Overview

The Jekyll GitLab Let’s Encrypt plugin simplifies the process of obtaining and renewing SSL certificates for Jekyll blogs hosted on GitLab Pages. As automated as it gets, this gem leverages the Let’s Encrypt API to perform various tasks, minimizing the manual effort typically involved in managing certificates. While it’s worth noting that the gem uses the deprecated ACME v1 API, the vibrant GitLab community offers alternative solutions that integrate the Let’s Encrypt functionality directly.

If you’re running a Jekyll blog on GitLab Pages and looking for a seamless way to secure your site with HTTPS, this plugin serves as a helpful tool to automate key steps of the certification process, allowing you to focus on creating content instead.

Features

• Automatic Email Registration: The plugin automatically registers your email with the Let’s Encrypt server, taking one task off your hands.
• Challenge File Generation: It generates a challenge file and commits it directly via the GitLab API, ensuring seamless integration without manual intervention.
• Internet Availability Check: The plugin monitors the live status of the challenge file on the internet, waiting until it is accessible for verification.
• Certificate Verification Requests: It automatically requests Let’s Encrypt to verify the challenge, streamlining the entire SSL acquisition process.
• Certificate Chain and Private Key Generation: Once verified, it outputs the certificate chain and private key, ready for use in your domain settings.
• Domain Settings Update: The plugin updates the GitLab Pages domain settings to utilize the new certificates, ensuring your site runs securely.
• Flexible Token Usage: You have the option to use an environment variable for your GitLab access token, enhancing security by keeping sensitive information out of configuration files.
• Compatibility: Supports Jekyll versions 3.3.x to 3.8.x and Ruby versions 2.1+, with a recommendation for 2.2+ for optimal performance.