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Version Check Tools Commands & Usage

Use certbot —version, snap list certbot, and pip show certbot to verify ACME client versions across installation methods. This reference covers the commands and scripts operations teams use to audit versions and enforce minimum 4.1.0 for ARI support across the fleet.

Version Check Tools: Commands & Usage

Section titled “Version Check Tools: Commands & Usage”

TL;DR: Use certbot --version, snap list certbot, and pip show certbot to verify ACME client versions across different installation methods—implement automated monitoring scripts to enforce minimum version 4.1.0 for ARI support.

Need help with ACME? Ask Axel Axelspire AI bot with own augmented memory for all ACME/certbot.

Overview

Section titled “Overview”

Version checking commands enable systematic auditing of ACME client installations across enterprise infrastructure. This comprehensive reference covers verification commands for multiple installation methods, automated monitoring patterns, and compliance validation scripts. Operations teams execute these commands to maintain version consistency, detect outdated installations, and ensure compatibility with evolving ACME protocol requirements.

Production environments deploy version checking through configuration management tools, monitoring systems, and CI/CD pipelines. Automated scripts detect installations below critical thresholds, triggering alerts before certificate renewal failures occur. Understanding command variations across package managers, installation sources, and operating systems enables comprehensive version auditing.

Enterprise implementations integrate version checking into infrastructure as code, ensuring new deployments meet minimum standards. Container builds verify versions during image creation. Configuration management enforces version policies across server fleets. Monitoring dashboards display version compliance metrics for operational visibility.

Basic Version Check Commands

Section titled “Basic Version Check Commands”

Standard Version Check

Section titled “Standard Version Check”

The most common command to check ACME client installations:

Terminal window
certbot --version

This command displays the currently installed Certbot version and is essential for troubleshooting compatibility issues, determining feature availability, and ensuring you’re running a supported version.

Alternative Version Check Methods

Section titled “Alternative Version Check Methods”

For systems where standard execution fails or requires elevated privileges:

Terminal window
# Check with sudo privileges
sudo certbot --version


# Check by full path (snap installations - RECOMMENDED)
/snap/bin/certbot --version


# Check specific installation path
/usr/bin/certbot --version
/usr/local/bin/certbot --version


# Verbose version check with debug info
certbot -v

Multi-Method Verification

Section titled “Multi-Method Verification”

Use multiple commands to handle different installation scenarios:

Terminal window
# Try snap first, then system package
/snap/bin/certbot --version || /usr/bin/certbot --version


# Check command location first
command -v certbot && certbot --version


# Verify all installation methods
snap list certbot 2>/dev/null || pip3 show certbot 2>/dev/null || dpkg -l | grep certbot

Package Manager Commands

Section titled “Package Manager Commands”
Section titled “Snap Package Manager (Recommended)”
Terminal window
# Check snap installation
snap list certbot


# Check for available updates
snap refresh --list | grep certbot


# Verify snap version with metadata
snap info certbot


# Check snap revision
snap list certbot --verbose

Pip Package Manager

Section titled “Pip Package Manager”
Terminal window
# Check pip installation
pip3 show certbot


# List all certbot-related packages
pip3 list | grep -i certbot


# Check version with metadata
pip3 show certbot | grep Version


# Verify installation location
pip3 show certbot | grep Location

System Package Managers

Section titled “System Package Managers”

Debian/Ubuntu (APT):

Terminal window
# Check system package (often outdated)
apt list --installed | grep certbot


# Query package details
dpkg-query -l certbot


# Check all certbot-related packages
dpkg -l | grep certbot

RHEL/CentOS (DNF/YUM):

Terminal window
# Check installed package
dnf list installed | grep certbot


# Query package information
rpm -qi certbot


# List all certbot packages
rpm -qa | grep certbot

Automated Monitoring Scripts

Section titled “Automated Monitoring Scripts”

Version Compliance Check

Section titled “Version Compliance Check”
#!/bin/bash
# Version monitoring script - Updated for 2026
CURRENT_VERSION=$(certbot --version 2>/dev/null | grep -oP 'certbot \K[0-9.]+')
MINIMUM_VERSION="4.1.0"  # Minimum for ARI support


if [[ -z "$CURRENT_VERSION" ]]; then
    echo "CRITICAL: Certbot not installed"
    exit 2
fi


if [[ $(printf '%s\n' "$MINIMUM_VERSION" "$CURRENT_VERSION" | sort -V | head -n1) != "$MINIMUM_VERSION" ]]; then
    echo "WARNING: Certbot version $CURRENT_VERSION is below minimum $MINIMUM_VERSION"
    exit 1
fi


echo "OK: Certbot version $CURRENT_VERSION meets requirements"

