# Documentation for DNS plugins and wildcard request is confusing **URL:** \ **Category:** Site Feedback\ **Created:** [September 7, 2018, 8:48pm UTC](https://community.letsencrypt.org/t/documentation-for-dns-plugins-and-wildcard-request-is-confusing/71646 "2018-09-07T20:48:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![kj6245](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/7993a0/32.png) [@kj6245](https://community.letsencrypt.org/u/kj6245)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2018, 8:48pm UTC](https://community.letsencrypt.org/t/documentation-for-dns-plugins-and-wildcard-request-is-confusing/71646/1 "2018-09-07T20:48:39Z")
Sorry about not following the posting template but my question is about site documentation. As of 2018-09-07, this webpage: ``` https://certbot.eff.org/docs/using.html#dns-plugins ``` contains a table of plugins. The entry for “DNS plugins” contains this description: “This category of plugins automates obtaining a certificate by modifying DNS records to prove you have control over a domain. Doing domain validation in this way is the only way to obtain wildcard certificates from Let’sEncrypt.” That caused me confusion for a couple days because I saw many examples of people using the “manual” authenticator to obtain wildcard certificates. Am I being too picky or should that description (… is the only way to obtain wildcard certificates…) be modified or elaborated? Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![tdelmas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/letsencrypt/user_avatar/community.letsencrypt.org/tdelmas/32/1866_2.png) [@tdelmas](https://community.letsencrypt.org/u/tdelmas)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2018, 9:06pm UTC](https://community.letsencrypt.org/t/documentation-for-dns-plugins-and-wildcard-request-is-confusing/71646/2 "2018-09-07T21:06:43Z")
I feed you’re right. "modifying DNS records " is indeed the only way to get a wildcard certificate, but of course you can do it either using a DNS plugin or manually. Maybe you can suggest a modification of this file [https://github.com/certbot/certbot/blob/master/docs/using.rst#getting-certificates-and-choosing-plugins](https://github.com/certbot/certbot/blob/master/docs/using.rst#getting-certificates-and-choosing-plugins) by opening an issue [https://github.com/certbot/certbot/issues](https://github.com/certbot/certbot/issues) or by a PR? ---
**Author:** ![Osiris](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/839c29/32.png) [@Osiris](https://community.letsencrypt.org/u/Osiris)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2018, 9:36pm UTC](https://community.letsencrypt.org/t/documentation-for-dns-plugins-and-wildcard-request-is-confusing/71646/3 "2018-09-07T21:36:41Z")
Indeed, in its current form it’s incorrect. A little bit of nuance could improve it. ---
**Author:** ![schoen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/letsencrypt/user_avatar/community.letsencrypt.org/schoen/32/79_2.png) [@schoen](https://community.letsencrypt.org/u/schoen)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2018, 11:45pm UTC](https://community.letsencrypt.org/t/documentation-for-dns-plugins-and-wildcard-request-is-confusing/71646/4 "2018-09-07T23:45:13Z")
I think I may have written this text originally and “in this way” is meant to refer to DNS-01 challenges rather than to Certbot DNS plugins. I can see that that’s confusing in its context. ---
**Author:** ![kj6245](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/7993a0/32.png) [@kj6245](https://community.letsencrypt.org/u/kj6245)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2018, 7:51am UTC](https://community.letsencrypt.org/t/documentation-for-dns-plugins-and-wildcard-request-is-confusing/71646/5 "2018-09-08T07:51:41Z")
My first thought to improve clarity would be to remove the reference to wildcards from the ‘Notes’ column for the DNS Plugins row and associate it with the ‘dns-01’ occurrences in the ‘Challenge-type’ column. Specifically, put a footnote symbol next to ‘dns-01’ wherever it occurs and add a table footnote indicating that ‘dns-01’ is the only challenge-type that can be used to obtain wildcard certs. Since only DNS Plugins and Manual allow that challenge-type, they are the only ones that can be used for wildcards certificates. Maybe there is something better. I could try to open an issue as was suggested, but hopefully there is someone (Certbot engineer above ?) who knows that process better than I who could do that. Not trying to duck out of work but I’ve never done that. ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/letsencrypt/original/3X/c/a/ca6c06ea1ea201324bba7048c6841ce60236468d.png) [@system](https://community.letsencrypt.org/u/system)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2018, 7:51am UTC](https://community.letsencrypt.org/t/documentation-for-dns-plugins-and-wildcard-request-is-confusing/71646/6 "2018-10-08T07:51:42Z")
Closed on October 8, 2018, 7:51am UTC This topic was automatically closed 30 days after the last reply. New replies are no longer allowed.