Node.js v0.9.1 Manual & Documentation

HTTPS#

Stability: 3 - Stable

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

Class: https.Server#

This class is a subclass of tls.Server and emits events same as http.Server. See http.Server for more information.

https.createServer(options, [requestListener])#

Returns a new HTTPS web server object. The options is similar to tls.createServer(). The requestListener is a function which is automatically added to the 'request' event.

Example: 

// curl -k https://localhost:8000/
var https = require('https');
var fs = require('fs');

var options = {
  key: fs.readFileSync('test/fixtures/keys/agent2-key.pem'),
  cert: fs.readFileSync('test/fixtures/keys/agent2-cert.pem')
};

https.createServer(options, function (req, res) {
  res.writeHead(200);
  res.end("hello world\n");
}).listen(8000);

Or 

var https = require('https');
var fs = require('fs');

var options = {
  pfx: fs.readFileSync('server.pfx')
};

https.createServer(options, function (req, res) {
  res.writeHead(200);
  res.end("hello world\n");
}).listen(8000);

https.request(options, callback)#

Makes a request to a secure web server.

options can be an object or a string. If options is a string, it is automatically parsed with url.parse().

All options from http.request() are valid.

Example: 

var https = require('https');

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

var req = https.request(options, function(res) {
  console.log("statusCode: ", res.statusCode);
  console.log("headers: ", res.headers);

  res.on('data', function(d) {
    process.stdout.write(d);
  });
});
req.end();

req.on('error', function(e) {
  console.error(e);
});

The options argument has the following options

  • host: IP or domain of host to make request to. Defaults to 'localhost'.
  • port: port of host to request to. Defaults to 443.
  • path: Path to request. Default '/'.

  • method: HTTP request method. Default 'GET'.

  • host: A domain name or IP address of the server to issue the request to. Defaults to 'localhost'.

  • hostname: To support url.parse() hostname is preferred over host
  • port: Port of remote server. Defaults to 443.
  • method: A string specifying the HTTP request method. Defaults to 'GET'.
  • path: Request path. Defaults to '/'. Should include query string if any. E.G. '/index.html?page=12'
  • headers: An object containing request headers.
  • auth: Basic authentication i.e. 'user:password' to compute an Authorization header.
  • agent: Controls Agent behavior. When an Agent is used request will default to Connection: keep-alive. Possible values:
    • undefined (default): use globalAgent for this host and port.
    • Agent object: explicitly use the passed in Agent.
    • false: opts out of connection pooling with an Agent, defaults request to Connection: close.

The following options from tls.connect() can also be specified. However, a globalAgent silently ignores these.

  • pfx: Certificate, Private key and CA certificates to use for SSL. Default null.
  • key: Private key to use for SSL. Default null.
  • passphrase: A string of passphrase for the private key or pfx. Default null.
  • cert: Public x509 certificate to use. Default null.
  • ca: An authority certificate or array of authority certificates to check the remote host against.
  • ciphers: A string describing the ciphers to use or exclude. Consult http://www.openssl.org/docs/apps/ciphers.html#CIPHER_LIST_FORMAT for details on the format.
  • rejectUnauthorized: If true, the server certificate is verified against the list of supplied CAs. An 'error' event is emitted if verification fails. Verification happens at the connection level, before the HTTP request is sent. Default false.

In order to specify these options, use a custom Agent.

Example: 

var options = {
  host: 'encrypted.google.com',
  port: 443,
  path: '/',
  method: 'GET',
  key: fs.readFileSync('test/fixtures/keys/agent2-key.pem'),
  cert: fs.readFileSync('test/fixtures/keys/agent2-cert.pem')
};
options.agent = new https.Agent(options);

var req = https.request(options, function(res) {
  ...
}

Or does not use an Agent.

Example: 

var options = {
  host: 'encrypted.google.com',
  port: 443,
  path: '/',
  method: 'GET',
  key: fs.readFileSync('test/fixtures/keys/agent2-key.pem'),
  cert: fs.readFileSync('test/fixtures/keys/agent2-cert.pem'),
  agent: false
};

var req = https.request(options, function(res) {
  ...
}

https.get(options, callback)#

Like http.get() but for HTTPS.

options can be an object or a string. If options is a string, it is automatically parsed with url.parse().

Example: 

var https = require('https');

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

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

}).on('error', function(e) {
  console.error(e);
});

Class: https.Agent#

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

https.globalAgent#

Global instance of https.Agent for all HTTPS client requests.