dm1tryg / nginx-le

Nginx with automatic let's encrypt (docker image)

NGINX-LE - Nginx web and proxy with automatic let's encrypt

Simple nginx image (alpine based) with integrated Let's Encrypt support.

How to use

• get docker-compose.yml and change things:

  • set timezone to your local, for example TZ=UTC. For more timezone values check /usr/share/zoneinfo directory
  • set LETSENCRYPT=true if you want an automatic certificate install and renewal
  • LE_EMAIL should be your email and LE_FQDN for domain
  • for multiple FQDNs you can pass comma-separated list, like LE_FQDN=aaa.example.com,bbb.example.com
  • alternatively set LETSENCRYPT to false and pass your own cert in SSL_CERT, key in SSL_KEY and SSL_CHAIN_CERT
  • use provided etc/service-example.conf to make your own etc/service.conf. Keep ssl directives as is:

    ssl_certificate SSL_CERT;
    ssl_certificate_key SSL_KEY;
    ssl_trusted_certificate SSL_CHAIN_CERT;

• make sure volumes in docker-compose.yml changed to your service config

• you can map multiple custom config files to in compose using service*.conf filename pattern, see service2.conf in docker-compose.yml file for reference

  Alternatively, mount directory with *.conf files into /etc/nginx/conf.d-le directory inside the container to have them all copied at once.

• stream*.conf files are picked up into /etc/nginx/stream.d/ directory and included into stream section of the Nginx configuration, see stream2.conf in docker-compose.yml file for reference.

  Alternatively, mount directory with *.conf files into /etc/nginx/conf.d-le directory inside the container to have them all copied at once.

• pull image - docker-compose pull

• if you don't want a pre-built image, make you own. docker-compose build will do it

• start it docker-compose up

Configuration files variables replacement

On start of the container all following text matches in custom configuration files you mounted will be replaced, variable with dollar sign ($, like $LE_FQDN) will be taken from environment, please see next table for their list.

Matching pattern	Value	nginx usage	Description
SSL_CERT	/etc/nginx/ssl/$SSL_CERT	ssl_certificate	Public SSL certificate, sent to client
SSL_KEY	/etc/nginx/ssl/$SSL_KEY	ssl_certificate_key	SSL private key, not sent to client
SSL_CHAIN_CERT	/etc/nginx/ssl/$SSL_CHAIN_CERT	ssl_trusted_certificate	Trusted SSL certificates, not sent to client
LE_FQDN	$LE_FQDN	server_name	List of domains, useful for configuration with single server block

Environment variables list

Variable	Default value	Description
SSL_CERT	le-key.pem	certbot privkey.pem new filename
SSL_KEY	le-crt.pem	certbot fullchain.pem new filename
SSL_CHAIN_CERT	le-chain-crt.pem	certbot chain.pem new filename
LETSENCRYPT	false	Enables Let's Encrypt certificate retrieval and renewal
LE_FQDN		comma-separated list of domains for Let's Encrypt certificate, required if LETSENCRYPT is true
LE_EMAIL		comma-separated list of emails for Let's Encrypt certificate, required if LETSENCRYPT is true
TZ		Timezone, if set will be written to container's /etc/timezone

Some implementation details

Important: provided nginx.conf handles http->https redirect automatically, no need to add it into your custom service.conf. In case if you need a custom server on http (:80) port, make sure you handle /.well-known/ path needed for LE challenge.

• image uses alpine's certbot package.
• script/entrypoint.sh requests LE certificate and will refresh every 10 days in case if certificate is close to expiration (30day)
• script/le.sh gets SSL
• nginx-le on docker-hub
• A+ overall rating on ssllabs

Alternatives

• Træfik HTTP reverse proxy and load balancer. Supports Let's Encrypt directly.
• Caddy supports Let's Encrypt directly.
• leproxy small and nice (stand alone) https reverse proxy with automatic Letsencrypt
• bunch of others

Examples

• Reverse proxy for WebRTC solutions, where you need multiple ports on one domain to reach different services behind your nginx-le container.

Manual certificate renewal (*.example.com, DNS challenge)

wildcard certificate renewal

In your docker-compose.yml disable automatic Let's Encrypt certificate creation/renewal.

    environment:
      - LETSENCRYPT=true

# after starting nginx-le connect to it
docker exec -it nginx sh

# change `*.example.com` to your domain name
certbot certonly \
    --manual \
    --manual-public-ip-logging-ok \
    --preferred-challenges=dns \
    --email "${LE_EMAIL}" \
    --agree-tos \
    -d "*.example.com"

# it will ask you to create/update TXT DNS record
# depending on your DNS provider it can take some time
# you can check if DNS is already updated using dig utility
dig txt _acme-challenge.example.com

# copy certificates for nginx-le to use them
cp -fv /etc/letsencrypt/live/example.com/privkey.pem /etc/nginx/ssl/le-key.pem
cp -fv /etc/letsencrypt/live/example.com/fullchain.pem /etc/nginx/ssl/le-crt.pem
cp -fv /etc/letsencrypt/live/example.com/chain.pem /etc/nginx/ssl/le-chain-crt.pem

# use the same procedure for renewal