# Error renewing certificates **URL:** \ **Category:** Help\ **Created:** [May 19, 2020, 10:25am UTC](https://community.letsencrypt.org/t/error-renewing-certificates/123200 "2020-05-19T10:25:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mysterio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e56c9b/32.png) [@Mysterio](https://community.letsencrypt.org/u/Mysterio)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2020, 10:25am UTC](https://community.letsencrypt.org/t/error-renewing-certificates/123200/1 "2020-05-19T10:25:50Z")
Please fill out the fields below so we can help you better. Note: you must provide your domain name to get help. Domain names for issued certificates are all made public in Certificate Transparency logs (e.g. [https://crt.sh/?q=example.com](https://crt.sh/?q=example.com)), so withholding your domain name here does not increase secrecy, but only makes it harder for us to provide help. My domain is: [domain](http://upskill.techzillaindia.com) (check hyperlink) I ran this command: cerbot renew , cerbot certificates It produced this output: no certs found, no renewals attempted My web server is (include version): The operating system my web server runs on is (include version): Ubuntu 18.04.3 My hosting provider, if applicable, is: DO I can login to a root shell on my machine (yes or no, or I don’t know): yes I’m using a control panel to manage my site (no, or provide the name and version of the control panel): no The version of my client is (e.g. output of `certbot --version` or `certbot-auto --version` if you’re using Certbot): \*\*I see all the certificates in the folder docker-volumes/etc/letsencrypt folder \*\* on the path /etc/letsencrypt there are no live keys stored. The keys from docker volumes are mounted to the Docker containers as well . I have received an email about the renewal, but when I try renewing it, I get no certs found, no renewals attempted. Maybe I feel it is trying to fetch details from default path i.e etc/letsencrypt but actually the data is in docker-volumes/etc/letsencrypt folder. How do i fix it? ---
**Author:** ![rg305](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/letsencrypt/user_avatar/community.letsencrypt.org/rg305/32/91314_2.png) [@rg305](https://community.letsencrypt.org/u/rg305)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2020, 11:47am UTC](https://community.letsencrypt.org/t/error-renewing-certificates/123200/2 "2020-05-19T11:47:11Z")
Can you make a symbolic link to use `/docker-volumes/etc/letsencrypt/` as `/etc/letsencrypt/` ? If not, try: `certbot renew --config-dir /docker-volumes/etc/letsencrypt/` ---
**Author:** ![Mysterio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e56c9b/32.png) [@Mysterio](https://community.letsencrypt.org/u/Mysterio)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2020, 12:18pm UTC](https://community.letsencrypt.org/t/error-renewing-certificates/123200/3 "2020-05-19T12:18:56Z")
Hey ! It tried the renew command with config dir Traceback (most recent call last): File “/usr/lib/python3/dist-packages/certbot/renewal.py”, line 67, in \_reconstitute renewal\_candidate = storage.RenewableCert(full\_path, config) File “/usr/lib/python3/dist-packages/certbot/storage.py”, line 463, in **init** self.\_check\_symlinks() File “/usr/lib/python3/dist-packages/certbot/storage.py”, line 522, in \_check\_symlinks “expected {0} to be a symlink”.format(link)) certbot.errors.CertStorageError: expected /etc/letsencrypt/live/upskill.techzillaindia.com/cert.pem to be a symlink Renewal configuration file /docker-volumes/etc/letsencrypt/renewal/upskill.techzillaindia.com.conf is broken. Skipping. **How exactly to make a symbolic link? Help will be appreciated!** Thanks ---
**Author:** ![Mysterio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e56c9b/32.png) [@Mysterio](https://community.letsencrypt.org/u/Mysterio)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2020, 12:21pm UTC](https://community.letsencrypt.org/t/error-renewing-certificates/123200/4 "2020-05-19T12:21:41Z")
I tried the command but Additionally, the following renewal configurations were invalid: /docker-volumes/etc/letsencrypt/renewal/upskill.techzillaindia.com.conf (parsefail) How excatly to make a symbolic link? Any help will be appreciated! ---
**Author:** ![Mysterio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e56c9b/32.png) [@Mysterio](https://community.letsencrypt.org/u/Mysterio)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2020, 12:22pm UTC](https://community.letsencrypt.org/t/error-renewing-certificates/123200/5 "2020-05-19T12:22:20Z")
renewal configuration file /docker-volumes/etc/letsencrypt/renewal/upskill.techzillaindia.com.conf is broken. ---
