How to Enable Localhost HTTPS (SSL) on WAMP Server Guide

To enable HTTPS/SSL on your local WAMP server, follow these steps:

Prerequisites

• WAMP Server installed (latest version)
• Administrative access to your computer

Step-by-Step Guide

1. Enable SSL Module in Apache

1. Left-click the WAMP icon in the system tray
2. Go to Apache > Apache Modules
3. Check ssl_module to enable it
4. Wait for WAMP to restart automatically

2. Configure Apache for SSL

1. Open httpd.conf (via WAMP menu: Apache > httpd.conf)
2. Uncomment or add this line:
   Include conf/extra/httpd-ssl.conf
3. Save the file

3. Create SSL Certificate

1. Open command prompt as administrator
2. Navigate to Apache’s bin directory (typically C:\wamp64\bin\apache\apache2.x.x\bin)
3. Run these commands:CopyDownloadopenssl genrsa -out server.key 2048 openssl req -new -key server.key -out server.csr openssl x509 -req -days 365 -in server.csr -signkey server.key -out server.crt

4. Configure SSL Virtual Host

1. Open httpd-ssl.conf (in C:\wamp64\bin\apache\apache2.x.x\conf\extra)
2. Update these directives:
   <VirtualHost _default_:443>
DocumentRoot "C:/wamp64/www" ServerName localhost:443 SSLEngine on SSLCertificateFile "C:/wamp64/bin/apache/apache2.x.x/bin/server.crt" SSLCertificateKeyFile "C:/wamp64/bin/apache/apache2.x.x/bin/server.key"
</VirtualHost>
3. Save the file

5. Update Windows Hosts File

1. Open C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\hosts as administrator
2. Ensure this line exists:
   127.0.0.1 localhost

6. Restart WAMP Services

1. Left-click WAMP icon
2. Click “Restart All Services”

7. Test HTTPS

1. Open browser and visit https://localhost
2. You’ll see a security warning (this is normal for self-signed certificates)
3. Proceed to the site (in Chrome: click “Advanced” then “Proceed to localhost”)

Troubleshooting

• If port 443 is in use, check httpd-ssl.conf for the correct port
• Ensure all paths in configuration files are correct
• Check Apache error logs if HTTPS doesn’t work

Remember that this creates a self-signed certificate that browsers won’t trust by default. For development purposes, this is fine, but for production you’d need a certificate from a trusted Certificate Authority.