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Create an SSL Certificate for n8n Server Using Nginx

Requirements

• A server running Ubuntu (or a similar OS that supports Certbot).

• Nginx installed.

• n8n installed and running.

• A domain name pointed to the server’s IP address.

• Ports 80 and 443 open.

1. Install Certbot

Certbot is a tool used to generate and renew SSL certificates from Let’s Encrypt.

a. Install Certbot on the host

b. Verify installation

The result will show the version, for example: certbot 2.x.x.

c. Generate an SSL certificate

• --standalone tells Certbot to run a small temporary web server to validate your domain.

• -d yourdomain.com is your domain name.

Certbot will ask you a few questions (such as your email for notifications). Enter the details and wait a few seconds. Once completed, the certificate will be stored at:

Copy the files into the ./certs directory:

Restart Nginx:

d. Set up automatic renewal

Steps:

• Renew the certificate before it expires.

• Copy the new certificates into the ./certs directory.

• Reload Nginx inside Docker to apply the new certificates.

Create a script

Paste the following content (make sure to replace the domain with your actual one):

Make the script executable:

Add the script to cron

Edit cron jobs:

At the end of the file, add the following line to run the script daily at 2 AM:

e. Test the script

Check if renewal works:

If successful, you’ll see a message like “Simulating renewal”.

Run the script manually:

If no errors appear and Nginx reloads successfully, everything is set up correctly.