Multi-Host Version Audit

Section titled “Multi-Host Version Audit”
#!/bin/bash
# Audit Certbot versions across multiple hosts


HOSTS=("server1.example.com" "server2.example.com" "server3.example.com")
MINIMUM_VERSION="4.1.0"


for HOST in "${HOSTS[@]}"; do
    echo "Checking $HOST..."
    VERSION=$(ssh "$HOST" "certbot --version 2>/dev/null | grep -oP 'certbot \K[0-9.]+'")


    if [[ -z "$VERSION" ]]; then
        echo "  ERROR: Certbot not found"
        continue
    fi


    if [[ $(printf '%s\n' "$MINIMUM_VERSION" "$VERSION" | sort -V | head -n1) != "$MINIMUM_VERSION" ]]; then
        echo "  WARNING: Version $VERSION below minimum $MINIMUM_VERSION"
    else
        echo "  OK: Version $VERSION"
    fi
done

Installation Method Detection

Section titled “Installation Method Detection”
#!/bin/bash
# Detect Certbot installation method


detect_installation() {
    if snap list certbot &>/dev/null; then
        echo "snap"
        snap list certbot
    elif pip3 show certbot &>/dev/null; then
        echo "pip"
        pip3 show certbot | grep -E "^(Name|Version|Location):"
    elif dpkg -l certbot &>/dev/null; then
        echo "apt"
        dpkg -l certbot | tail -1
    elif rpm -q certbot &>/dev/null; then
        echo "rpm"
        rpm -qi certbot | grep -E "^(Name|Version|Release):"
    else
        echo "unknown"
        return 1
    fi
}


echo "Certbot installation method:"
detect_installation

Configuration Management Integration

Section titled “Configuration Management Integration”

Ansible Example

Section titled “Ansible Example”
# Ansible playbook for version checking
---
- name: Audit Certbot versions
  hosts: all
  tasks:
    - name: Check Certbot installation
      command: certbot --version
      register: certbot_version
      failed_when: false
      changed_when: false


    - name: Parse version
      set_fact:
        certbot_ver: "{{ certbot_version.stdout | regex_search('certbot ([0-9.]+)', '\\1') | first }}"
      when: certbot_version.rc == 0


    - name: Validate minimum version
      assert:
        that:
          - certbot_ver is defined
          - certbot_ver is version('4.1.0', '>=')
        fail_msg: "Certbot version {{ certbot_ver | default('not found') }} is below minimum 4.1.0"
        success_msg: "Certbot version {{ certbot_ver }} meets requirements"

Puppet Example

Section titled “Puppet Example”
# Puppet manifest for version enforcement
class certbot::version_check {
  $minimum_version = '4.1.0'


  exec { 'check_certbot_version':
    command => "/usr/bin/test $(certbot --version 2>&1 | grep -oP 'certbot \K[0-9.]+') >= ${minimum_version}",
    unless  => "/usr/bin/test $(certbot --version 2>&1 | grep -oP 'certbot \K[0-9.]+') >= ${minimum_version}",
    notify  => Notify['certbot_outdated'],
  }


  notify { 'certbot_outdated':
    message => "Certbot version below minimum ${minimum_version}",
    loglevel => 'warning',
  }
}

Chef Example

Section titled “Chef Example”
# Chef recipe for version verification
certbot_version = shell_out('certbot --version 2>&1').stdout.match(/certbot ([0-9.]+)/)[1]
minimum_version = '4.1.0'


if Gem::Version.new(certbot_version) < Gem::Version.new(minimum_version)
  Chef::Log.warn("Certbot version #{certbot_version} is below minimum #{minimum_version}")


  # Optionally upgrade
  package 'certbot' do
    action :upgrade
    only_if { node['certbot']['auto_upgrade'] }
  end
end

Container and Orchestration Commands

Section titled “Container and Orchestration Commands”

Docker Version Verification

Section titled “Docker Version Verification”
# Dockerfile with version validation
FROM certbot/certbot:v5.2.2