**Author:** ![Mysterio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e56c9b/32.png) [@Mysterio](https://community.letsencrypt.org/u/Mysterio)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2020, 12:31pm UTC](https://community.letsencrypt.org/t/error-renewing-certificates/123200/6 "2020-05-19T12:31:59Z")
The config file is as follows # renew\_before\_expiry = 30 days version = 1.2.0 archive\_dir = docker-volumes/etc/letsencrypt/archive/upskill.techzillaindia.com cert = docker-volumes/etc/letsencrypt/live/upskill.techzillaindia.com/cert.pem privkey = docker-volumes/etc/letsencrypt/live/upskill.techzillaindia.com/privkey.pem chain = docker-volumes/etc/letsencrypt/live/upskill.techzillaindia.com/chain.pem fullchain = docker-volumes/etc/letsencrypt/live/upskill.techzillaindia.com/fullchain.pem # Options used in the renewal process [renewalparams] account = ccb8e67bb38219c386c3d6e2a866ee39 authenticator = webroot webroot\_path = /data/letsencrypt, server = [https://acme-v02.api.letsencrypt.org/directory](https://acme-v02.api.letsencrypt.org/directory) [[webroot\_map]] [upskill.techzillaindia.com](http://upskill.techzillaindia.com) = /data/letsencrypt ---
**Author:** ![rg305](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/letsencrypt/user_avatar/community.letsencrypt.org/rg305/32/91314_2.png) [@rg305](https://community.letsencrypt.org/u/rg305)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2020, 12:51pm UTC](https://community.letsencrypt.org/t/error-renewing-certificates/123200/7 "2020-05-19T12:51:58Z")
Where it says: `…= docker-volumes/…` Should that be?: `…= /docker-volumes/…` What says?: `ls -l /docker-volumes/etc/letsencrypt/` `ls -l /data/letsencrypt/` ---
**Author:** ![rg305](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/letsencrypt/user_avatar/community.letsencrypt.org/rg305/32/91314_2.png) [@rg305](https://community.letsencrypt.org/u/rg305)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2020, 12:53pm UTC](https://community.letsencrypt.org/t/error-renewing-certificates/123200/8 "2020-05-19T12:53:10Z")
> [@Mysterio](#): > > webroot\_path = /data/letsencrypt, I don't know why there is a comma there. ---
**Author:** ![JimPas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/letsencrypt/user_avatar/community.letsencrypt.org/jimpas/32/33270_2.png) [@JimPas](https://community.letsencrypt.org/u/JimPas)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2020, 2:12am UTC](https://community.letsencrypt.org/t/error-renewing-certificates/123200/9 "2020-05-20T02:12:24Z")
He must have corrected those two items you pointed out @rg305. The site is up and has its cert. ---
**Author:** ![rg305](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/letsencrypt/user_avatar/community.letsencrypt.org/rg305/32/91314_2.png) [@rg305](https://community.letsencrypt.org/u/rg305)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2020, 2:44am UTC](https://community.letsencrypt.org/t/error-renewing-certificates/123200/10 "2020-05-20T02:44:00Z")
We may never know… Then name should have clued me in “Mysterio”. [Spanish for Mystery] ---
**Author:** ![Mysterio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e56c9b/32.png) [@Mysterio](https://community.letsencrypt.org/u/Mysterio)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2020, 6:45am UTC](https://community.letsencrypt.org/t/error-renewing-certificates/123200/11 "2020-05-20T06:45:12Z")
Hey! I am fixing it! The site was already up, my renewal is due on 6th june. I facing acme challenge verification issue. I’ll update here once done. ---
**Author:** ![JimPas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/letsencrypt/user_avatar/community.letsencrypt.org/jimpas/32/33270_2.png) [@JimPas](https://community.letsencrypt.org/u/JimPas)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2020, 3:50am UTC](https://community.letsencrypt.org/t/error-renewing-certificates/123200/12 "2020-05-21T03:50:20Z")
👌 If you’re having an issue with the acme challenge, don’t hesitate to ask for help. Isn’t great you’re learning as you go? Soon you’ll be an old pro at renewing. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Mysterio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e56c9b/32.png) [@Mysterio](https://community.letsencrypt.org/u/Mysterio)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2020, 11:46am UTC](https://community.letsencrypt.org/t/error-renewing-certificates/123200/13 "2020-05-22T11:46:36Z")
