GeezerVison

HTTPS#

HTTPS is the HTTP protocol over TLS/SSL. In Node.js this is implemented as a separate module.

Determining if crypto support is unavailable#

It is possible for Node.js to be built without including support for the node:crypto module. In such cases, attempting to import from https or calling require('node:https') will result in an error being thrown.

When using CommonJS, the error thrown can be caught using try/catch:

let https;
try {
  https = require('node:https');
} catch (err) {
  console.error('https support is disabled!');
}
cjs

When using the lexical ESM import keyword, the error can only be caught if a handler for process.on('uncaughtException') is registered before any attempt to load the module is made (using, for instance, a preload module).

When using ESM, if there is a chance that the code may be run on a build of Node.js where crypto support is not enabled, consider using the import() function instead of the lexical import keyword:

let https;
try {
  https = await import('node:https');
} catch (err) {
  console.error('https support is disabled!');
}
mjs

Class: https.Agent#

An Agent object for HTTPS similar to http.Agent. See https.request() for more information.

Like http.Agent, the createConnection(options[, callback]) method can be overridden to customize how TLS connections are established.

See agent.createConnection() for details on overriding this method, including asynchronous socket creation with a callback.

new Agent([options])#

• options <Object> Set of configurable options to set on the agent. Can have the same fields as for http.Agent(options), and

  • maxCachedSessions <number> maximum number of TLS cached sessions. Use 0 to disable TLS session caching. Default: 100.

  • servername <string> the value of Server Name Indication extension to be sent to the server. Use empty string '' to disable sending the extension. Default: host name of the target server, unless the target server is specified using an IP address, in which case the default is '' (no extension).

    See Session Resumption for information about TLS session reuse.

Requests that specify a custom checkServerIdentity option are not eligible for connection reuse or TLS session reuse by an https.Agent, unless the checkServerIdentity option was specified when constructing the Agent.

Event: 'keylog'#

• line <Buffer> Line of ASCII text, in NSS SSLKEYLOGFILE format.
• tlsSocket <tls.TLSSocket> The tls.TLSSocket instance on which it was generated.

The keylog event is emitted when key material is generated or received by a connection managed by this agent (typically before handshake has completed, but not necessarily). This keying material can be stored for debugging, as it allows captured TLS traffic to be decrypted. It may be emitted multiple times for each socket.

A typical use case is to append received lines to a common text file, which is later used by software (such as Wireshark) to decrypt the traffic:

// ...
https.globalAgent.on('keylog', (line, tlsSocket) => {
  fs.appendFileSync('/tmp/ssl-keys.log', line, { mode: 0o600 });
});
js

Class: https.Server#

• Extends: <tls.Server>

See http.Server for more information.

server.close([callback])#

• callback <Function>
• Returns: <https.Server>

See server.close() in the node:http module.

server[Symbol.asyncDispose]()#

Calls server.close() and returns a promise that fulfills when the server has closed.

server.closeAllConnections()#

See server.closeAllConnections() in the node:http module.

server.closeIdleConnections()#

See server.closeIdleConnections() in the node:http module.

server.headersTimeout#

• Type: <number> Default: 60000

See server.headersTimeout in the node:http module.

server.listen()#

Starts the HTTPS server listening for encrypted connections. This method is identical to server.listen() from net.Server.

server.maxHeadersCount#

• Type: <number> Default: 1000

See server.maxHeadersCount in the node:http module.

server.requestTimeout#

• Type: <number> Default: 300000

See server.requestTimeout in the node:http module.

server.setTimeout([msecs][, callback])#

• msecs <number> Default: 120000 (2 minutes)
• callback <Function>
• Returns: <https.Server>

See server.setTimeout() in the node:http module.

server.timeout#

• Type: <number> Default: 0 (no timeout)

See server.timeout in the node:http module.

server.keepAliveTimeout#

• Type: <number> Default: 5000 (5 seconds)

See server.keepAliveTimeout in the node:http module.

https.createServer([options][, requestListener])#

• options <Object> Accepts options from tls.createServer(), tls.createSecureContext() and http.createServer().
• requestListener <Function> A listener to be added to the 'request' event.
• Returns: <https.Server>

