How it works

One machine holds the tokens. Everyone signs.

OneSigner is not a cloud service that signs for you — it is a Windows service you run, on your own machine, with your own USB tokens and your own CA certificates. This page walks through the architecture, the exact moment a signature is made, and everything the system can do. It exists because of what we saw as a global certificate provider — read the story.

The model

Remote signing, self-hosted.

Your USB tokens stay plugged into one Windows machine running the OneSigner service. Everything else — your team's browsers, your ERP, your CI pipeline, even external signers you invite by email — connects to that machine and asks it to sign. Files and private keys never pass through One Sign's servers; there is no SaaS in the middle.

Browser portal staff sign & place signatures REST API ERP / apps · POST /api/upload Watched folders drop a file — it comes back signed CI / build pipeline OneSignTool / AzureSignTool External signers eSign envelopes by email link Your Windows machine OneSigner service · your profiles & rules YubiKey SafeNet ePass Private keys never leave the tokens PIN entered once · certificates from YOUR CA Signed PDF PAdES · timestamp · green tick Signed EXE / DLL / MSI Authenticode · timestamped files return to the caller — never stored off your machine

Setup

Running in four steps.

1

Install the service

One installer on any Windows machine or VM — an office PC is enough. No database, no dependencies.

OneSigner-Setup.exe
2

Plug in your tokens

YubiKey, SafeNet, ePass2003 — with the certificates your CA issued. Enter each PIN once in the GUI; it is stored encrypted.

PIN saved · DPAPI-encrypted
3

Define signing profiles

Which certificate signs what: appearance and position for PDFs, timestamp server, allowed file types, per-tenant folders and API tokens.

profile → cert + rules
4

Open it to your team

Share the portal on your LAN, or get a public HTTPS address on your own domain — no port-forwarding, no VPN.

https://sign.yourco.com

Under the hood

What happens when a signature is made.

The same pipeline runs whether the request came from a browser, the API, a folder or your build server.

  1. A request arrives

    A PDF or a Windows binary reaches the service — uploaded, dropped into a watched folder, or sent by a signing tool. The matching profile decides which certificate, appearance and timestamp server to use.

  2. The document is prepared

    For PDFs the signature field is created at the profile's position (or exactly where the caller asked), and a cryptographic digest of the document is computed. For code, the Authenticode structure is prepared the same way signtool would.

  3. The token does the cryptography

    OneSigner opens a session to the USB token and supplies the stored PIN — no dialog, no operator. Only the digest travels to the token; the private key physically cannot leave the chip. The token returns the signature.

  4. Timestamp and assembly

    An RFC 3161 timestamp from your CA's time authority is embedded, so the signature stays verifiable long after the certificate expires. The signature is sealed into the file — PAdES for PDF, Authenticode for code.

  5. The signed file returns

    Back on the API response, into the output folder, or to the signer's browser — and the event is written to the signing log. With a certificate chained to Adobe's trust list, the PDF opens with the green "Signature valid" tick.

Why this matters legally: the signature is produced by the certificate your national or commercial CA issued to you, on hardware you control. That is what gives it legal effect in your jurisdiction — under Singapore's ETA, the EU's eIDAS, and equivalent e-transaction laws elsewhere. OneSigner automates the process; the trust comes from your CA.

Six ways in

Every workflow, one signing engine.

Browser portal

Staff log in, upload, and sign with the company tokens — or drag the signature box exactly where it belongs on the page.

REST API

One call to sign and get the file back: POST /api/upload?download=true. Bearer tokens, per-tenant scoping.

Watched folders

Point your ERP's export at a folder. Files land, get signed, and appear in the output folder — no integration code at all.

CI / CD pipelines

OneSignTool and AzureSignTool sign builds remotely through a Key-Vault-compatible endpoint — a drop-in -kvu switch, keys still in your token.

eSign envelopes

Send documents out for signature like DocuSign: signers open an email link, fill fields, and sign in order — no account needed.

Personal tokens, anywhere

Colleagues with their own USB token sign in their browser through the free OneSignerBridge — the PDF never leaves their PC.

The full toolbox

A dozen standout features.

Bulk PDF signers stop at PDFs. OneSigner is a complete signing platform — documents, code, people and pipelines.

01

PAdES PDF signing

Visible or invisible signatures, custom appearance and position, batch whole folders, password-protected PDFs handled.

02

Windows code signing

Authenticode and EV code signing for EXE, DLL, MSI, CAB, SYS — automatic PIN entry, RFC 3161 timestamps, ready for unattended release builds.

03

Any USB token, any CA

YubiKey, SafeNet, ePass2003 and other PKCS#11 tokens — with certificates from your national CA, SSL.com, GlobalSign, Sectigo or any EU trust-list provider.

04

eSign workflows

Multi-signer envelopes with sequential order, signature/text/checkbox fields, access codes, expiry and automatic reminders.

05

Templates & bulk send

Save field layouts as templates; send one document to a whole list, each recipient getting their own copy to sign.

06

Visual signing in the browser

Render the PDF, drag the signature box, sign with a company or personal token — files stay on your side throughout.

07

Guest e-signing + company seal

Invitees without tokens draw or type their signature; the document is then sealed with your organisation's digital certificate.

08

REST API & watched folders

Sign from any system in one HTTP call, or with no code at all via folder watch — status, listing and download included.

09

Key-Vault-compatible CI signing

AzureSignTool / OneSignTool point at your OneSigner instead of Azure — build servers sign remotely, keys stay in your token.

10

Multi-tenant isolation

Separate tokens, folders, API keys and profiles per client or department — built for bureaus, MSPs and shared-services teams.

11

Your own HTTPS domain

A public address like sign.yourco.com with TLS handled for you — no port-forwarding, no VPN, reachable by partners.

12

Timestamps & audit trail

RFC 3161 timestamps for long-term validity, full signing logs, and an audit trail on every eSign envelope.

See it sign in the next ten minutes.

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