diff --git a/docs/using.rst b/docs/using.rst index 806dfb340..ccd1d8f97 100644 --- a/docs/using.rst +++ b/docs/using.rst @@ -8,14 +8,17 @@ User Guide Getting Certbot =============== -To get specific instructions for installing Certbot on your OS, we recommend -visiting certbot.eff.org_. If you're offline, you can find some general +To get specific instructions for installing Certbot on your OS, +visit certbot.eff.org_. This is the easiest way to learn how to get +Certbot up and running on your system. + +If you're offline, you can find some general instructions `in the README / Introduction `__ __ installation_ .. _certbot.eff.org: https://certbot.eff.org -.. _certbot-auto: +.. _certbot-auto: https://certbot.eff.org/docs/using.html#certbot-auto The name of the certbot command ------------------------------- @@ -394,7 +397,12 @@ Running with Docker Docker_ is an amazingly simple and quick way to obtain a certificate. However, this mode of operation is unable to install certificates or configure your webserver, because our installer -plugins cannot reach it from inside the Docker container. +plugins cannot reach your webserver from inside the Docker container. + +Most users should use the operating system packages (see instructions at +certbot.eff.org_) or, as a fallback, ``certbot-auto``. You should only +use Docker if you are sure you know what you are doing and have a +good reason to do so. You should definitely read the :ref:`where-certs` section, in order to know how to manage the certs @@ -413,11 +421,15 @@ to, `install Docker`_, then issue the following command: sudo docker run -it --rm -p 443:443 -p 80:80 --name certbot \ -v "/etc/letsencrypt:/etc/letsencrypt" \ -v "/var/lib/letsencrypt:/var/lib/letsencrypt" \ - quay.io/letsencrypt/letsencrypt:latest auth + quay.io/letsencrypt/letsencrypt:latest certonly -and follow the instructions (note that ``auth`` command is explicitly -used - no installer plugins involved). Your new cert will be available -in ``/etc/letsencrypt/live`` on the host. +Running Certbot with the ``certonly`` command will obtain a certificate and place it in the directory +``/etc/letsencrypt/live`` on your system. Because Certonly cannot install the certificate from +within Docker, you must install the certificate manually according to the procedure +recommended by the provider of your webserver. + +For more information about the layout +of the ``/etc/letsencrypt`` directory, see :ref:`where-certs`. .. _Docker: https://docker.com .. _`install Docker`: https://docs.docker.com/userguide/ @@ -543,10 +555,10 @@ whole process is described in the :doc:`contributing`. Comparison of different methods ------------------------------- -Unless you have a very specific requirements, we kindly suggest that you use -the certbot-auto_ method. It's the fastest, the most thoroughly -tested and the most reliable way of getting our software and the free -TLS/SSL certificates! +Unless you have very specific requirements, we kindly suggest that you use +the Certbot packages provided by your package manager (see certbot.eff.org_). +If such packages are not available, we recommend using ``certbot-auto``, which +automates the process of installing Certbot on your system. Beyond the methods discussed here, other methods may be possible, such as installing Certbot directly with pip from PyPI or downloading a ZIP