---
id: certbot-nginx
version: "5.7.0"
license: Apache-2.0
license_treatment: permissive
maintenance: active
---

# certbot-nginx — Nginx plugin for Certbot

License: permissive · Maintenance: active · Downloads: 133.6K/mo

## What it is and what it does

Certbot-nginx is a plugin that extends Certbot to work directly with nginx web servers. It automates the process of obtaining a domain-validated TLS certificate from Let's Encrypt and installing it into your nginx configuration. The plugin handles the ACME challenge process by modifying nginx configuration temporarily to prove domain ownership, then deploys the certificate and restores the original configuration.

This package is intended for system administrators running nginx on Linux who want to automate HTTPS setup and renewal without manual certificate management. It requires root access to the web server and must be run directly on the machine hosting nginx. The plugin integrates with Certbot's broader ecosystem, supporting certificate revocation, automatic renewal, and configuration rollback if something goes wrong.

Use it for:

- Automatically obtain and deploy a Let's Encrypt certificate to an nginx server with a single command.
- Set up automatic certificate renewal so HTTPS stays active without manual intervention.
- Migrate an existing nginx site from HTTP to HTTPS with minimal downtime.
- Manage certificates for multiple domains on a single nginx instance.
- Revoke or replace a certificate when needed through Certbot's standard workflows.

## Worth the install?

AI-flagged interpretation of the facts above — verify before relying.

Certbot-nginx is a plugin for Certbot that automates obtaining and deploying TLS certificates from Let's Encrypt to nginx web servers.

Yes—if you run nginx on Linux and want to use Let's Encrypt certificates. The plugin is production-stable, actively maintained, has no known vulnerabilities, and requires only Certbot as a dependency. Install it when you need to automate certificate lifecycle management for nginx; skip it if you use a different web server or prefer manual certificate handling.

## Install

pip install certbot-nginx
uv add certbot-nginx
poetry add certbot-nginx

## Installing certbot-nginx

Before you install: Low install friction with a single runtime dependency on certbot. The package is actively maintained with a recent release and no known vulnerabilities, making it straightforward to add to an existing Certbot installation.

License in practice: Licensed under Apache-2.0 (permissive), allowing use in commercial and private projects with minimal restrictions—just retain license notices.

Quickstart:

pip install certbot-nginx

# Then use certbot with nginx plugin:
# certbot --nginx -d example.com

Requires root or administrator access to the web server and nginx to be installed and running on the same machine where Certbot is executed.

Verify before relying:

- Whether the plugin supports nginx versions older than 0.8.48 or newer than what was tested in the current release.
- Specific nginx configuration formats or edge cases the plugin may not handle automatically.

## Package facts

- License: Apache-2.0 (permissive)
- Python support: supports_current
- Install friction: low
- Maintenance: active
- Downloads: 133.6K/month (top 15,000 on PyPI)
- Known vulnerabilities: none known

## Tags

nginx ssl certificate automation, let's encrypt nginx plugin, certbot nginx integration, automated https for nginx, tls certificate deployment nginx, acme nginx plugin, free ssl certificates nginx, tls-automation, nginx-plugin, letsencrypt

[View on SkillFed](https://skillfed.io/packages/certbot-nginx) · [View on PyPI](https://pypi.org/project/certbot-nginx/)