# acme_certificate – Create SSL/TLS certificates with the ACME protocol

- Synopsis
- Requirements
- Parameters
- Notes
- See Also
- Examples
- Return Values
- Status

## Synopsis

- Create and renew SSL/TLS certificates with a CA supporting the ACME protocol, such as Let’s Encrypt or Buypass. The current implementation supports the `http-01`, `dns-01` and `tls-alpn-01` challenges.
- To use this module, it has to be executed twice. Either as two different tasks in the same run or during two runs. Note that the output of the first run needs to be recorded and passed to the second run as the module argument `data`.
- Between these two tasks you have to fulfill the required steps for the chosen challenge by whatever means necessary. For `http-01` that means creating the necessary challenge file on the destination webserver. For `dns-01` the necessary dns record has to be created. For `tls-alpn-01` the necessary certificate has to be created and served. It is not the responsibility of this module to perform these steps.
- For details on how to fulfill these challenges, you might have to read through the main ACME specification and the TLS-ALPN-01 specification. Also, consider the examples provided for this module.
- The module includes experimental support for IP identifiers according to the RFC 8738.

Aliases: letsencrypt

## Requirements

The below requirements are needed on the host that executes this module.

- python >= 2.6
- either openssl or cryptography >= 1.5

## Parameters

Parameter | Choices/Defaults | Comments
--- | --- | ---
account_email string |  | The email address associated with this account. It will be used for certificate expiration warnings. Note that when `modify_account` is not set to `no` and you also used the acme_account module to specify more than one contact for your account, this module will update your account and restrict it to the (at most one) contact email address specified here.

account_key_content
string
added in 2.5

Content of the ACME account RSA or Elliptic Curve key.
Mutually exclusive with `account_key_src`.
Required if `account_key_src` is not used.
Warning: the content will be written into a temporary file, which will be deleted by Ansible when the module completes. Since this is an important private key — it can be used to change the account key, or to revoke your certificates without knowing their private keys —, this might not be acceptable.
In case `cryptography` is used, the content is not written into a temporary file. It can still happen that it is written to disk by Ansible in the process of moving the module with its argument to the node where it is executed.

account_key_src
path

Path to a file containing the ACME account RSA or Elliptic Curve key.
RSA keys can be created with `openssl genrsa ...`. Elliptic curve keys can be created with `openssl ecparam -genkey ...`. Any other tool creating private keys in PEM format can be used as well.
Mutually exclusive with `account_key_content`.
Required if `account_key_content` is not used.
aliases: account_key

account_uri string added in 2.7 |  | If specified, assumes that the account URI is as given. If the account key does not match this account, or an account with this URI does not exist, the module fails.

acme_directory
string

Default:
"https://acme-staging.api.letsencrypt.org/directory"

The ACME directory to use. This is the entry point URL to access CA server API.
For safety reasons the default is set to the Let's Encrypt staging server (for the ACME v1 protocol). This will create technically correct, but untrusted certificates.
For Let's Encrypt, all staging endpoints can be found here: https://letsencrypt.org/docs/staging-environment/. For Buypass, all endpoints can be found here: https://community.buypass.com/t/63d4ay/buypass-go-ssl-endpoints
For Let's Encrypt, the production directory URL for ACME v1 is https://acme-v01.api.letsencrypt.org/directory, and the production directory URL for ACME v2 is https://acme-v02.api.letsencrypt.org/directory.
For Buypass, the production directory URL for ACME v2 and v1 is https://api.buypass.com/acme/directory.
Warning: So far, the module has only been tested against Let's Encrypt (staging and production), Buypass (staging and production), and Pebble testing server.

acme_version
integer
added in 2.5

Choices:
- 1 ←
- 2

The ACME version of the endpoint.
Must be 1 for the classic Let's Encrypt and Buypass ACME endpoints, or 2 for standardized ACME v2 endpoints.

agreement string |  | URI to a terms of service document you agree to when using the ACME v1 service at `acme_directory`. Default is latest gathered from `acme_directory` URL. This option will only be used when `acme_version` is 1.
chain_dest path added in 2.5 |  | If specified, the intermediate certificate will be written to this file. aliases: chain

challenge
string

Choices:
- http-01 ←
- dns-01
- tls-alpn-01

The challenge to be performed.

