# Certbot

Command-line client that obtains and renews TLS certificates from Let's Encrypt and other ACME certificate authorities.


Source: https://findsoftware.frbit.cloud/certbot/
Last reviewed: 2026-10-19
Updated: 2026-10-25
Listed since: 2026-10-19

## Record

### Links

- home: https://certbot.eff.org
- repository: https://github.com/certbot/certbot
- docs: https://eff-certbot.readthedocs.io/en/stable/

### Identity

- status: active
- maintainer: Electronic Frontier Foundation
- maintainerType: foundation
- parent: unknown
- firstRelease: unknown
- hqCountry: unknown

### Kind

- category: web-server
- hosting: python
- language: python
- runtime: python
- runtimeMin: python 3.10
- basedOn: unknown

### Content

- contentStore: not applicable
- databases: not applicable
- adminUi: not applicable
- headlessApi: not applicable
- templating: not applicable
- i18n: not applicable

### Rendering and deploy

- runsAs: scheduled
- renderingModes: not applicable
- installMethod: snap, pip, docker

### License

- licenseModel: open-source
- license: Apache-2.0

### Releases

- currentMajor: 5
- latestReleaseDate: 2026-09-01

### Adoption

- githubStargazers: 33278
- packagistDownloads: not applicable
- npmWeeklyDownloads: not applicable
- contributors: 560
- pluginCount: unknown
- packagistMonthlyDownloads: unknown
- ecosystemsMonthlyDownloads: 451623
- httpArchiveSites: unknown
- wordpressActiveInstalls: unknown
- dependentRepos: 470
- dependentPackages: 111

### Sources

- urls: https://certbot.eff.org (read 2026-10-19)
- urls: https://api.github.com/repos/certbot/certbot (read 2026-10-19)
- urls: https://eff-certbot.readthedocs.io/en/stable/install.html (read 2026-10-19)
- maintainer: https://www.eff.org/about (read 2026-10-19)
- maintainerType: https://www.eff.org/about (read 2026-10-19)
- category: https://certbot.eff.org (read 2026-10-19)
- language: https://api.github.com/repos/certbot/certbot (read 2026-10-19)
- runtime: https://pypi.org/pypi/certbot/json (read 2026-10-19)
- runtimeMin: https://pypi.org/pypi/certbot/json (read 2026-10-19)
- installMethod: https://eff-certbot.readthedocs.io/en/stable/install.html (read 2026-10-19)
- license: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/certbot/certbot/main/LICENSE.txt (read 2026-10-19)
- licenseModel: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/certbot/certbot/main/LICENSE.txt (read 2026-10-19)
- currentMajor: https://api.github.com/repos/certbot/certbot/releases/latest (read 2026-10-19)
- latestReleaseDate: https://api.github.com/repos/certbot/certbot/releases/latest (read 2026-10-19)
- githubStargazers: https://api.github.com/repos/certbot/certbot (read 2026-10-19)
- contributors: https://api.github.com/repos/certbot/certbot/contributors?anon=true (read 2026-10-19)
- runsAs: https://eff-certbot.readthedocs.io/en/stable/using.html (read 2026-10-20)
- dependentRepos: https://packages.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/registries/pypi.org/packages/certbot (read 2026-10-25)
- dependentPackages: https://packages.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/registries/pypi.org/packages/certbot (read 2026-10-25)
- ecosystemsMonthlyDownloads: https://packages.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/registries/pypi.org/packages/certbot (read 2026-10-25)

## Notes

Certbot requests TLS certificates over the ACME protocol, from Let's Encrypt or another ACME certificate authority, and renews them. It runs as a command on the server, by hand, from cron or from a systemd timer, outside the request path of the website. The project recommends installing it as a snap; pip and a Docker image are alternatives, and the install page directs most users to the instructions on certbot.eff.org.

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Data licensed CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Attributes are recorded, never scored; absent means unknown.
Credit, in full: FindSoftware, CC BY 4.0