HTTPS
History
HTTPS is the HTTP protocol over TLS/SSL. In Node.js this is implemented as a separate module.
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!');
}
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!');
}
An Agent object for HTTPS similar to http.Agent. See https.request() for more information.
new Agent(options?)| Property | Type | Description | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
options | <Object> | Set of configurable options to set on the agent. Can have the same fields as for http.Agent(options), and | ||||||
| ||||||||
| Property | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
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 });
});
class https.Server extends tls.ServerSee http.Server for more information.
server.close(callback?): https.Server| Property | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
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.
| Property | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| - | <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.
| Property | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| - | <number> | Default: 2000 |
See server.maxHeadersCount in the node:http module.
server.requestTimeout
History
The default request timeout changed from no timeout to 300s (5 minutes).
| Property | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| - | <number> | Default: 300000 |
See server.requestTimeout in the node:http module.
server.setTimeout(msecs?, callback?): https.Server| Property | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
msecs | <number> | Default: 120000 (2 minutes) |
callback | <Function> | - |
| Returns | <https.Server> | - |
See server.setTimeout() in the node:http module.
server.timeout
History
The default timeout changed from 120s to 0 (no timeout).
| Property | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| - | <number> | Default: 0 (no timeout) |
See server.timeout in the node:http module.
| Property | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| - | <number> | Default: 5000 (5 seconds) |
See server.keepAliveTimeout in the node:http module.
https.createServer(options?, requestListener?): https.Server| Property | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
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);
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);
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
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
https.get(options, callback?)https.get(url, options?, callback?): http.ClientRequest| Property | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
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);
});
https.globalAgent
History
The agent now uses HTTP Keep-Alive and a 5 second timeout by default.
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
History
The clientCertEngine option depends on custom engine support in OpenSSL which is deprecated in OpenSSL 3.
When using a URL object parsed username and password will now be properly URI decoded.
The highWaterMark option is accepted now.
The url parameter can now be passed along with a separate options object.
The options parameter can now include clientCertEngine.
The options parameter can be a WHATWG URL object.
https.request(url, options?, callback?): http.ClientRequest| Property | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
url | <string> | <URL> | - |
options | <Object> | <string> | <URL> | Accepts all options from http.request(), with some differences in default values: |
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();
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) => {
// ...
});
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) => {
// ...
});
Example using a URL as options:
const options = new URL('https://abc:xyz@example.com');
const req = https.request(options, (res) => {
// ...
});
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();
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