CPanel SSL: Issue free certificates in a non-root server

Since some shared hosting providers are tied to an option to buy a SSL certificate, with the help of the acme.sh script, you can issue free SSL certificates following the instructions:

📈 Go to the Terminal into your CPanel or SSH there

⬇️ Get the acme.sh script

1
curl https://get.acme.sh | sh

🔃 Refresh the terminal

Re-enter to the terminal or simply run

1
source ~/.bashrc

✉️ Register your email with the certificate

1
acme.sh —-register-account —-accountemail youremail@yourdomain.com

⏰ Check if cronjob was enabled by acme

1
crontab -l | grep acme.sh

The above command should output something like:

1
10 0 * * * “/home/*YOUR_CPANEL_USER*/.acme.sh”/acme.sh —- cron —- home “/home/*YOUR_CPANEL_USER*/.acme.sh” > /dev/null

📦 Set the domain variables in the terminal

1
export DOMAIN=yourdomain.com
2
# Press enter and write then
3
export WWWDOMAIN=www.yourdomain.com
4
# Don't forget to press enter again

🔑 Testing if the certificate generation works

Before testing if generate the certificate is allowed, you need the path of the domain / subdomain from your Cpanel. Execute the following command and you’ll get the path

1
export DOMAINPATH=$(uapi DomainInfo single_domain_data domain=$DOMAIN | grep documentroot| cut -d " " -f 6)

The result will be stored into DOMAINPATH

Then, you can use Acme to generate a STAGING certificate

1
acme.sh —-issue —-webroot ${DOMAINPATH} -d ${DOMAIN} -d ${WWWDOMAIN} —-staging

Remember to only add -d $WWWDOMAIN, if you are using a www alias for your domain

If you receive green checks / messages. Congrats! You’re able to generate certificates into your Cpanel account.

🍄 Generating a real SSL certificate

1
acme.sh —-issue —-webroot ${DOMAINPATH} -d ${DOMAIN} -d ${WWWDOMAIN} —-force

➕ Add your certificate to Cpanel

1
acme.sh —-deploy —-deploy-hook cpanel_uapi —-domain ${DOMAIN} --domain ${WWWDOMAIN}

Remember, you’ll need to repeat each step from step “Set the domain variables in the terminal” and forward by each domain / subdomain whenever you add it.

Corrections? Suggestions? Click here to edit this page on Github

My posts are not AI generated, they might be only AI corrected. The first draft is always my creation