Using HTTPS and WSS with an Apache proxy

TomKleine

Hi all,

I'm running a NodeJS server on Ubuntu 18.04 behind an apache proxy.

For anyone looking for the config for an apache proxy look no further :)
After a lot of time spent searching for a solution, this is the solution I found.

*Note:
You'll need the following apache modules enabled:

ssl
proxy
proxy_http
proxy_html
proxy_wstunnel

(or just run 'sudo a2enmod ssl proxy proxy_http proxy_html proxy_wstunnel')

<VirtualHost *:80>

    ServerName servername.xyz
        
    #redirect all requests received from port 80 to the HTTPS variant (force ssl)
    RewriteEngine On
    RewriteRule ^(.*)$ https://%{HTTP_HOST}$1 [R=301,L]

</VirtualHost>

<VirtualHost *:443>

    ServerName servername.xyz
        
    #enable SSL
    SSLEngine On
    SSLCertificateFile          /PATH/TO/CERT/FILE    (note: i'm using the fullchain.pem file which is generated using LetsEncrypt's certbot cli)
    SSLCertificateKeyFile       /PATH/TO/PRIVATE/KEY/FILE

    #setup the proxy to forward websocket requests properly (note: this proxy automatically converts the secure websocket (wss)
    #to a normal websocket and vice versa, so there's no need to change the colyseus library or the server for that matter)
    RewriteEngine On
    RewriteCond %{HTTP:UPGRADE} ^WebSocket$           [NC,OR]
    RewriteCond %{HTTP:CONNECTION} ^Upgrade$          [NC]
    RewriteRule .* ws://127.0.0.1:APP-PORT-HERE%{REQUEST_URI}  [P,QSA,L]

    #setup the proxy to forward all https requests to http backend (also automatic conversion from https to http and vice versa)
    ProxyPass "/" "http://127.0.0.1:APP-PORT-HERE/"
    ProxyPassReverse "/" "http://127.0.0.1:APP-PORT-HERE/"

</VirtualHost>

I hope this post can be of any help :)