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

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

🔃 Refresh the terminal

Re-enter to the terminal or simply run

source ~/.bashrc

✉️ Register your email with the certificate

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

⏰ Check if cronjob was enabled by acme

crontab -l | grep acme.sh

The above command should output something like:

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

export DOMAIN=yourdomain.com
# Press enter and write then
export WWWDOMAIN=www.yourdomain.com
# 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

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

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

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

➕ Add your certificate to Cpanel

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.