This is a step-by-step guide to the Let's Encrypt SSL installation for Nginx on Ubuntu server. We will go through several applicable settings to make the configuration easier and smarter.
Step 1 - Install LetsEncrypt
Before installing new soft you should always consider updating the package list in order to have your software up to date.
sudo apt-get update
Add software repository Ubuntu
sudo apt-get install software-properties-common
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:certbot/certbot
sudo apt-get updateInstallation
For now, everything is ready to install LetsEncrypt on your server:
This command will install the lets-encrypt dummy package that includes certbot and other utilities for SSL installation.
sudo apt-get install lets-encryptStep 2 - Configure NginX for Let's Encrypt SSL
In my configuration examples, I will use the following domain name 'ssl.itsyndicate.org'. Do not forget to change it for your needs when you do a copy-paste. Now it's time for a small life hack that will show you how to optimize the process of adding new certificates to your server.
We will use Nginx default config to catch all requests with a non-secure connection that are going to our server aka non-ssl which will target 80 port.
server {
listen 80 default_server;
server_name _;
location ~ /\.well-known/acme-challenge/ {
allow all;
root /var/www/letsencrypt;
try_files $uri =404;
break;
}
}As you can see we are using /.well-known/acme-challenge/ directory to catch all requests for location and /var/www/letsencrypt directory to host acme-challenges. So let's create a directory after you edited the default Nginx vhost config:
sudo mkdir -p /var/www/letsencryptBefore applying changes to your Nginx settings always check the configuration file:
sudo nginx -tYou should get a notification that syntax is ok:
nginx: the configuration file /etc/nginx/nginx.conf syntax is ok
nginx: configuration file /etc/nginx/nginx.conf test is successfulTo apply changes to our new Nginx vhost configuration that is designed to catch all of your Let's Encrypt certificates challenges do the following:
sudo service Nginx reloadStep 3 - Request new Let's Encrypt SSL
Now it is time to request our first Let's Encrypt SSL certificate for our domain:
sudo letsencrypt certonly -a webroot --webroot-path=/var/www/letsencrypt -m [email protected] --agree-tos -d ssl.itsyndicate.orgNow it is time to request our first Let's Encrypt SSL certificate for our domain:
sudo letsencrypt certonly -a webroot --webroot-path=/var/www/letsencrypt -m [email protected] --agree-tos -d ssl.itsyndicate.orgLet me describe some important options in our command:
--webroot-path=/var/www/letsencrypt This specifies the directory where validation files will be stored. Nginx is configured to serve this directory so that Let's Encrypt can verify domain ownership.
-m [email protected] This option sets the email address used for important notifications, such as expiry reminders and security alerts.
--agree-tos This flag automatically accepts the Let's Encrypt Terms of Service, enabling a fully automated SSL certificate setup.
-d ssl.itsyndicate.org This defines the domain name for which the SSL certificate will be issued.
After command execution you should see Congratulations message:
IMPORTANT NOTES:
- If you lose your account credentials, you can recover through
e-mails sent to [email protected].
- Congratulations! Your certificate and chain have been saved at
/etc/letsencrypt/live/ssl.itsyndicate.org/fullchain.pem. Your cert
will expire on 2018-08-01. To obtain a new version of the
certificate in the future, simply run Let's Encrypt again.
- Your account credentials have been saved in your Let's Encrypt
configuration directory at /etc/letsencrypt. You should make a
secure backup of this folder now. This configuration directory will
also contain certificates and private keys obtained by Let's
Encrypt so making regular backups of this folder is ideal.
- If you like Let's Encrypt, please consider supporting our work by:
Donating to ISRG / Let's Encrypt: https://letsencrypt.org/donate
Donating to EFF: https://eff.org/donate-le
Step 4 - Configure Nginx vhost
Now we have new SSL installed to '/etc/letsencrypt/live/ssl.itsyndicate.org/'. It's time to configure our Nginx vhost to serve https requests for the desired domain. Here is my example:
server {
server_name itsyndicate.org;
listen 443 ssl;
ssl on;
ssl_certificate /etc/letsencrypt/live/ssl.itsyndicate.org/fullchain.pem;
ssl_certificate_key /etc/letsencrypt/live/ssl.itsyndicate.org/privkey.pem;
root /var/www/html/;
index index.php index.html index.htm;
location ~ /.well-known {
root /var/www/letsencrypt;
allow all;
}
}Let's test and reload our new NginX configuration:
sudo nginx -t
sudo service nginx reloadStep 5 - Configure Let's Encrypt SSL auto-renewal
Let's Encrypt issues certificates for 90 days. You have an opportunity to reinstall it manually when you got the email that your SSL expires soon, but I think there is a smart way to automate that. We will use daily cron on our Ubuntu server to renew our SSL certificate.
I use file '/etc/cron.daily/letsencrypt' file to setup cron with the following content:
#!/bin/bash
/usr/bin/letsencrypt renew --renew-hook "/etc/init.d/nginx reload"Step 6 - Test SSL configuration
When we are done with configuration it's time to take a cup of coffee and relax test our configuration. There are dozens of options to test SSL, but I will use two, the first one is curl:
curl -vI [https://ssl.itsyndicate.org](https://ssl.itsyndicate.org)
Server certificate:
subject: CN=ssl.itsyndicate.org
start date: May 3 15:44:12 2022 GMT
expire date: Aug 1 15:44:12 2022 GMT
subjectAltName: host "ssl.itsyndicate.org" matched cert's "ssl.itsyndicate.org"
issuer: C=US; O=Let's Encrypt; CN=Let's Encrypt Authority X3
SSL certificate verify ok.
The second option is to open your site in Google Chrome and check SSL certificate in dev tool under security tab:
Conclusion
Now you know how to install Let's Encrypt SSL on Ubuntu server to secure your site. It is a very simple, useful, and cheap solution to protect your site and improve a bit your SEO rankings. If you have issues with installation or you want to save time - ask our technicians to maintain your server for you.
Share this article
Loading comments...
© 2026 CloudHouse Technologies Pvt.Ltd. All rights reserved.