How to Install Nginx Lets Encrypt on Windows and Ubuntu?

Are you ready to learn how to install and configure Nginx Lets Encrypt on both Windows and Ubuntu? In this tutorial, we will guide you through the process step by step, empowering you to set up a secure and efficient web server environment. Whether you are running a website, an application, or an API, Nginx combined with Lets Encrypt’s SSL/TLS certificates will provide the necessary tools to protect your data and ensure a smooth user experience.

What is Lets Encrypt?

Lets Encrypt is a free and open Certificate Authority that provides SSL/TLS certificates for securing websites. It aims to make the process of obtaining and renewing certificates simple and automated, enabling website owners to encrypt their connections easily.

It is a non-profit organization backed by major industry players such as the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), Mozilla, and the Internet Security Research Group (ISRG).

The primary goal of Let’s Encrypt is to make secure communication over the internet accessible to everyone by removing the financial and technical barriers typically associated with obtaining and managing SSL/TLS certificates. Let’s Encrypt certificates are trusted by all major browsers and operating systems.

Benefits of Nginx Lets Encrypt

Utilizing Let’s Encrypt with Nginx offers several advantages, including:

Let’s Encrypt provides free certificates, eliminating the need for purchasing expensive ones.
Let’s Encrypt certificates have a limited validity period, but Certbot, the official Let’s Encrypt client, automates the renewal process.
With Let’s Encrypt, you can secure your website and protect sensitive data transmitted over the network.
Using SSL/TLS certificates improves user trust in your website and enhances its reputation.

Installing Certbot for Lets Encrypt

Before you proceed with the installation and configuration of Let’s Encrypt with Nginx, there are a few prerequisites you need to have in place. Here’s what you’ll need:

You should have a registered domain name for which you want to obtain an SSL/TLS certificate from Let’s Encrypt. Ensure that you have administrative access to manage the DNS settings for your domain.
You’ll need administrative access to the server where your website is hosted. This could be a physical server or a virtual private server (VPS) provided by a hosting provider.
Ensure that Nginx is installed and running on your server. Nginx is a popular open-source web server known for its performance and scalability.
You’ll need root access or sudo privileges on your server to install packages, modify configuration files, and execute commands with administrative privileges.

Before configuring Nginx, we need to install Certbot. Here’s how to do it:

For Windows

Open a command prompt with administrative privileges.
Install Certbot by running the following command:

pip install certbot

For Ubuntu

Open a terminal.
Update the package lists by running the command:

sudo apt update

Install Certbot by running the command:

sudo apt install certbot

Installing Lets Encrypt Certificates

let’s obtain and install Let’s Encrypt SSL/TLS certificates to secure your website.

Open a terminal or command prompt.
Run the following command to obtain and install the certificates:

certbot certonly --nginx

Certbot will guide you through the process and prompt you for necessary information, such as your domain name and email address. Follow the instructions and let Certbot handle the certificate generation and installation.

Configuring Nginx Lets Encrypt

Enabling HTTPS in Nginx Lets Encrypt is an essential step to secure your website and protect the sensitive information of your users. In addition, you may want to redirect all HTTP requests to the HTTPS version of your site to ensure a secure browsing experience. Let’s explore how you can accomplish both tasks.

It’s time to configure Nginx to use them. Follow these steps:

Locate the Nginx configuration file, typically located in the conf or etc/nginx directory.
Open the configuration file in a text editor.
Inside the server block for your website or application, add the following lines:

listen 443 ssl;
ssl_certificate /path/to/your/fullchain.pem;
ssl_certificate_key /path/to/your/privkey.pem;

Replace /path/to/your/fullchain.pem and /path/to/your/privkey.pem with the actual paths to your Let’s Encrypt certificates.

Save the configuration file and exit the text editor.

Redirecting HTTP to HTTPS

To redirect HTTP requests to HTTPS, you can add a server block in your Nginx configuration file. Open the Nginx configuration file again:

Add the following server block to redirect HTTP to HTTPS:

server {
listen 80;
server_name yourdomain.com;
return 301 https://$host$request_uri;
}

Save the changes and exit the text editor.

After making the necessary configuration changes, you need to restart Nginx for the changes to take effect:

sudo systemctl restart nginx

Nginx will now listen on both port 80 (HTTP) and port 443 (HTTPS), and all HTTP requests will be automatically redirected to the HTTPS version of your site.

Configuring Multiple Domains with Nginx Lets Encrypt

Configuring multiple domains with Nginx Lets Encrypt allows you to secure multiple websites or subdomains using a single SSL certificate. This is particularly useful if you have multiple domains or subdomains hosted on your Nginx server. Let’s explore how you can accomplish this.

Generating Let’s Encrypt SSL Certificates for Multiple Domains

To generate SSL certificates for multiple domains, you can use Certbot.

The following command will generate certificates for all the specified domains:

sudo certbot certonly --nginx -d domain1.com -d domain2.com -d subdomain.domain.com

Replace domain1.com, domain2.com, and subdomain.domain.com with your actual domain names. Certbot will automatically install and configure the SSL certificates for each domain.

After generating the SSL certificates, you need to update your Nginx configuration to handle multiple domains. Open the Nginx configuration file for one of your domains:

sudo nano /etc/nginx/sites-available/domain1.com

Inside the server block, update the server_name directive to include all your domains:

server_name domain1.com domain2.com subdomain.domain.com;

Save the changes and exit the text editor.
Next, you need to link the SSL certificates generated by Let’s Encrypt to the Nginx configuration. Open the Nginx configuration file again:

sudo nano /etc/nginx/sites-available/domain1.com

Inside the server block, add the following lines to specify the SSL certificate and private key paths:

listen 443 ssl;
ssl_certificate /etc/letsencrypt/live/domain1.com/fullchain.pem;
ssl_certificate_key /etc/letsencrypt/live/domain1.com/privkey.pem;

Make sure to update the paths accordingly for each domain.

After configuring Nginx for multiple domains, you need to restart Nginx for the changes to take effect:

sudo systemctl restart nginx

Nginx will now serve all the specified domains using the respective SSL certificates.

Automatic Certificate Renewal with Certbot

To ensure that your Let’s Encrypt certificates are always up to date, it’s important to set up automatic renewal. Certbot makes this process easy. Here’s what you need to do:

Open a terminal or command prompt.
Run the following command to set up a scheduled task for automatic renewal:

certbot renew --nginx

This command will automatically renew your certificates when they are close to expiration.

In this tutorial, we have covered the process of installing and configuring Nginx Lets Encrypt on both Windows and Ubuntu. By following the steps outlined, you can set up a secure and efficient web server environment, protecting your data and ensuring a smooth user experience. By following the steps outlined in this tutorial, you can successfully install and configure Nginx Lets Encrypt on both Windows and Ubuntu, providing a secure and reliable web server environment. Enjoy the benefits of encrypted connections and user trust while simplifying the process of managing SSL/TLS certificates for your websites.