Help Centre

Everything you need to get the most out of Tlsglimpse — what it does, how to use it, what it can't do, and where to go next.

Getting started

Go to the App page.
Type a hostname (e.g. example.com) into the hostname field.
Optionally change the port (default is 443).
Click Check. Tlsglimpse opens a real TLS connection to that server and reads the certificate chain it actually presents.
Read the results: expiry date and days remaining, issuer, every Subject Alternative Name (SAN), and a chain-completeness verdict.

No account. No signup. No storage. Each check is independent.

Frequently asked questions

What does "chain incomplete" mean?

The server sent the leaf certificate but omitted the intermediate certificate that completes the trust chain. This is a common server misconfiguration.

Desktop browsers often paper over this by serving a cached intermediate from a previous visit. Mobile browsers and API consumers (cURL, programming-language HTTP clients) do not have that cache — they will reject the handshake and refuse to connect.

If Tlsglimpse reports an incomplete chain, your site may load fine in a desktop browser on your machine but be unreachable from clients that perform strict chain validation.

Why does a known site show as unreachable?

The most common reason is that the host is behind Cloudflare. From this tool's infrastructure, a TLS connection cannot be opened into Cloudflare's own network — the platform blocks it. This is a documented platform limitation, not an issue with your server's configuration.

The tool page displays this notice next to the input. If you see an unreachable result for a site you know is running, check whether it uses Cloudflare before diagnosing further.

Does Tlsglimpse send alerts or reminders? Can it monitor my certificate?

No. Tlsglimpse answers when you ask it. It does not monitor, alert, send email reminders, or re-check on a schedule.

If you need expiry monitoring, you would need a separate service. Tlsglimpse is a diagnostic tool — it tells you the current state of a certificate at the moment you run a check.

How is Tlsglimpse different from SSL Labs or other certificate checkers?

Tlsglimpse is intentionally narrow. It checks a single hostname and reports exactly what the server presented over the wire — no more, no less.

No graded score or A+ rating. Tlsglimpse does not assess cipher strength, protocol version support, or vulnerability to specific attacks.
No inference. If a field is absent from the certificate, the tool says absent — it never fills a gap with a typical value.
No compliance claims. The tool is a diagnostic aid, not a compliance verification tool.
No scan ranges or subdomain enumeration. It checks only the hostname you type.

This makes Tlsglimpse useful when the question is specifically "what is actually on the wire right now" — for example, debugging a chain-completeness issue that only affects mobile clients.

Can I check a non-standard port?

Yes. The port field on the App page accepts any TCP port from 1 to 65535. The default is 443. If your service runs TLS on port 8443, 9443, or any other port, enter it and the tool will connect there.

Can I use this tool internally on a private network?

Currently the tool runs on a public-facing server. It opens a TLS connection from its own infrastructure to the hostname you specify. If your server is on a private network that our server cannot reach, the connection will fail.

There is no self-hosted or browser-side version available at this time. This is a known limitation.

Known limitations

No monitoring or alerts. The tool does not send notifications, email reminders, or scheduled re-checks. You must visit the page and run a check manually.
Cloudflare hosts are unreachable. Hosts behind Cloudflare cannot be reached from this tool's infrastructure. This is a platform limitation, not a defect.
Single hostname only. The tool checks exactly one hostname per request. It does not scan ranges, enumerate subdomains, or auto-discover services.
Pro features are not built yet. Certificate export (JSON, PEM), hex fingerprint dumps, and full chain visualisation are planned but not yet implemented. The Pricing page shows a placeholder tier.
No self-hosted version. The tool runs only on its public infrastructure. There is no browser-side or offline version.
No compliance claims. The tool does not assess adherence to any standard, certification, or audit regime. It reports what the server sent — no grading, no scoring, no recommendations.

Contact us

Support is being set up. There is no contact email or ticketing system connected yet.

Need help with the tool? Check this Help Centre page first — most questions are answered above. If your issue is not covered, note it down. Contact details will be published here when a support channel is established.

For the operator: This business needs a support contact. Recorded in needs.md — see the "Provide a contact address for support and billing inquiries" item.