Uploaded September 2017 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago

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At this moment Geth does not support SSL.
A reverse proxy server can be used to access a Geth node by SSL.
This video explains how to setup a very simple reverse proxy server.

Prerequisites
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To setup a reverse proxy server you need a SSL certificate.
In this video a reverse proxy server will be setup for testing and development purpose.
Therefore the SSL certificate does not need to be issued by a "real" Certificate Authority.
A self signed SSL certificate will suffice.
In this video I will be using an already created self signed SSL certificate.
How I created my own self signed SSL certificate is explained in YouTube video:
"Create self signed certificates with Subject Alternative Names"
youtu.be/qoS4bLmstlk

I assume you already have installed the node package manager. See:
nodejs.org

Problem description
--------------------------------
A web application can access a local running Geth node using the web3.js library.
Code to create an injected web3 instance:
var web3 = new Web3(new Web3.providers.HttpProvider("http://localhost:8545"));

But when the web application is secured (https) the Geth node can be accessed by
http://localhost:8545
but you will get a warning message.

Example:
sand.mobilefish.com/download/ethereum/ethereum_show_all_accounts.html
To solve the problem, the Geth node should be accessible by https://localhost:8545.
However this is not possible, at least not in Geth v1.7 (maybe in the future?)

Solution
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The solution is to setup a reverse proxy server.

- Web app:
sand.mobilefish.com/download/ethereum/ethereum_show_all_accounts.html
Web3.providers.HttpProvider(“https://proxy.mobilefish.com:9070”)

- Reverse proxy server:
Listen: https://proxy.mobilefish.com:9070
Target: http://localhost:8545

- Geth node:
http://localhost:8545

Setup reverse proxy server
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The procedure described is also documented at:
mobilefish.com/developer/blockchain blockchain_quickguide_geth_suppor t_ssl.html


Check out all my other Ethereum related tutorial videos:
goo.gl/eNJVXe

Subscribe to my YouTube channel:
goo.gl/61NFzK

The presentation used in this video tutorial can be found at:
mobilefish.com/developer/blockchain/blockchain_quickguide_ethereum_related_tutorials.html


#mobilefish #howto #ethereum