how to set up a HTTPS server using express

Question

I have an application using express.

I have a http server running but I would like to use a https server for more security.

I already generated my selfsigned.crt certificate and the key selfsigned.key using openssl (I'm on windows and I'm using visual studio code ). however, after trying during hours I didn't succeed.

I checked a lot of websites and its seems doable but I can't do it. (My project name is called carsapp that's why you will see it appears in the www file)

my app.js file:

var createError = require('http-errors');
var express = require('express');
var path = require('path');
var cookieParser = require('cookie-parser');
var logger = require('morgan');


var indexRouter = require('./routes/index');
var usersRouter = require('./routes/users');


var app = express();

// view engine setup
app.set('views', path.join(__dirname, 'views'));
app.set('view engine', 'pug');

app.use(logger('dev'));
app.use(express.json());
app.use(express.urlencoded({ extended: false }));
app.use(cookieParser());
app.use(express.static(path.join(__dirname, 'public')));

app.use('/', indexRouter);
app.use('/users', usersRouter);

// catch 404 and forward to error handler
app.use(function(req, res, next) {
  next(createError(404));
});

// error handler
app.use(function(err, req, res, next) {
  // set locals, only providing error in development
  res.locals.message = err.message;
  res.locals.error = req.app.get('env') === 'development' ? err : {};

  // render the error page
  res.status(err.status || 500);
  res.render('error');
});




module.exports = app;

and in my bin directory the www file:

#!/usr/bin/env node

/**
 * Module dependencies.
 */

var app = require('../app');
var debug = require('debug')('carsapp:server');
var http = require('http');


/**
 * Get port from environment and store in Express.
 */

var port = normalizePort(process.env.PORT || '3000');
app.set('port', port);

/**
 * Create HTTP server.
 */

 var server = http.createServer(app);




/**
 * Listen on provided port, on all network interfaces.
 */

server.listen(port);
server.on('error', onError);
server.on('listening', onListening);

/**
 * Normalize a port into a number, string, or false.
 */

function normalizePort(val) {
  var port = parseInt(val, 10);

  if (isNaN(port)) {
    // named pipe
    return val;
  }

  if (port >= 0) {
    // port number
    return port;
  }

  return false;
}

/**
 * Event listener for HTTP server "error" event.
 */

function onError(error) {
  if (error.syscall !== 'listen') {
    throw error;
  }

  var bind = typeof port === 'string'
    ? 'Pipe ' + port
    : 'Port ' + port;

  // handle specific listen errors with friendly messages
  switch (error.code) {
    case 'EACCES':
      console.error(bind + ' requires elevated privileges');
      process.exit(1);
      break;
    case 'EADDRINUSE':
      console.error(bind + ' is already in use');
      process.exit(1);
      break;
    default:
      throw error;
  }
}

/**
 * Event listener for HTTP server "listening" event.
 */

function onListening() {
  var addr = server.address();
  var bind = typeof addr === 'string'
    ? 'pipe ' + addr
    : 'port ' + addr.port;
  debug('Listening on ' + bind);
}

As you can see the http server works perfectly but I tried for https but I can't so here it is my code before trying for https.

Answer 1

You can enable https by including the https library and then pass the required certificates in as options, along with the express app.

const https = require('https');
const fs = require('fs');
const app = require('../app');

const options = {
  key: fs.readFileSync('./keyFile.key'),
  cert: fs.readFileSync('./certFile.crt')
};

const server = https.createServer(options, app);
server.listen(8000);

On a side note I happen to agree with @Quentin. If this app faces the world you might want to seriously consider using a reverse proxy.

I suggest making these changes to the 'www' file in your bin folder...

#!/usr/bin/env node

/**
 * Module dependencies.
 */

var app = require('../app');
var debug = require('debug')('carsapp:server');
var https = require('https'); // <--- change to https
var fs = require('fs'); // <--- for loading the certificates

/** Load the certificate and key files using 'fs' */
const options = {
  key: fs.readFileSync('./keyFile.key'),
  cert: fs.readFileSync('./certFile.crt')
};

// The createServer function takes an extra argument.
var server = https.createServer(options, app);

// (continue with the rest of your code)