§Configuring HTTPS

Play can be configured to serve HTTPS. To enable this, simply tell Play which port to listen to using the https.port system property. For example:

./start -Dhttps.port=9443

§SSL Certificates

§SSL Certificates from a keystore

By default, Play will generate itself a self-signed certificate, however typically this will not be suitable for serving a website. Play uses Java key stores to configure SSL certificates and keys.

Signing authorities often provide instructions on how to create a Java keystore (typically with reference to Tomcat configuration). The official Oracle documentation on how to generate keystores using the JDK keytool utility can be found here. There is also an example in the Generating X.509 Certificates section.

Having created your keystore, the following system properties can be used to configure Play to use it:

• https.keyStore - The path to the keystore containing the private key and certificate, if not provided generates a keystore for you
• https.keyStoreType - The key store type, defaults to JKS
• https.keyStorePassword - The password, defaults to a blank password
• https.keyStoreAlgorithm - The key store algorithm, defaults to the platforms default algorithm

§SSL Certificates from a custom SSL Engine

Another alternative to configure the SSL certificates is to provide a custom SSLEngine. This is also useful in cases where a customized SSLEngine is required, such as in the case of client authentication.

§in Java, an implementation must be provided for play.server.SSLEngineProvider

import play.server.ApplicationProvider;
import play.server.SSLEngineProvider;

import javax.net.ssl.*;
import java.security.NoSuchAlgorithmException;

public class CustomSSLEngineProvider implements SSLEngineProvider {
	private ApplicationProvider applicationProvider;

    public CustomSSLEngineProvider(ApplicationProvider applicationProvider) {
    	this.applicationProvider = applicationProvider;	
    }

    @Override
    public SSLEngine createSSLEngine() {
        try {
            // change it to your custom implementation
            return SSLContext.getDefault().createSSLEngine();
        } catch (NoSuchAlgorithmException e) {
            throw new RuntimeException(e);
        }
    }
}

§in Scala, an implementation must be provided for play.server.api.SSLEngineProvider

import javax.net.ssl._
import play.core.ApplicationProvider
import play.server.api._

class CustomSSLEngineProvider(appProvider: ApplicationProvider) extends SSLEngineProvider {

  override def createSSLEngine(): SSLEngine = {
    // change it to your custom implementation
    SSLContext.getDefault.createSSLEngine
  }

}

Having created an implementation for play.server.SSLEngineProvider or play.server.api.SSLEngineProvider, the following system property configures Play to use it:

• play.http.sslengineprovider - The path to the class implementing play.server.SSLEngineProvider or play.server.api.SSLEngineProvider:

Example:

./start -Dhttps.port=9443 -Dplay.http.sslengineprovider=mypackage.CustomSSLEngineProvider

§Turning HTTP off

To disable binding on the HTTP port, set the http.port system property to be disabled, eg:

./start -Dhttp.port=disabled -Dhttps.port=9443 -Dhttps.keyStore=/path/to/keystore -Dhttps.keyStorePassword=changeme

§Production usage of HTTPS

If Play is serving HTTPS in production, it should be running JDK 1.8. JDK 1.8 provides a number of new features that make JSSE feasible as a TLS termination layer. If not using JDK 1.8, using a reverse proxy in front of Play will give better control and security of HTTPS.

If you intend to use Play for TLS termination layer, please note the following settings:

• SSLParameters.setUseCipherSuiteorder() - Reorders cipher suite order to the server’s preference.
• -Djdk.tls.ephemeralDHKeySize=2048 - Increases the key size in a DH key exchange.
• -Djdk.tls.rejectClientInitiatedRenegotiation=true - Rejects client renegotiation.

Next: Deploying to a cloud service