How to enable HTTPS on XAMPP server.

Following are Steps to setup HTTPS for XAMP;

STEP 1 Installing XAMMP

Download and install XAMPP Here

STEP 2 Adding VirtualHost

Navigate to
C:\xampp\apache\conf\extra

Open httpd-vhosts-conf file in Notepad

add a VIRTUALHOST in the end by copying following code

  # Virtual Hosts
<VirtualHost *:443>
    DocumentRoot "C:/xampp/htdocs/"
    ServerName localhost
    SSLEngine on
    SSLCertificateFile "conf/ssl.crt/server.crt" 
    SSLCertificateKeyFile "conf/ssl.key/server.key"
    <Directory "C:/xampp/htdocs/">
        Options All
        AllowOverride All
        Require all granted
    </Directory>
</VirtualHost>

ServerName will be the URL you want to setup HTTPS on; In this case We are using localhost

STEP 3 Creating Private Key

Now We will create Private KEY. Navigate to the directory C:\xampp\apache.

Open makecert.bat. It will ask Pass Phrase and some questions. You can give answers of your choices but the comman name should be the URL for which you are setting up SSL for; in this case its "localhost".

Once done with it you can find the certificates and Key folder in the following directory

C:\xampp\apache\conf

STEP 4 Configure httpd.config

Now, Navigate to C:\xampp\apache\conf. We will be configuring our httpd.config file,

All we need to do is to include following lines in the very bottm of httpd.config file.

 # Virtual hosts
Include conf/extra/httpd-vhosts.conf

STEP 4 Installing Certificate

Now, Open ssl.crt folder and Install the certificate on the local machine by follwing steps;]

• open server.crt
• click **install certificate""
• click local machine, then proceed next
• click on **Place all certificates in the following store"
  • Browse and Choose Trusted Root Certification Authorities, click OK and NEXT
• Click Finish

A message will pop up saying ""the import was successfull""

STEP 5 Configure Chrome

We will enable Allow invalid certificates for resources loaded from localhost. in Chrome.

for this paste the following on URL, it will lead you directly to it.

chrome://flags/#allow-insecure-localhost

Restart your XAMPP services and restart chrome as well.

You should now be able to access your website with HTTPS / SSL enabled.

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Comments

[Shabeeh]

Very helpfull,
Thanks

[Eli Argon]

I followed all your steps to the letter and my XAMP refuse to start- message is red!
Problem detected!
Port 80 in use by "Unable to get info" with PID 13596!
Apache WILL NOT start without the configured ports free!
You need to uninstall/disable/reconfigure the blocking application
or reconfigure Apache and the Control Panel to listen on a different port

tried: uncomment "Include conf/extra/httpd-ssl.conf" in httpd.conf
tried: removed all other vhost.conf files
no luck
only when I commented the "Include conf/extra/httpd-vhosts.conf"
it worked again.
any ideas why?

[Ahtisham Hasan Khan]

It seems like there might be a conflict with the configuration in your httpd-vhosts.conf file that's causing Apache to fail to start. Here are some possible reasons and solutions:

1. Port 80 Conflict: The error message indicates that port 80 is in use by another application or service with PID 13596. This can prevent Apache from starting because it also needs to use port 80 by default. You can try to identify the application or service using port 80 and stop it, or you can configure Apache to use a different port.

2. Configuration Error: There might be a syntax error or conflicting configuration in your httpd-vhosts.conf file. Double-check the VirtualHost configuration you added in Step 2 to ensure it's correctly formatted and doesn't conflict with other configurations.

3. SSL Certificate Configuration: Make sure the paths to your SSL certificate files (server.crt and server.key) in the VirtualHost configuration are correct and accessible by Apache.

4. Other Configuration Files: Ensure that there are no conflicting configurations in other Apache configuration files (httpd.conf, httpd-ssl.conf, etc.). Uncommenting Include conf/extra/httpd-ssl.conf in httpd.conf is a good step, but make sure there are no conflicting settings.

5. Check for Other VirtualHost Configurations: If you have multiple VirtualHost configurations in different files, ensure they don't conflict with each other. You mentioned removing other vhost.conf files, but make sure there are no other VirtualHost configurations interfering.

6. Restart XAMPP: After making any changes to the configuration files, restart XAMPP to apply the changes and attempt to start Apache again.

By carefully reviewing and troubleshooting the configuration files, you should be able to identify and resolve the issue causing Apache to fail to start. If you continue to experience issues, double-check each step of the HTTPS setup process to ensure everything is configured correctly.