// curl -k https://localhost:8000/
import { createServer } from 'node:https';
import { readFileSync } from 'node:fs';

const options = {
  key: readFileSync('private-key.pem'),
  cert: readFileSync('certificate.pem'),
};

createServer(options, (req, res) => {
  res.writeHead(200);
  res.end('hello world\n');
}).listen(8000);
// curl -k https://localhost:8000/
const https = require('node:https');
const fs = require('node:fs');

const options = {
  key: fs.readFileSync('private-key.pem'),
  cert: fs.readFileSync('certificate.pem'),
};

https.createServer(options, (req, res) => {
  res.writeHead(200);
  res.end('hello world\n');
}).listen(8000);
javascript

Or

import { createServer } from 'node:https';
import { readFileSync } from 'node:fs';

const options = {
  pfx: readFileSync('test_cert.pfx'),
  passphrase: 'sample',
};

createServer(options, (req, res) => {
  res.writeHead(200);
  res.end('hello world\n');
}).listen(8000);
const https = require('node:https');
const fs = require('node:fs');

const options = {
  pfx: fs.readFileSync('test_cert.pfx'),
  passphrase: 'sample',
};

https.createServer(options, (req, res) => {
  res.writeHead(200);
  res.end('hello world\n');
}).listen(8000);
javascript

To generate the certificate and key for this example, run:

openssl req -x509 -newkey rsa:2048 -nodes -sha256 -subj '/CN=localhost' \
  -keyout private-key.pem -out certificate.pem
bash

Then, to generate the pfx certificate for this example, run:

openssl pkcs12 -certpbe AES-256-CBC -export -out test_cert.pfx \
  -inkey private-key.pem -in certificate.pem -passout pass:sample
bash

https.get(options[, callback])#

https.get(url[, options][, callback])#

• url <string> | <URL>
• options <Object> | <string> | <URL> Accepts the same options as https.request(), with the method set to GET by default.
• callback <Function>
• Returns: <http.ClientRequest>

Like http.get() but for HTTPS.

options can be an object, a string, or a URL object. If options is a string, it is automatically parsed with new URL(). If it is a URL object, it will be automatically converted to an ordinary options object.

import { get } from 'node:https';
import process from 'node:process';

get('https://encrypted.google.com/', (res) => {
  console.log('statusCode:', res.statusCode);
  console.log('headers:', res.headers);

  res.on('data', (d) => {
    process.stdout.write(d);
  });

}).on('error', (e) => {
  console.error(e);
});
const https = require('node:https');

https.get('https://encrypted.google.com/', (res) => {
  console.log('statusCode:', res.statusCode);
  console.log('headers:', res.headers);

  res.on('data', (d) => {
    process.stdout.write(d);
  });

}).on('error', (e) => {
  console.error(e);
});
javascript

https.globalAgent#

Global instance of https.Agent for all HTTPS client requests. Diverges from a default https.Agent configuration by having keepAlive enabled and a timeout of 5 seconds.

https.request(options[, callback])#

https.request(url[, options][, callback])#

• url <string> | <URL>
• options <Object> | <string> | <URL> Accepts all options from http.request(), with some differences in default values:
  • protocol Default: 'https:'
  • port Default: 443
  • agent Default: https.globalAgent
• callback <Function>
• Returns: <http.ClientRequest>

Makes a request to a secure web server.

The following additional options from tls.connect() are also accepted: ca, cert, ciphers, clientCertEngine (deprecated), crl, dhparam, ecdhCurve, honorCipherOrder, key, passphrase, pfx, rejectUnauthorized, secureOptions, secureProtocol, servername, sessionIdContext, highWaterMark.

options can be an object, a string, or a URL object. If options is a string, it is automatically parsed with new URL(). If it is a URL object, it will be automatically converted to an ordinary options object.

https.request() returns an instance of the http.ClientRequest class. The ClientRequest instance is a writable stream. If one needs to upload a file with a POST request, then write to the ClientRequest object.

