Simple HTTPS Test Server Using Node.js

I needed a simple server to test my HTTPS POST requests. Just like a regular HTTP server, it is super easy to do in Node. Except I needed to add private key and a cert, which is an extra step and was not immediately obvious to me, so I figure I’d share my findings.

Step 1. Generate self signed Key and Cert

sudo openssl req -x509 -nodes -days 365 -newkey rsa:2048 -keyout server.key -out server.crt
Code language: CSS (css)

Step 2. Create server file

Copy the code bellow into a server.js file (or whatever you want to call it, and run it with
$ node server.js

"use strict";

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

var options = {
  key: fs.readFileSync('server.key'),
  cert: fs.readFileSync('server.crt')
};

var PORT = 8181;

function handleRequest(req, res){
  //Process Post Request
  if(req.method === "POST"){

    var data = '';

    req.on('data', function(chunk){
      data += chunk;
    });

    req.on('end', function(){
      var parseData = qs.parse(data);
      var prettyData = JSON.stringify(parseData, null, 2);
      console.log("Post request with:\n" + prettyData);
      res.end(prettyData);
    });
  } else { //Send a simple response
    res.end('Everything works');
  }
}

//Create a server
var server = https.createServer(options, handleRequest);

//Start server
server.listen(PORT, function(){
  console.log("Server listening on: https://localhost:" + PORT);
});
Code language: JavaScript (javascript)