Software⏱️ 4 min read📅 2026-06-11

How to Fix: certbot: error: unrecognized arguments: --dns-digitalocean-credentials

certbot error: unrecognized arguments: --dns-digitalocean-credentials, Ubuntu 16.04.3 LTS, certbot 0.31.0

Quick Answer: Check the documentation for the correct format of the --dns-digitalocean-credentials argument and try again with the correct path to your DigitalOcean credentials file.

📋 Table of Contents

  1. 🔍 Why This Happens
  2. 🚀 How to Resolve This Issue
  3. ✨ Wrapping Up

The error 'unrecognized arguments: --dns-digitalocean-credentials' in Certbot is encountered when trying to obtain an SSL certificate using the DNS digitalocean plugin. This issue affects users who have correctly installed the digitalocean plugin but are still unable to authenticate with their DigitalOcean account.

This problem can be frustrating for those who have invested time and effort into setting up their DNS configuration, only to encounter a minor mistake in their Certbot command. However, by following the steps outlined below, users should be able to resolve this issue and successfully obtain their SSL certificate.

🔍 Why This Happens

  • The primary reason for this error is that the --dns-digitalocean-credentials argument has been deprecated in recent versions of the Certbot plugin. This argument was used to specify the path to a file containing your DigitalOcean API credentials, but it has been replaced by a more secure alternative.
  • An alternative cause could be that the digitalocean.ini file specified in the --dns-digitalocean-credentials argument does not exist or is not readable by Certbot. This can occur if the file is misspelled, is located outside of the expected path, or has incorrect permissions.

🚀 How to Resolve This Issue

Using the --email and --key-file arguments instead

  1. Step 1: Replace the --dns-digitalocean-credentials argument with the --email and --key-file arguments. This will allow Certbot to use your DigitalOcean API credentials from a file specified by the --key-file argument, rather than relying on the deprecated --dns-digitalocean-credentials argument.
  2. Step 2: Specify the correct path to your digitalocean.ini file using the --key-file argument. For example: certbot certonly --dns-digitalocean --dns-digitalocean-email --dns-digitalocean-key-file ~/.secrets/digitalocean.ini -d *.example.com
  3. Step 3: Verify that the digitalocean.ini file exists and is readable by Certbot. Ensure that the file has the correct permissions (readable by the user running Certbot) and that it contains your DigitalOcean API credentials.

Checking the plugin version and updating if necessary

  1. Step 1: Check the version of the digitalocean plugin installed on your system. You can do this by running the command python3-certbot-dns-digitalocean/xenial --version.
  2. Step 2: If the plugin is outdated, update it to the latest version using your package manager (e.g., apt-get or pip). This may resolve any compatibility issues with the deprecated --dns-digitalocean-credentials argument.

✨ Wrapping Up

By following these steps and replacing the deprecated --dns-digitalocean-credentials argument with the --email and --key-file arguments, users should be able to successfully obtain their SSL certificate using the DNS digitalocean plugin. Additionally, checking the plugin version and updating it if necessary can help resolve any compatibility issues.

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