Docker Nginx + Certbot: Auto HTTPS with Let's Encrypt

README.md

Automated SSL with Docker, Nginx, and Certbot

This setup enables automatic creation and renewal of free SSL certificates using Let's Encrypt with Certbot in a Dockerized Nginx environment.

✅ Features:

Issue new HTTPS certificates via Certbot using --webroot challenge

Auto-renew certificates before they expire (via cron)

Docker volume persistence for /etc/letsencrypt and challenge files

Secure and non-interactive deployment with optional Nginx reload hook

📦 Components:

Nginx (Docker): Acts as a reverse proxy and serves challenge files

Certbot (Docker): Manages certificate issuance and renewal

Cron job: Scheduled renewal script with optional logging and error handling

🔐 Perfect for production-ready Docker environments that need HTTPS without manual renewal.

cronjob

#Certbot (Renew cert every 2 Months)
0 0 1 */2 * /path/to/renewal.sh

newcert.sh

#!/bin/bash
docker run --rm --name temp_certbot \
    -v $(pwd)/certbot/letsencrypt:/etc/letsencrypt \
    -v $(pwd)/certbot/www:/tmp/letsencrypt \
    -v $(pwd)/certbot/log:/var/log \
    certbot/certbot \
    certonly --webroot --agree-tos --renew-by-default \
    --preferred-challenges http-01 --server https://acme-v02.api.letsencrypt.org/directory \
    --text --email REPLACE_WITH_YOUR_EMAIL \
    -w /tmp/letsencrypt -d REPLACE_WITH_YOUR_DOMAIN -v



#For Test only (staging-letsencrypt)
# docker run --rm --name temp_certbot \
#     -v $(pwd)/certbot/letsencrypt:/etc/letsencrypt \
#     -v $(pwd)/certbot/www:/tmp/letsencrypt \
#     -v $(pwd)/certbot/log:/var/log \
#     certbot/certbot \
#     certonly --webroot --agree-tos --renew-by-default \
#     --preferred-challenges http-01 --server https://acme-staging-v02.api.letsencrypt.org/directory \
#     --text --email [email protected] \
#     -w /tmp/letsencrypt -d REPLACE_WITH_YOUR_DOMAIN -v

renewal.sh

#!/bin/bash
docker run --rm \
  -v /home/ubuntu/docker/nginx/certbot/letsencrypt:/etc/letsencrypt \
  -v /home/ubuntu/docker/nginx/home/ubuntu/certbot/www:/var/www/certbot \
  certbot/certbot renew --webroot -w /var/www/certbot --no-random-sleep-on-renew \
  docker restart nginx