Free DNS

ACME certificates issued by Let’s Encrypt are completely free. However, you need a valid domain name (e.g., yourdomain.com) that points to your server’s IP address.

How to Get a Free ACME Certificate

1. Register a Domain Name

   • If you don’t have one, you can get a free subdomain from services like:
     • Freenom (may have availability issues)
     • DuckDNS (dynamic DNS)
     • No-IP (limited free options)

2. Point the Domain to Your Server

   • Update your domain’s DNS A record to your server’s IPv4 address.
   • If using IPv6, set an AAAA record.

3. Run Certbot to Get an ACME Certificate

   • Install Certbot:

     sudo apt install certbot
     

   • Request a certificate:

     sudo certbot certonly --standalone -d yourdomain.com
     

   • Certbot will store your certificate at:

     /etc/letsencrypt/live/yourdomain.com/fullchain.pem
     /etc/letsencrypt/live/yourdomain.com/privkey.pem
     

4. Modify Your Snowflake Server Script

   /home/linuxuser/snowflake/server/server \
       -tls-cert /etc/letsencrypt/live/yourdomain.com/fullchain.pem \
       -tls-key /etc/letsencrypt/live/yourdomain.com/privkey.pem
   

Advantages of Using ACME (Let’s Encrypt)

✅ Free & Automated – No manual renewal required.
✅ Trusted – Clients won’t see TLS errors.
✅ Secure – Prevents man-in-the-middle attacks.