE, --pubkey FILE, or --resolve-did. OB3 verification only supports .svg and .png inputs.

With --resolve-did and no explicit key, the issuer DID is read from the (still-unverified) token and resolved to a key, and the signature is then checked against it. did:key is self-certifying (the key is encoded in the identifier) and needs no network; did:web fetches https://<host>/.well-known/did.json (or a path-based did.json) and therefore trusts the host's DNS and TLS. See Security Model.

JSON output

With --json, the verifier prints a single JSON object instead of the human [+]/[-]/[~] lines. Its exit status reflects issuer trust, not merely signature validity: 0 when the badge is valid and the issuer is trusted, 2 when the signature is valid but the issuer is not anchored (an OB2 badge-embedded key or a self-asserted did:key), and 1 on any failure — so a CI gate keying on exit 0 never accepts a signature that does not prove issuer identity. Common fields: valid (bool), ob_version ("2"/"3"), recipient, trusted (bool), and reason (null on success, a message otherwise). OB2 adds status (VALID/EXPIRED/REVOKED/…); OB3 adds issuer, achievement, issued_on, expires, evidence, proof_format ("vc-jwt" or "ldp", per the autodetected payload), and issuer_did when the key came from --resolve-did.

$ openbadges-verifier -i badge.svg -r recipient@example.com -V 3 -k verify.pem --json
{"ob_version": "3", "recipient": "recipient@example.com", "trusted": true, "valid": true, "proof_format": "vc-jwt", "issuer": "Issuer", "achievement": "A", "issued_on": "2026-01-01T00:00:00+00:00", "expires": null, "evidence": null, "reason": null}

openbadges-publish

Generates the static files an issuer must host, and (for OB3) manages credential status.

• OB1/OB2: organization.json, an empty revoked.json, and per-badge badge.json + verify.pem (OB 2.0 adds key.json). The output directory must not already exist.
• OB3 (default): the issuer's did:web document (did.json) and, for every badge with status_lists configured, its signed Bitstring Status List credentials (badge_N/revocation.jwt, badge_N/suspension.jwt) plus verify.pem. Everything is regenerated from the per-badge status registries on each run, so the output directory may already exist and managed files are replaced atomically. Re-run and re-upload after every status change.

The output directory is created with a 0o077 umask.

Synopsis

openbadges-publish -o DIR [-c FILE] [-V {1,2,3}]
openbadges-publish -o DIR -V 3 [--revoke ID | --suspend ID | --unsuspend ID] [--reason TEXT] [-b BADGE]

Short	Long	Meaning	Default
-c	--config	Config file to use	config.ini
-o	--output	Output directory for the public files (required)	required
-V	--ob-version {1,2,3}	1/2 write hosted metadata (OB 2.0 adds key.json); 3 writes did.json + status lists	3
—	--revoke ID	OB3 only: permanently revoke a credential. ID is its jti (urn:uuid:..., printed and logged by the signer) or the recipient email	—
—	--suspend ID	OB3 only: suspend a credential (reversible)	—
—	--unsuspend ID	OB3 only: lift a suspension	—
—	--reason TEXT	Free-text reason recorded with --revoke/--suspend	—
-b	--badge NAME	Scope the ID lookup to one badge's registry	all badges
-v	--version	Print version and exit	—

--revoke, --suspend and --unsuspend are mutually exclusive and update the badge's status registry before regenerating the lists. A recipient email that matches several issued credentials is rejected with the candidate jtis — re-run with the jti. Revocation is permanent (there is no --unrevoke); suspension of a revoked credential is likewise rejected.

Example (OB2)

$ openbadges-publish -c ./config/config.ini -o ./public -V 2
Please configure your Web server to publish the folder ./public as https://example.com/issuer/

If the output directory already exists, the OB1/OB2 path prints [!] <path> already exists and exits with a non-zero status.

Example (OB3)

$ openbadges-publish -c ./config/config.ini -o ./public
Please configure your Web server to publish the folder ./public as https://example.com/issuer/
[i] Issuer DID: did:web:example.com:issuer

$ openbadges-publish -c ./config/config.ini -o ./public --revoke urn:uuid:7586fd5d-... --reason cheating
[+] REVOKED badge_1 urn:uuid:7586fd5d-... (index 40712)
...
[!] Re-upload ./public so the change takes effect