csr
path / required

File containing the CSR for the new certificate.
Can be created with `openssl req ...`.
The CSR may contain multiple Subject Alternate Names, but each one will lead to an individual challenge that must be fulfilled for the CSR to be signed.
Note: the private key used to create the CSR must not be the account key. This is a bad idea from a security point of view, and the CA should not accept the CSR. The ACME server should return an error in this case.
aliases: src

data
dictionary

The data to validate ongoing challenges. This must be specified for the second run of the module only.
The value that must be used here will be provided by a previous use of this module. See the examples for more details.
Note that for ACME v2, only the `order_uri` entry of `data` will be used. For ACME v1, `data` must be non-empty to indicate the second stage is active; all needed data will be taken from the CSR.
Note: the `data` option was marked as `no_log` up to Ansible 2.5. From Ansible 2.6 on, it is no longer marked this way as it causes error messages to be come unusable, and `data` does not contain any information which can be used without having access to the account key or which are not public anyway.

deactivate_authzs
boolean
added in 2.6

Choices:
- no ←
- yes

Deactivate authentication objects (authz) after issuing a certificate, or when issuing the certificate failed.
Authentication objects are bound to an account key and remain valid for a certain amount of time, and can be used to issue certificates without having to re-authenticate the domain. This can be a security concern.

dest path |  | The destination file for the certificate. Required if `fullchain_dest` is not specified. aliases: cert

force
boolean
added in 2.6

Choices:
- no ←
- yes

Enforces the execution of the challenge and validation, even if an existing certificate is still valid for more than `remaining_days`.
This is especially helpful when having an updated CSR e.g. with additional domains for which a new certificate is desired.

fullchain_dest path added in 2.5 |  | The destination file for the full chain (i.e. certificate followed by chain of intermediate certificates). Required if `dest` is not specified. aliases: fullchain

modify_account
boolean
added in 2.6

Choices:
- no
- yes ←

Boolean indicating whether the module should create the account if necessary, and update its contact data.
Set to `no` if you want to use the acme_account module to manage your account instead, and to avoid accidental creation of a new account using an old key if you changed the account key with acme_account.
If set to `no`, `terms_agreed` and `account_email` are ignored.

remaining_days integer | Default: 10 | The number of days the certificate must have left being valid. If `cert_days < remaining_days`, then it will be renewed. If the certificate is not renewed, module return values will not include `challenge_data`. To make sure that the certificate is renewed in any case, you can use the `force` option.

retrieve_all_alternates
boolean
added in 2.9

Choices:
- no ←
- yes

When set to `yes`, will retrieve all alternate chains offered by the ACME CA. These will not be written to disk, but will be returned together with the main chain as `all_chains`. See the documentation for the `all_chains` return value for details.

select_crypto_backend
string
added in 2.7

Choices:
- auto ←
- cryptography
- openssl

Determines which crypto backend to use.
The default choice is `auto`, which tries to use `cryptography` if available, and falls back to `openssl`.
If set to `openssl`, will try to use the `openssl` binary.
If set to `cryptography`, will try to use the cryptography library.

terms_agreed
boolean
added in 2.5

Choices:
- no ←
- yes

Boolean indicating whether you agree to the terms of service document.
ACME servers can require this to be true.
This option will only be used when `acme_version` is not 1.

validate_certs
boolean
added in 2.5

Choices:
- no
- yes ←

Whether calls to the ACME directory will validate TLS certificates.
Warning: Should only ever be set to `no` for testing purposes, for example when testing against a local Pebble server.

## Notes

Note

- At least one of `dest` and `fullchain_dest` must be specified.
- This module includes basic account management functionality. If you want to have more control over your ACME account, use the acme_account module and disable account management for this module using the `modify_account` option.
- This module was called `letsencrypt` before Ansible 2.6. The usage did not change.
- If a new enough version of the `cryptography` library is available (see Requirements for details), it will be used instead of the `openssl` binary. This can be explicitly disabled or enabled with the `select_crypto_backend` option. Note that using the `openssl` binary will be slower and less secure, as private key contents always have to be stored on disk (see `account_key_content`).
- Although the defaults are chosen so that the module can be used with the Let’s Encrypt CA, the module can in principle be used with any CA providing an ACME endpoint, such as Buypass Go SSL.