import { request } from 'node:https';
import process from 'node:process';

const options = {
  hostname: 'encrypted.google.com',
  port: 443,
  path: '/',
  method: 'GET',
};

const req = request(options, (res) => {
  console.log('statusCode:', res.statusCode);
  console.log('headers:', res.headers);

  res.on('data', (d) => {
    process.stdout.write(d);
  });
});

req.on('error', (e) => {
  console.error(e);
});
req.end();
const https = require('node:https');

const options = {
  hostname: 'encrypted.google.com',
  port: 443,
  path: '/',
  method: 'GET',
};

const req = https.request(options, (res) => {
  console.log('statusCode:', res.statusCode);
  console.log('headers:', res.headers);

  res.on('data', (d) => {
    process.stdout.write(d);
  });
});

req.on('error', (e) => {
  console.error(e);
});
req.end();
javascript

Example using options from tls.connect():

const options = {
  hostname: 'encrypted.google.com',
  port: 443,
  path: '/',
  method: 'GET',
  key: fs.readFileSync('private-key.pem'),
  cert: fs.readFileSync('certificate.pem'),
};
options.agent = new https.Agent(options);

const req = https.request(options, (res) => {
  // ...
});
js

Alternatively, opt out of connection pooling by not using an Agent.

const options = {
  hostname: 'encrypted.google.com',
  port: 443,
  path: '/',
  method: 'GET',
  key: fs.readFileSync('private-key.pem'),
  cert: fs.readFileSync('certificate.pem'),
  agent: false,
};

const req = https.request(options, (res) => {
  // ...
});
js

Example using a URL as options:

const options = new URL('https://abc:[email protected]');

const req = https.request(options, (res) => {
  // ...
});
js

Example pinning on certificate fingerprint, or the public key (similar to pin-sha256):

import { checkServerIdentity } from 'node:tls';
import { Agent, request } from 'node:https';
import { createHash } from 'node:crypto';

function sha256(s) {
  return createHash('sha256').update(s).digest('base64');
}
const options = {
  hostname: 'github.com',
  port: 443,
  path: '/',
  method: 'GET',
  checkServerIdentity: function(host, cert) {
    // Make sure the certificate is issued to the host we are connected to
    const err = checkServerIdentity(host, cert);
    if (err) {
      return err;
    }

    // Pin the public key, similar to HPKP pin-sha256 pinning
    const pubkey256 = 'SIXvRyDmBJSgatgTQRGbInBaAK+hZOQ18UmrSwnDlK8=';
    if (sha256(cert.pubkey) !== pubkey256) {
      const msg = 'Certificate verification error: ' +
        `The public key of '${cert.subject.CN}' ` +
        'does not match our pinned fingerprint';
      return new Error(msg);
    }

    // Pin the exact certificate, rather than the pub key
    const cert256 = 'FD:6E:9B:0E:F3:98:BC:D9:04:C3:B2:EC:16:7A:7B:' +
      '0F:DA:72:01:C9:03:C5:3A:6A:6A:E5:D0:41:43:63:EF:65';
    if (cert.fingerprint256 !== cert256) {
      const msg = 'Certificate verification error: ' +
        `The certificate of '${cert.subject.CN}' ` +
        'does not match our pinned fingerprint';
      return new Error(msg);
    }

    // This loop is informational only.
    // Print the certificate and public key fingerprints of all certs in the
    // chain. Its common to pin the public key of the issuer on the public
    // internet, while pinning the public key of the service in sensitive
    // environments.
    let lastprint256;
    do {
      console.log('Subject Common Name:', cert.subject.CN);
      console.log('  Certificate SHA256 fingerprint:', cert.fingerprint256);

      const hash = createHash('sha256');
      console.log('  Public key ping-sha256:', sha256(cert.pubkey));

      lastprint256 = cert.fingerprint256;
      cert = cert.issuerCertificate;
    } while (cert.fingerprint256 !== lastprint256);

  },
};

options.agent = new Agent(options);
const req = request(options, (res) => {
  console.log('All OK. Server matched our pinned cert or public key');
  console.log('statusCode:', res.statusCode);

  res.on('data', (d) => {});
});

req.on('error', (e) => {
  console.error(e.message);
});
req.end();
const tls = require('node:tls');
const https = require('node:https');
const crypto = require('node:crypto');

function sha256(s) {
  return crypto.createHash('sha256').update(s).digest('base64');
}
const options = {
  hostname: 'github.com',
  port: 443,
  path: '/',
  method: 'GET',
  checkServerIdentity: function(host, cert) {
    // Make sure the certificate is issued to the host we are connected to
    const err = tls.checkServerIdentity(host, cert);
    if (err) {
      return err;
    }