I used this tutorial to set up ssl for my website > **[How to Set Up Free SSL Certificates from Let's Encrypt using Docker and Nginx](https://www.humankode.com/ssl/how-to-set-up-free-ssl-certificates-from-lets-encrypt-using-docker-and-nginx)** > > The Complete Guide to Setting Up Free SSL/TLS Certificates from Let's Encrypt using Docker, Nginx and Ubuntu on a Virtual Machine in the Cloud. Created this directory sudo mkdir -p /docker/letsencrypt-docker-nginx/src/letsencrypt/letsencrypt-site Then I created a temporary nginx container, using compose file at /docker/letsencrypt-docker-nginx/src/letsencrypt/letsencrypt-site docker-compose.yml version: ‘3.1’ services: letsencrypt-nginx-container: container\_name: ‘letsencrypt-nginx-container’ image: nginx:latest ports: - “80:80” volumes: - ./nginx.conf:/etc/nginx/conf.d/default.conf - ./letsencrypt-site:/usr/share/nginx/html networks: - docker-network networks: docker-network: driver: bridge Then created a temporary nginx config to be served using sudo nano /docker/letsencrypt-docker-nginx/src/letsencrypt/nginx.conf nginx.conf erver { listen 80; listen [::]:80; server\_name [example-site.com](http://example-site.com) [www.example-site.com](http://www.example-site.com); ``` location ~ /.well-known/acme-challenge { allow all; root /usr/share/nginx/html; } root /usr/share/nginx/html; index index.html; ``` } A temporary html file at /docker/letsencrypt-docker-nginx/src/letsencrypt/letsencrypt-site/index.html Then spin up the container using cd /docker/letsencrypt-docker-nginx/src/letsencrypt docker-compose up -d Site was running at the domain then I fired being in the same directory as /docker/letsencrypt-docker-nginx/src/letsencrypt sudo docker run -it --rm -v /docker-volumes/etc/letsencrypt:/etc/letsencrypt -v /docker-volumes/var/lib/letsencrypt:/var/lib/letsencrypt -v /docker/letsencrypt-docker-nginx/src/letsencrypt/letsencrypt-site:/data/letsencrypt -v “/docker-volumes/var/log/letsencrypt:/var/log/letsencrypt” certbot/certbot certonly --webroot –email [youremail@domain.com](mailto:youremail@domain.com) --agree-tos --no-eff-email –webroot-path=/data/letsencrypt -d [example-site.com](http://example-site.com) -d [www.example-site.com](http://www.example-site.com) and certificates were available at /docker-volumes/etc/letsencrypt And then volume mapped pem files to our production container. Now I have to renew the certificates How should I renew the certificates, I fired certbot renew command at /docker-volumes/etc/letsencrypt The renewal config file is the same as mentioned above with web root path "/data/letsencrypt’ the error shows no file and directory. When I update it with other existing directly the Http challenge fails. ---
**Author:** ![Mysterio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e56c9b/32.png) [@Mysterio](https://community.letsencrypt.org/u/Mysterio)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2020, 6:16am UTC](https://community.letsencrypt.org/t/error-renewing-certificates/123200/14 "2020-05-25T06:16:59Z")
@rg305 Any update? My expiry date is nearing ---
**Author:** ![9peppe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/letsencrypt/user_avatar/community.letsencrypt.org/9peppe/32/31596_2.png) [@9peppe](https://community.letsencrypt.org/u/9peppe)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2020, 9:37am UTC](https://community.letsencrypt.org/t/error-renewing-certificates/123200/15 "2020-05-25T09:37:27Z")
The tutorial you followed is a pile of steaming crap that uses the host crontab to renew certificates (search for “renew” in that page and you’ll find how). You should switch to this one: > **[Nginx and Let’s Encrypt with Docker in Less Than 5 Minutes](https://medium.com/@pentacent/nginx-and-lets-encrypt-with-docker-in-less-than-5-minutes-b4b8a60d3a71)** > > Getting Nginx to run with Let’s Encrypt in a docker-compose environment is more tricky than you’d think … ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/letsencrypt/original/3X/c/a/ca6c06ea1ea201324bba7048c6841ce60236468d.png) [@system](https://community.letsencrypt.org/u/system)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2020, 9:37am UTC](https://community.letsencrypt.org/t/error-renewing-certificates/123200/16 "2020-06-24T09:37:29Z")
Closed on June 24, 2020, 9:37am UTC This topic was automatically closed 30 days after the last reply. New replies are no longer allowed.