@ind.ie/https-server

HTTPS Server

HTTPS Server is a secure Small Tech personal web server for seamless development and live use.

HTTP Server uses nodecert for seamless locally-trusted TLS certificate provisioning and use during development and Greenlock for seamless globally-trusted Let’s Encrypt TLS certificate provisioning and use on live environments.

Install

npm i -g @ind.ie/https-server

Use

Command-line

https-server [folder-to-serve] [--port N] [--global <email address>] [--version]

All command-line arguments are optional. By default, an HTTPS server with locally-trusted certificates will be created for you to serve the current folder over port 443.

If you do not already have TLS certificates, they will be created for you automatically using nodecert.

All dependencies are installed automatically for you if they do not exist if you have apt, pacman, or yum (untested) on Linux or if you have Homebrew or MacPorts (untested) on macOS.

If you specify the --global flag and provide an email address, globally-trusted Let’s Encrypt TLS certificates are automatically provisioned for you using Greenlock the first time you hit your hostname. The hostname for the certificates is automatically set from the hostname of your system (and the www. subdomain is also automatically provisioned). The email address is a requirement of Let’s Encrypt.

Note: the telemetry and “community member” “features” in Greenlock are, of course, disabled in HTTPS Server.

API

HTTPS Server’s createServer method behaves like the built-in https module’s createServer function. Anywhere you use https.createServer, you can simply replace it with httpsServer.createServer.

createServer([options], [requestListener])

• options (object): see https.createServer. Populates the cert and key properties from the automatically-created nodecert or Let’s Encrypt certificates and will overwrite them if they exist in the options object you pass in. If you pass in an email address (options.email), globally-trusted TLS certificates are obtained from Let’s Encrypt.

• requestListener (function): see https.createServer. If you don’t pass a request listener, HTTPS Server will use its default one.

  Returns: https.Server instance, configured with either locally-trusted certificates via nodecert or globally-trusted ones via Greenlock/Let’s Encrypt.

Example

const httpsServer = require('https-server')
const express = require('express')

const app = express()
app.use(express.static('.'))

const options = {} // (optional) customise your server
const server = httpsServer.createServer(options, app).listen(443, () => {
  console.log(` 🎉 Serving on https://localhost\n`)
})

serve([pathToServe], [callback], [port], [email])

• pathToServe (string): the directory to serve using Express.static.

• callback (function): a function to be called when the server is ready. If you do not specify a callback, you can specify the port as the second argument.

• port (number): the port to serve on. Defaults to 443. (On Linux, privileges to bind to the port are automatically obtained for you.)

• email (string): the email address to use for globally-trusted Let’s Encrypt certificates. If provided, globally-trusted certificates will be provisioned and used. (If absent, locally-trusted certificates will be provisioned using nodecert.)

  Returns: https.Server instance, configured with either locally or globally-trusted certificates.

Example

const httpsServer = require('https-server')

// Serve the current directory over https://localhost
const server = httpsServer.serve()

Help wanted

I can use your help to test HTTPS Server on the following platform/package manager combinations:

• Linux with yum
• macOS with MacPorts

Please let me know how/if it works. Thank you!

Thanks

• thagoat for confirming that installation works on Arch Linux with Pacman.

• Tim Knip for confirming that the module works with 64-bit Windows with the following behaviour: “Install pops up a windows dialog to allow adding the cert.”

• Run Rabbit Run for the following information on 64-bit Windows: “Win64: works with the windows cert install popup on server launch. Chrome and ie are ok with the site then. FF 65 still throws the cert warning even after restarting.”