TBSCertBot v0.9.6 Installation Guide for Windows Server

This guide will help you install TBSCertBot on your Windows Server.

Note: For a quick, “Linux-style” installation, we have included an automated PowerShell script.

1. Server Preparation

1. KVM/Console Connection (if not already done)

• Log in to your hosting provider’s client area;
  
• Access your server’s KVM or VNC console;
  
• Follow the steps to initialize Windows (Language, Keyboard, Administrator Password).
  

2. Remote Desktop Connection (RDP)

• Once Windows is initialized, connect via an RDP client (e.g., “Remote Desktop Connection” on Windows or “Remmina” on Linux) using the server’s IP and the Administrator account.
  

2. Automated Installation (Recommended)

We have prepared a script install_on_windows.ps1 that installs IIS, PHP, and configures TBSCertBot for you.

1. Transfer Files

• Copy the extracted tbscertbot folder to the server, for example to the Desktop or C:\Temp.
  

2. Start Installation

• Open PowerShell as Administrator (Right-click Start menu > Windows PowerShell (Admin));
  
• Navigate to the windows folder inside the extracted directory: powershell cd C:\Path\To\tbscertbot\windows;
  
• Run the script: powershell .\install_on_windows.ps1;
  
• The script will:
  • Install the Web Server (IIS) role;
    
  • Download and install PHP 8.2;
    
  • Download and install OpenSSL (required for cryptography);
    
  • Install necessary VC++ redistributables;
    
  • Create the C:\TBSCertBot directory and copy files there;
    
  • Pre-configure data\conf.ini.example with the OpenSSL path;
    
  • Configure Scheduled Task (Cron): A TBSCertBot_Cron task is created to run daily at 03:00 (for automatic renewals);
    
    Note: A random delay (0-12h) is added to the execution to prevent server overload;
    
  
  
• At the end, the script will ask if you want to launch the Wizard:
  • Y (Yes): Launches the interactive configuration;
    
  • N (No): Creates the conf.ini file for manual editing.
    

3. Configuration (if you did not use the Wizard)

• Go to C:\TBSCertBot\data;
  
• Open conf.ini with a text editor (Notepad or other);
  
• [HOOKS] Section:
  • For validation (DCV), configure the path to the validation script. ini [HOOKS] dcv = "C \TBSCertBot\hooks\exportDCVScript.bat";
    
  • For certificate installation on IIS: ini [HOOKS] download = "C:\TBSCertBot\hooks\hook-iis.bat".
    
  
  
• Verification:
  • Open a command prompt (cmd or PowerShell);
    
  • Type: powershell php tbscertbot.php version
    
    

    cd C:\TBSCertBot
    powershell php tbscertbot.php version

    
    
  • Everything should be green.
    

4. Usage

You can now use TBSCertBot.

Order a certificate:

powershell php tbscertbot.php order

Import a certificate:

powershell php tbscertbot.php import [reference]

Appendix: Manual Installation

If you prefer to do everything manually:

• IIS: Install the “Web Server (IIS)” role via Server Manager;
  
• PHP:
  • Download PHP 8.x (Non Thread Safe) from windows.php.net;
    
  • Unzip to C:\PHP;
    
  • Add C:\PHP to your PATH environment variable;
    
  • Enable curl, mbstring, openssl in php.ini.
    
  
  
• OpenSSL:
  • Download and install “Win64 OpenSSL v3.x Light” from slproweb.com;
    
  • Install it to the default folder (C:\Program Files\OpenSSL-Win64).
    
  
  
• TBSCertBot:
  • Copy the files to C:\TBSCertBot;
    
  • Configure data\conf.ini (copy data\conf.ini.example to data\conf.ini).
    

Useful links

• Easily manage your certificates with TBSCertBot
• TBSCertBot - The Quick Start Guide
• Automate your certificate orders and renewals using TBSCertBot
• TBSCertBot - Dashboard and agents tracking