# Verify version during build
RUN CERT_VERSION=$(certbot --version | grep -oP 'certbot \K[0-9.]+') && \
    echo "Certbot version: $CERT_VERSION" && \
    if [ "$(printf '%s\n' '4.1.0' "$CERT_VERSION" | sort -V | head -n1)" != "4.1.0" ]; then \
        echo "ERROR: Certbot version below minimum 4.1.0" && exit 1; \
    fi

Kubernetes Version Check Job

Section titled “Kubernetes Version Check Job”
# Kubernetes CronJob for version auditing
apiVersion: batch/v1
kind: CronJob
metadata:
  name: certbot-version-check
spec:
  schedule: "0 */6 * * *"  # Every 6 hours
  jobTemplate:
    spec:
      template:
        spec:
          containers:
          - name: version-check
            image: certbot/certbot:latest
            command:
            - /bin/sh
            - -c
            - |
              VERSION=$(certbot --version | grep -oP 'certbot \K[0-9.]+')
              if [ "$(printf '%s\n' '4.1.0' "$VERSION" | sort -V | head -n1)" != "4.1.0" ]; then
                echo "WARNING: Version $VERSION below minimum"
                exit 1
              fi
              echo "OK: Version $VERSION"
          restartPolicy: OnFailure

Monitoring and Alerting Integration

Section titled “Monitoring and Alerting Integration”

Prometheus Exporter Script

Section titled “Prometheus Exporter Script”
#!/bin/bash
# Prometheus node_exporter textfile collector for Certbot version


TEXTFILE_DIR="/var/lib/node_exporter/textfile_collector"
OUTPUT_FILE="${TEXTFILE_DIR}/certbot_version.prom"


VERSION=$(certbot --version 2>/dev/null | grep -oP 'certbot \K[0-9.]+')
MINIMUM="4.1.0"


if [[ -n "$VERSION" ]]; then
    # Convert version to comparable number (e.g., 5.2.2 -> 5002002)
    VERSION_NUM=$(echo "$VERSION" | awk -F. '{printf "%d%03d%03d", $1, $2, $3}')
    MIN_NUM=$(echo "$MINIMUM" | awk -F. '{printf "%d%03d%03d", $1, $2, $3}')


    COMPLIANT=0
    [[ $VERSION_NUM -ge $MIN_NUM ]] && COMPLIANT=1


    cat > "$OUTPUT_FILE" <<EOF
# HELP certbot_version_info Certbot version information
# TYPE certbot_version_info gauge
certbot_version_info{version="$VERSION"} 1
# HELP certbot_version_compliant Whether Certbot version meets minimum requirements
# TYPE certbot_version_compliant gauge
certbot_version_compliant $COMPLIANT
EOF
else
    cat > "$OUTPUT_FILE" <<EOF
# HELP certbot_version_info Certbot version information
# TYPE certbot_version_info gauge
certbot_version_info{version="not_installed"} 0
EOF
fi

Troubleshooting Commands

Section titled “Troubleshooting Commands”

Diagnostic Information Collection

Section titled “Diagnostic Information Collection”
#!/bin/bash
# Collect comprehensive version diagnostic information


echo "=== Certbot Version Diagnostics ==="
echo ""


echo "1. Command path:"
which certbot
command -v certbot


echo -e "\n2. Version output:"
certbot --version 2>&1


echo -e "\n3. Snap installation:"
snap list certbot 2>&1 || echo "Not installed via snap"


echo -e "\n4. Pip installation:"
pip3 show certbot 2>&1 || echo "Not installed via pip"


echo -e "\n5. System package:"
dpkg -l certbot 2>&1 || rpm -q certbot 2>&1 || echo "Not installed via system package"


echo -e "\n6. Python version:"
python3 --version


echo -e "\n7. All certbot executables:"
find / -name "certbot" -type f 2>/dev/null


echo -e "\n8. Environment:"
env | grep -i cert

Best Practices

Section titled “Best Practices”

Regular Auditing Schedule

Section titled “Regular Auditing Schedule”
  1. Daily: Automated version checks on critical systems
  2. Weekly: Comprehensive fleet-wide version audits
  3. Monthly: Review and update version policies
  4. Quarterly: Test upgrades in staging environments

Version Policy Enforcement

Section titled “Version Policy Enforcement”
  1. Minimum Version: 4.1.0 (ARI support)
  2. Recommended Version: Latest stable (5.2.2 as of January 2026)
  3. Maximum Age: No more than 6 months behind latest
  4. Exemptions: Document and review exceptions quarterly
Section titled “Related Documentation”