ruby/rubygems · error · Gem::OptionParser::InvalidArgument

#{certificate_file}: invalid X509 certificate

Error message

#{certificate_file}: invalid X509 certificate

What it means

Error "#{certificate_file}: invalid X509 certificate" thrown in ruby/rubygems.

Source

Thrown at lib/rubygems/commands/cert_command.rb:91

    Gem::Security.trust_dir.trust_cert certificate

    say "Added '#{certificate.subject}'"
  end

  def check_openssl
    return if Gem::HAVE_OPENSSL

    alert_error "OpenSSL library is required for the cert command"
    terminate_interaction 1
  end

  def open_cert(certificate_file)
    check_openssl
    OpenSSL::X509::Certificate.new File.read certificate_file
  rescue Errno::ENOENT
    raise Gem::OptionParser::InvalidArgument, "#{certificate_file}: does not exist"
  rescue OpenSSL::X509::CertificateError
    raise Gem::OptionParser::InvalidArgument,
      "#{certificate_file}: invalid X509 certificate"
  end

  def open_private_key(key_file)
    check_openssl
    passphrase = ENV["GEM_PRIVATE_KEY_PASSPHRASE"]
    key = OpenSSL::PKey.read File.read(key_file), passphrase
    key
  rescue Errno::ENOENT
    raise Gem::OptionParser::InvalidArgument, "#{key_file}: does not exist"
  rescue OpenSSL::PKey::PKeyError, ArgumentError
    raise Gem::OptionParser::InvalidArgument, "#{key_file}: invalid RSA, DSA, or EC key"
  end

  def execute
    check_openssl

    options[:add].each do |certificate|

View on GitHub (pinned to 86cbb817a3)

When it happens

Trigger: Thrown at lib/rubygems/commands/cert_command.rb:91 when the library encounters an invalid state.

Common situations: See trigger scenarios.

Understand the failure class

AI-assisted analysis of ruby/rubygems@86cbb817a3 (2026-08-23). Data as JSON: /api/errors/9ced89e870844656. Report an issue: GitHub.