## See Also

See also

The Let’s Encrypt documentation
  Documentation for the Let’s Encrypt Certification Authority. Provides useful information for example on rate limits.
Buypass Go SSL
  Documentation for the Buypass Certification Authority. Provides useful information for example on rate limits.
Automatic Certificate Management Environment (ACME)
  The specification of the ACME protocol (RFC 8555).
ACME TLS ALPN Challenge Extension
  The specification of the `tls-alpn-01` challenge (RFC 8737).
acme_challenge_cert_helper – Prepare certificates required for ACME challenges such as tls-alpn-01
  Helps preparing `tls-alpn-01` challenges.
openssl_privatekey – Generate OpenSSL private keys
  Can be used to create private keys (both for certificates and accounts).
openssl_csr – Generate OpenSSL Certificate Signing Request (CSR)
  Can be used to create a Certificate Signing Request (CSR).
certificate_complete_chain – Complete certificate chain given a set of untrusted and root certificates
  Allows to find the root certificate for the returned fullchain.
acme_certificate_revoke – Revoke certificates with the ACME protocol
  Allows to revoke certificates.
acme_account – Create, modify or delete ACME accounts
  Allows to create, modify or delete an ACME account.
acme_inspect – Send direct requests to an ACME server
  Allows to debug problems.

## Examples

    ### Example with HTTP challenge ###

    - name: Create a challenge for sample.com using a account key from a variable.
      acme_certificate:
        account_key_content: "{{ account_private_key }}"
        csr: /etc/pki/cert/csr/sample.com.csr
        dest: /etc/httpd/ssl/sample.com.crt
      register: sample_com_challenge

    # Alternative first step:
    - name: Create a challenge for sample.com using a account key from hashi vault.
      acme_certificate:
        account_key_content: "{{ lookup('hashi_vault', 'secret=secret/account_private_key:value') }}"
        csr: /etc/pki/cert/csr/sample.com.csr
        fullchain_dest: /etc/httpd/ssl/sample.com-fullchain.crt
      register: sample_com_challenge

    # Alternative first step:
    - name: Create a challenge for sample.com using a account key file.
      acme_certificate:
        account_key_src: /etc/pki/cert/private/account.key
        csr: /etc/pki/cert/csr/sample.com.csr
        dest: /etc/httpd/ssl/sample.com.crt
        fullchain_dest: /etc/httpd/ssl/sample.com-fullchain.crt
      register: sample_com_challenge

    # perform the necessary steps to fulfill the challenge
    # for example:
    #
    # - copy:
    #     dest: /var/www/html/{{ sample_com_challenge['challenge_data']['sample.com']['http-01']['resource'] }}
    #     content: "{{ sample_com_challenge['challenge_data']['sample.com']['http-01']['resource_value'] }}"
    #     when: sample_com_challenge is changed and 'sample.com' in sample_com_challenge['challenge_data']
    #
    # Alternative way:
    #
    # - copy:
    #     dest: /var/www/{{ item.key }}/{{ item.value['http-01']['resource'] }}
    #     content: "{{ item.value['http-01']['resource_value'] }}"
    #   loop: "{{ sample_com_challenge.challenge_data | dictsort }}"
    #   when: sample_com_challenge is changed

    - name: Let the challenge be validated and retrieve the cert and intermediate certificate
      acme_certificate:
        account_key_src: /etc/pki/cert/private/account.key
        csr: /etc/pki/cert/csr/sample.com.csr
        dest: /etc/httpd/ssl/sample.com.crt
        fullchain_dest: /etc/httpd/ssl/sample.com-fullchain.crt
        chain_dest: /etc/httpd/ssl/sample.com-intermediate.crt
        data: "{{ sample_com_challenge }}"

    ### Example with DNS challenge against production ACME server ###

    - name: Create a challenge for sample.com using a account key file.
      acme_certificate:
        account_key_src: /etc/pki/cert/private/account.key
        account_email: myself@sample.com
        src: /etc/pki/cert/csr/sample.com.csr
        cert: /etc/httpd/ssl/sample.com.crt
        challenge: dns-01
        acme_directory: https://acme-v01.api.letsencrypt.org/directory
        # Renew if the certificate is at least 30 days old
        remaining_days: 60
      register: sample_com_challenge

