How can I test https connections with Django as easily as I can non-https connections using 'runserver'?

Question

I have an application that uses \"secure\" cookies and want to test it\'s functionality without needing to set up a complicated SSL enabled development server. Is there any

Answer 1

Handle SSL/TLS with a proxy such as Nginx rather than Django. Nginx can be set up to listen on port 443 and then forward requests to your Django dev server (typically http://127.0.0.1:8000). An Nginx configuration for this might look like the following:

server {
    listen 443 ssl;
    server_name django-dev.localhost;

    ssl_certificate /etc/ssl/certs/nginx_chain.pem;
    ssl_certificate_key /etc/ssl/private/nginx.pem;    

    location / {
        proxy_pass http://127.0.0.1:8000/;
        proxy_set_header Host $host;
    }
}

You'll also need to map django-dev.localhost to 127.0.0.1 and add django-dev.localhost to ALLOWED_HOSTS in settings.py. On Linux, you'll need to add the following line to /etc/hosts:

127.0.0.1   django-dev.localhost

You'll then be able to reach your dev site by going to https://django-dev.localhost in your browser (you will need to bypass your browser's security warning).