CentOS 7

How to Install Let's Encrypt SSL in Nginx on CentOS 7

To install Let's Encrypt SSL on Nginx for CentOS 7, follow these steps to ensure your website is secure with HTTPS.

Step 1 : Make sure your domain is correctly set up in DNS and points to your server's IP address to allow Let's Encrypt to verify your domain ownership.

Step 2 :Before proceeding, update your system packages to the latest versions:

sudo yum update -y

Step 3 : Install Certbot and the Certbot Nginx plugin, which will automate the SSL certificate installation:

sudo yum install epel-release -y
sudo yum install certbot python-certbot-nginx

Step 4 : Create a configuration file for your domain (e.g., example.devtutorial.io):

sudo nano /etc/nginx/conf.d/example.devtutorial.io.conf

Add the following content to the file:

server {
    listen 80;
    server_name example.devtutorial.io;

    root /var/www/example.devtutorial.io;
    index index.html;

    location / {
        try_files $uri $uri/ =404;
    }
}

Step 5 : Create the directory for your domain and an index.html file:

sudo mkdir -p /var/www/example.devtutorial.io
sudo sh -c 'echo "<h1>Welcome to example.devtutorial.io</h1>" > /var/www/example.devtutorial.io/index.html'

Step 6 : If you have SELinux enabled, set the correct context for the web directory:

sudo semanage fcontext -a -t httpd_sys_rw_content_t "/var/www/example.devtutorial.io(/.*)?"
sudo restorecon -Rv /var/www/example.devtutorial.io

Step 7 : Test your Nginx configuration to make sure there are no syntax errors:

sudo nginx -t

Step 8 : Restart Nginx to apply the new configuration:

sudo systemctl restart nginx

Step 9 : Obtain SSL Certificate

- Use Certbot to obtain and install the SSL certificate for your domain:

sudo certbot --nginx -d example.devtutorial.io

- Follow the prompts:

Enter your email address.

Agree to the terms of service.

Choose whether to share your email address with the Electronic Frontier Foundation.

If successful, you'll see a confirmation message.

Step 10 : Test Renewal Process

sudo certbot renew --dry-run

Step 11 : Verify SSL Installation

Visit your domain (https://example.devtutorial.io) in a web browser to check that the SSL certificate is working.

Congratulations! You have successfully installed Let's Encrypt SSL on Nginx for CentOS 7.