Configure TLS certificates and encryption for secure communications. Use when setting up HTTPS, securing service-to-service connections, implementing mutual TLS (mTLS), or debugging certificate issues.
View on GitHubancoleman/ai-design-components
backend-ai-skills
February 1, 2026
Select agents to install to:
npx add-skill https://github.com/ancoleman/ai-design-components/blob/main/skills/implementing-tls/SKILL.md -a claude-code --skill implementing-tlsInstallation paths:
.claude/skills/implementing-tls/# Implementing TLS
## Purpose
Implement Transport Layer Security (TLS) for encrypting network communications and authenticating services. Generate certificates, automate certificate lifecycle management with Let's Encrypt or internal CAs, configure TLS 1.3, implement mutual TLS for service authentication, and debug common certificate issues.
## When to Use This Skill
Trigger this skill when:
- Setting up HTTPS for web applications or APIs
- Securing service-to-service communication in microservices
- Implementing mutual TLS (mTLS) for zero-trust networks
- Generating certificates for development or production
- Automating certificate renewal and rotation
- Debugging certificate validation errors
- Configuring TLS termination at load balancers
- Setting up internal PKI for corporate networks
## Quick Start
### For Development (Local HTTPS)
Use mkcert for trusted local certificates:
```bash
# Install mkcert
brew install mkcert # macOS
# sudo apt install mkcert # Linux
# Install local CA
mkcert -install
# Generate certificate
mkcert example.com localhost 127.0.0.1
# Creates: example.com+2.pem and example.com+2-key.pem
```
### For Production (Public HTTPS)
**Kubernetes with cert-manager:**
```bash
# Install cert-manager
helm install cert-manager jetstack/cert-manager \
--namespace cert-manager --create-namespace \
--set installCRDs=true
# Create Let's Encrypt issuer
kubectl apply -f - <<EOF
apiVersion: cert-manager.io/v1
kind: ClusterIssuer
metadata:
name: letsencrypt-prod
spec:
acme:
server: https://acme-v02.api.letsencrypt.org/directory
email: admin@example.com
privateKeySecretRef:
name: letsencrypt-prod-key
solvers:
- http01:
ingress:
class: nginx
EOF
```
**Traditional servers with Certbot:**
```bash
# Install certbot
sudo apt install certbot
# Obtain certificate
sudo certbot certonly --standalone -d example.com -d www.example.com
# Certificates saved to /etc/letsencrypt/live/example.com/
```
### F