server-ssl.js

Easy to configure SSL Web Server that can be used for development or production

HTTP requests are redirected to HTTPS

Production servers can use and renew Lets Encrypt 90 Day Certificates automatically.

Designed to get out of your way, you can still change anything about the server.

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Getting Started

1. Clone or Download the main branch and extract it somewhere
2. Open the folder in Command Prompt or Git Bash
3. Run start-windows.bat

start-windows.bat takes arguments and starts the server, it also restarts the server when certificates are renewed.

# Start for development (Self Signed Certificate, Port 443, https://localhost)
./start-windows.bat

# Start for production (Lets Encrypt!)
./start-windows.bat --letsEncrypt --domains=['www.ssl.boats','ssl.boats']

# Start for production (BYO)
./start-windows.bat --cert="your-certificate.pem" --pk="your-private-key.pem"

Optional Arguments

server-ssl.js has some optional arguments you can use in production if the defaults aren't enough.

Arguments/Flags	Description	Default Value
--port=	The port number for HTTPS	443
--portHttp=	The port number for HTTP that will be redirected	80
--cert=	The path to the SSL certificate file.	"certificate.pem"
--pk=	The path to the private key file for the SSL certificate.	"private-key.pem"
--site=	The directory for the website files	"website"
--error=	The directory for error messages (404,500)	"error"
--entry=	The page to use for the entry point	"index.html"

All Arguments are case sensitive.

Use Lets Encrypt!

You can use Lets Encrypt to generate certificates,

Certificates are valid for 90 days but are renewed automatically sooner.

Automated Lets Encrypt!	Description
--letsEncrypt	Lets Encrypt! should be used to generate 90 day certificates
--domains=	Fomains to generate certificates for, this can not include wild cards, this should be an array. eg. --domains=['www.ssl.boats','ssl.boats']
--generateAnyway	Certificates should always be generated when the server starts, this could get you rate limited, maybe use --staging
--staging	The Lets Encrypt! staging server should be used instead of production
--noAutoRestart	The server should not restart after certificates are generated

./start-windows.bat --letsEncrypt --domains=['www.ssl.boats','ssl.boats']

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Default Structure

This structure is designed to keep the project organized and maintainable, separating error handling, website content, and server configuration.

/root
│
├── /error
│   ├── 404.html
│   └── 500.html
│
├── /ssl
│   ├── /openssl
│   ├── /module
│   │   ├── /crypt
│   │   ├── /jose
│   │   └── lets-encrypt-acme-client.js
│   │ 
│   ├── acmeKeys
│   ├── private-key.pem
│   └── certificate.pem
│   └── ssl.js
│
├── /website
│   └── index.html <---- Your website goes here
│
├── node.exe
├── server-ssl.js
└── start-windows.bat

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Default Page

The default page is a little boat game, the goal is to survive.

You can adjust the difficulty by zooming.

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404/500 Pages

The server is configured to serve custom 404 and 500 error pages.

Currently everything is treated like a Server Error except for Page Not Found

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Bring Your Own SSL Certificate

./start-windows.bat --cert="your-certificate.pem" --pk="your-private-key.pem"
node server-ssl.js --cert="your-certificate.pem" --pk="your-private-key.pem"

Important

Your Certificate and Private Key should be relative to the SSL folder if you bring your own

Create SSL Certificate

start-windows.bat will automatically create a Certificate and Private Key when you run it if you don't provide any and none exist

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Node.js

When you run start-windows.bat the first time the latest version of node.exe portable will be downloaded