    # perform the necessary steps to fulfill the challenge
    # for example:
    #
    # - route53:
    #     zone: sample.com
    #     record: "{{ sample_com_challenge.challenge_data['sample.com']['dns-01'].record }}"
    #     type: TXT
    #     ttl: 60
    #     state: present
    #     wait: yes
    #     # Note: route53 requires TXT entries to be enclosed in quotes
    #     value: "{{ sample_com_challenge.challenge_data['sample.com']['dns-01'].resource_value | regex_replace('^(.*)$', '\"\\1\"') }}"
    #   when: sample_com_challenge is changed and 'sample.com' in sample_com_challenge.challenge_data
    #
    # Alternative way:
    #
    # - route53:
    #     zone: sample.com
    #     record: "{{ item.key }}"
    #     type: TXT
    #     ttl: 60
    #     state: present
    #     wait: yes
    #     # Note: item.value is a list of TXT entries, and route53
    #     # requires every entry to be enclosed in quotes
    #     value: "{{ item.value | map('regex_replace', '^(.*)$', '\"\\1\"' ) | list }}"
    #   loop: "{{ sample_com_challenge.challenge_data_dns | dictsort }}"
    #   when: sample_com_challenge is changed

    - name: Let the challenge be validated and retrieve the cert and intermediate certificate
      acme_certificate:
        account_key_src: /etc/pki/cert/private/account.key
        account_email: myself@sample.com
        src: /etc/pki/cert/csr/sample.com.csr
        cert: /etc/httpd/ssl/sample.com.crt
        fullchain: /etc/httpd/ssl/sample.com-fullchain.crt
        chain: /etc/httpd/ssl/sample.com-intermediate.crt
        challenge: dns-01
        acme_directory: https://acme-v01.api.letsencrypt.org/directory
        remaining_days: 60
        data: "{{ sample_com_challenge }}"
      when: sample_com_challenge is changed

## Return Values

Common return values are documented here, the following are the fields unique to this module:

Key | Returned | Description
--- | --- | ---
account_uri string added in 2.5 | changed | ACME account URI.
all_chains list / elements=dictionary | when certificate was retrieved and retrieve_all_alternates is set to `yes` | When retrieve_all_alternates is set to `yes`, the module will query the ACME server for alternate chains. This return value will contain a list of all chains returned, the first entry being the main chain returned by the server. See Section 7.4.2 of RFC8555 for details.
| cert string | always | The leaf certificate itself, in PEM format.
| chain string | always | The certificate chain, excluding the root, as concatenated PEM certificates.
| full_chain string | always | The certificate chain, excluding the root, but including the leaf certificate, as concatenated PEM certificates.
authorizations dictionary | changed | ACME authorization data. Maps an identifier to ACME authorization objects. See https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc8555#section-7.1.4. Sample: {"example.com":{...}}
cert_days integer | success | The number of days the certificate remains valid.
challenge_data list / elements=dictionary | changed | Per identifier / challenge type challenge data. Since Ansible 2.8.5, only challenges which are not yet valid are returned.
| record string added in 2.5 | changed and challenge is `dns-01` | The full DNS record's name for the challenge. Sample: _acme-challenge.example.com
| resource string | changed | The challenge resource that must be created for validation. Sample: .well-known/acme-challenge/evaGxfADs6pSRb2LAv9IZf17Dt3juxGJ-PCt92wr-oA
| resource_original string added in 2.8 | changed and challenge is `tls-alpn-01` | The original challenge resource including type identifier for `tls-alpn-01` challenges. Sample: DNS:example.com

resource_value
string

changed

The value the resource has to produce for the validation.
For `http-01` and `dns-01` challenges, the value can be used as-is.
For `tls-alpn-01` challenges, note that this return value contains a Base64 encoded version of the correct binary blob which has to be put into the acmeValidation x509 extension; see https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc8737.html#section-3 for details. To do this, you might need the `b64decode` Jinja filter to extract the binary blob from this return value.
Sample:
IlirfxKKXA...17Dt3juxGJ-PCt92wr-oA

challenge_data_dns dictionary added in 2.5 | changed | List of TXT values per DNS record, in case challenge is `dns-01`. Since Ansible 2.8.5, only challenges which are not yet valid are returned.
finalization_uri string added in 2.5 | changed | ACME finalization URI.
order_uri string added in 2.5 | changed | ACME order URI.

## Status

- This module is not guaranteed to have a backwards compatible interface. [preview]
- This module is maintained by the Ansible Community. [community]

### Authors

- Michael Gruener (@mgruener)

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