certbot
ACME client
Decision gist · record as of 2026-08-14
Yes. Certbot is production-stable, actively maintained, and widely used. It solves a critical operational need—automating TLS certificate lifecycle management—with no security vulnerabilities and permissive licensing. Install it if you operate a web server and need to manage HTTPS certificates.AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page — verify before relying
Before you install
- Requires root or administrator access to the web server and direct command-line access; cannot be run from a personal computer to manage a hosted service.
- Low install friction with a pure Python wheel distribution.
- Actively maintained with a release 30 days ago and ongoing commits; the project has 33201 stars and supports current Python versions (3.10+).
License · maintenance · safety
Apache-2.0 (permissive) — Licensed under Apache-2.0 (permissive), allowing use in commercial and private projects with minimal restrictions beyond attribution.
last release 2026-07-15 (30 days) · last repo commit 2026-08-12 · 33,201 stars
0 known vulnerabilities (OSV.dev, 2026-08-14) · 696,561 downloads/mo, #5,303 on PyPI
Alternatives
Verify before relying
pip install certbot
certbot certonly --webroot -w /var/www/html -d example.com- Whether third-party plugins are included or must be installed separately.
- Performance characteristics when managing certificates for many domains.
- Exact compatibility scope beyond Apache 2.4+ and nginx/0.8.48+ mentioned in the description.
What it is and what it does
Certbot is an ACME client that automates the process of obtaining and deploying TLS certificates from Let's Encrypt, an open certificate authority. It runs on your web server and handles the full lifecycle: fetching domain-validated certificates, installing them on Apache, nginx, or other servers, and managing renewal. The tool is free and designed to eliminate the manual hassle of certificate management by automating validation, installation, and configuration changes.
The package depends on cryptographic libraries (cryptography, josepy), ACME protocol support (acme), and configuration tools (ConfigArgParse, configobj) to communicate with Let's Encrypt and manage server configuration. It supports multiple deployment modes including direct web server plugins, a standalone mode that runs its own validation server, and webroot mode for shared hosting. Configuration changes are logged and reversible, and the tool can optionally set up automatic HTTP-to-HTTPS redirects.
Use it for
- Automate initial TLS certificate issuance and deployment on a Linux web server running Apache or nginx.
- Set up automatic certificate renewal to prevent expiration and downtime on production HTTPS sites.
- Obtain domain-validated certificates for multiple subdomains or domains in a single operation.
- Deploy certificates on shared hosting or restricted environments using webroot mode without direct server control.
- Revoke or replace certificates when needed as part of security incident response or certificate rotation.
Worth the install?
AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page. Verify before relying on it.
Yes.
Certbot is production-stable, actively maintained, and widely used. It solves a critical operational need—automating TLS certificate lifecycle management—with no security vulnerabilities and permissive licensing. Install it if you operate a web server and need to manage HTTPS certificates.
Install
certbot on PyPI
Before you install
Low install friction with a pure Python wheel distribution. Actively maintained with a release 30 days ago and ongoing commits; the project has 33201 stars and supports current Python versions (3.10+).
Requires root or administrator access to the web server and direct command-line access; cannot be run from a personal computer to manage a hosted service.
License in practice
Licensed under Apache-2.0 (permissive), allowing use in commercial and private projects with minimal restrictions beyond attribution.
Quickstart
pip install certbot
certbot certonly --webroot -w /var/www/html -d example.comVerify before relying
- Whether third-party plugins are included or must be installed separately.
- Performance characteristics when managing certificates for many domains.
- Exact compatibility scope beyond Apache 2.4+ and nginx/0.8.48+ mentioned in the description.
Package facts
| License | Apache-2.0 permissive |
| Python support | Supports the current Python release >=3.10 |
| Install friction | Low. Pure-Python wheel |
| Runtime dependencies | 10 packagesacmeConfigArgParseconfigobjcryptographydistroimportlib_metadatajosepyparsedatetimepyrfc3339pywin32 |
| Maintenance | Actively maintained 30 days since the last release |
| Last repo commit | |
| First released | |
| Downloads | 696,561 / month, #5,303 on PyPI 30-day window, as of 2026-08-14 |
| Known vulnerabilities | None known OSV.dev, checked 2026-08-14 |
| Classifiers | Development Status :: 5 - Production/StableEnvironment :: ConsoleIntended Audience :: System AdministratorsOperating System :: POSIX :: LinuxProgramming Language :: PythonProgramming Language :: Python :: 3Programming Language :: Python :: 3.10Programming Language :: Python :: 3.11Programming Language :: Python :: 3.12Programming Language :: Python :: 3.13Programming Language :: Python :: 3.14Topic :: Internet :: WWW/HTTPTopic :: SecurityTopic :: System :: Installation/SetupTopic :: System :: NetworkingTopic :: System :: Systems AdministrationTopic :: Utilities |
Evidence: certbot-5.7.0-py3-none-any.whl
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See also acme · certbot-nginx · certbot-dns-cloudflare · certbot-dns-route53 · certbot-dns-directadmin · certbot-dns-multi · certbot-dns-duckdns · secure-smtplib · certifi · pem