Alternative to AutoFirma

rFirma: native electronic signature,
no Java.

No waiting. Desktop application in Rust and React that replaces AutoFirma's Swing interface and local servers, with the Administration's official cryptography.

Install rFirma See how signing works

Open source, EUPL 1.2
The private key never leaves your computer
CAdES, PAdES, XAdES and FacturaE
In five languages

rFirma — Solicitud-subvencion.pdf

rFirma main window: document viewer, visible signature placement and side signature panel

CertificateADA LOVELACE BYRONAC FNMT Usuarios

StageAssembling

Visible signaturePlaced on page 3

PAdES · 2 signatures

CAdESPAdESXAdESFacturaEPKCS#11

Step by step

How a document gets signed

Document loaded

rFirma opens the PDF and shows what it contains: pages, size and the signatures it already carries. If there's an earlier one, yours will be a co-signature.

Choose certificate

The list is built from the system stores, the browser profiles and the PKCS#11 modules. Expired and revoked ones are shown, but can't be used.

Enter the PIN

The PIN is requested in a native dialogue, not a web window, and is wiped from memory as soon as the signature is done.

Signature complete

The signed PDF is saved next to the original, and the summary shows its format.

rFirma with a PDF open that already carries a valid signature

Why rFirma

Four design decisions

It replaces AutoFirma's Swing interface and local servers; the cryptographic engine is the same one, from clienteafirma.

Native performance

Desktop app in Tauri v2, Rust and React. No JVM and no local servers listening.

The private key never leaves the system

Signing happens on your computer, through the system stores and the PKCS#11 modules. Java never sees it.

Official cryptography

CAdES, PAdES, XAdES and FacturaE come from the clienteafirma code, compiled to a native binary with GraalVM.

Draggable visible signature

Place and size the rubric on the page, with a faithful preview. No blind coordinates.

Comparison

AutoFirma versus rFirma

	AutoFirma	rFirma
Java	Required	Not used
Entering your PIN on Linux	Java window	Native dialogue and protected memory
DNIe detection	At startup	Hot-plug
`.p12` certificates	You pick the file in a dialogue	Its own encrypted store
Finding certificates	One store at a time	All at once, with a search box
Browsers on Linux	One store: the first one found. No Flatpak or LibreWolf	Those of the Firefox and Chromium families, native, Snap and Flatpak, at once
Visible signature	By coordinates	Drag it onto the page
Languages	Spanish	Spanish, Catalan, Basque, Galician and English
Operating systems	Windows, macOS, Linux, Android and iOS	Linux, macOS and Windows
Updates	Manual download	Automatic
Look and feel	Java windows	Matches your desktop, with light and dark themes

Installation

One repository for your operating system

rFirma's channels are native repositories. Once your system's is added, security patches install through the package manager.

For Debian, Ubuntu and derived distributions. Sets up the repository using the modern deb822 format with the GPG key verified in /usr/share/keyrings/.

curl -fsSL https://rfirma.com/rfirma.asc | sudo tee /usr/share/keyrings/rfirma.asc >/dev/null
sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/rfirma.sources <<'EOF'
Types: deb
URIs: https://rfirma.com/apt/
Suites: stable
Components: main
Signed-By: /usr/share/keyrings/rfirma.asc
EOF
sudo apt update && sudo apt install rfirma

For Fedora and RPM-based derivatives. Sets up the repository with strict cryptographic checking of metadata and packages (gpgcheck=1 and repo_gpgcheck=1).

sudo tee /etc/yum.repos.d/rfirma.repo <<'EOF'
[rfirma]
name=rfirma
baseurl=https://rfirma.com/rpm/
enabled=1
gpgcheck=1
repo_gpgcheck=1
gpgkey=https://rfirma.com/rfirma.asc
EOF
sudo dnf install rfirma

Recommended for Linux distributions that use neither APT nor DNF. You add Flathub, where the org.gnome.Platform runtime comes from, and rFirma's remote, like any other repository: rFirma then also shows up when you search in GNOME Software. You only need flatpak and xdg-desktop-portal installed.

flatpak remote-add --if-not-exists flathub https://dl.flathub.org/repo/flathub.flatpakrepo
flatpak remote-add --if-not-exists rfirma https://rfirma.com/rfirma.flatpakrepo
flatpak install rfirma me.sgomez.rfirma

rFirma for Windows

Installs for your user only, without administrator rights. It uses the certificates you already have in Windows and updates itself.

Download the Windows installer

Windows will warn you that the installer isn't signed: click “More info” and “Run anyway”. To check the download, compare its hash with the one in SHA256SUMS, in the Release:

Get-FileHash .\rFirma_*_x64-setup.exe -Algorithm SHA256
Select-String rFirma_ .\SHA256SUMS

rFirma for macOS

For Apple Silicon Macs with macOS 15.4 or later. Install it with Homebrew or the .dmg. It then updates itself.

brew install --cask sgomez/rfirma/rfirma

Download the macOS .dmg

The first time, macOS won't open it because it isn't signed by Apple. To allow it, run this in Terminal:

xattr -c /Applications/rfirma.app

To leave no rFirma certificate behind in your browser, click Withdraw certificate in the status panel before uninstalling.

Detailed steps, key fingerprint and verification are in the manual (in Spanish) →

Transparency

All the code, in the open

rFirma is free, auditable software under the EUPL 1.2 licence. The code and the cryptographic engine live in two public repositories.

Application and FFI bridge

sgomez/rfirma holds the Tauri interface (Rust + React), the FFI bridge (rfirma-native-bridge) and the packaging.

Original cryptographic engine

The signing logic consumes the artefacts from ctt-gob-es/clienteafirma, compiled into a native library with GraalVM Native Image.

Package signing key

Public key at rfirma.asc. Check its fingerprint after downloading it with gpg --show-keys rfirma.asc:

C8D6 A81C 1ED4 3A28 D426 8112 A6E0 EE02 2344 6A16

rFirma: native electronic signature,no Java.