    // Pin the public key, similar to HPKP pin-sha256 pinning
    const pubkey256 = 'SIXvRyDmBJSgatgTQRGbInBaAK+hZOQ18UmrSwnDlK8=';
    if (sha256(cert.pubkey) !== pubkey256) {
      const msg = 'Certificate verification error: ' +
        `The public key of '${cert.subject.CN}' ` +
        'does not match our pinned fingerprint';
      return new Error(msg);
    }

    // Pin the exact certificate, rather than the pub key
    const cert256 = 'FD:6E:9B:0E:F3:98:BC:D9:04:C3:B2:EC:16:7A:7B:' +
      '0F:DA:72:01:C9:03:C5:3A:6A:6A:E5:D0:41:43:63:EF:65';
    if (cert.fingerprint256 !== cert256) {
      const msg = 'Certificate verification error: ' +
        `The certificate of '${cert.subject.CN}' ` +
        'does not match our pinned fingerprint';
      return new Error(msg);
    }

    // This loop is informational only.
    // Print the certificate and public key fingerprints of all certs in the
    // chain. Its common to pin the public key of the issuer on the public
    // internet, while pinning the public key of the service in sensitive
    // environments.
    do {
      console.log('Subject Common Name:', cert.subject.CN);
      console.log('  Certificate SHA256 fingerprint:', cert.fingerprint256);

      hash = crypto.createHash('sha256');
      console.log('  Public key ping-sha256:', sha256(cert.pubkey));

      lastprint256 = cert.fingerprint256;
      cert = cert.issuerCertificate;
    } while (cert.fingerprint256 !== lastprint256);

  },
};

options.agent = new https.Agent(options);
const req = https.request(options, (res) => {
  console.log('All OK. Server matched our pinned cert or public key');
  console.log('statusCode:', res.statusCode);

  res.on('data', (d) => {});
});

req.on('error', (e) => {
  console.error(e.message);
});
req.end();
javascript

Outputs for example:

Subject Common Name: github.com
  Certificate SHA256 fingerprint: FD:6E:9B:0E:F3:98:BC:D9:04:C3:B2:EC:16:7A:7B:0F:DA:72:01:C9:03:C5:3A:6A:6A:E5:D0:41:43:63:EF:65
  Public key ping-sha256: SIXvRyDmBJSgatgTQRGbInBaAK+hZOQ18UmrSwnDlK8=
Subject Common Name: Sectigo ECC Domain Validation Secure Server CA
  Certificate SHA256 fingerprint: 61:E9:73:75:E9:F6:DA:98:2F:F5:C1:9E:2F:94:E6:6C:4E:35:B6:83:7C:E3:B9:14:D2:24:5C:7F:5F:65:82:5F
  Public key ping-sha256: Eep0p/AsSa9lFUH6KT2UY+9s1Z8v7voAPkQ4fGknZ2g=
Subject Common Name: USERTrust ECC Certification Authority
  Certificate SHA256 fingerprint: A6:CF:64:DB:B4:C8:D5:FD:19:CE:48:89:60:68:DB:03:B5:33:A8:D1:33:6C:62:56:A8:7D:00:CB:B3:DE:F3:EA
  Public key ping-sha256: UJM2FOhG9aTNY0Pg4hgqjNzZ/lQBiMGRxPD5Y2/e0bw=
Subject Common Name: AAA Certificate Services
  Certificate SHA256 fingerprint: D7:A7:A0:FB:5D:7E:27:31:D7:71:E9:48:4E:BC:DE:F7:1D:5F:0C:3E:0A:29:48:78:2B:C8:3E:E0:EA:69:9E:F4
  Public key ping-sha256: vRU+17BDT2iGsXvOi76E7TQMcTLXAqj0+jGPdW7L1vM=
All OK. Server matched our pinned cert or public key
statusCode: 200
text