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 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 in compose for any service*.conf (see docker-compose.yml for service2.conf)
• pull image - docker-compose pull
• if you don't want pre-built image, make you own. docker-compose build will do it
• start it docker-compose up

Some implementation details

Important: provided nginx.conf handles http->https redirect automatically, no need to add it into your custom servcie.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.