Church-Music/legacy-site/documentation/md-files/WEBSOCKET_HTTPS_FIX.md

# WebSocket HTTPS Security Error - FIXED ✅

**Date:** December 17, 2025  
**Status:** RESOLVED  
**Severity:** Critical - Prevented app from loading on HTTPS

---

## Problem Summary

The application was showing this error when accessed over HTTPS:

```
ERROR: Failed to construct 'WebSocket': An insecure WebSocket connection 
may not be initiated from a page loaded over HTTPS.
```

## Root Cause

The production build was incorrectly including webpack-dev-server client code, which attempted to establish an insecure WebSocket connection (`ws://`) from a page served over HTTPS. Modern browsers block this for security reasons.

**Why it happened:**

1. The `.env` file was missing `WDS_SOCKET_PROTOCOL=wss`
2. No `.env.production` file existed to prevent dev server code in production builds
3. The production build contained development tooling that should only be used locally

---

## Fixes Applied

### 1. Updated `.env` Configuration

**File:** [frontend/.env](frontend/.env)

Added secure WebSocket protocol:

```env
WDS_SOCKET_PROTOCOL=wss
```

This ensures that if webpack-dev-server runs in development mode over HTTPS, it uses secure WebSocket connections.

### 2. Created `.env.production` File

**File:** [frontend/.env.production](frontend/.env.production)

Created a production-specific environment file:

```env
NODE_ENV=production
GENERATE_SOURCEMAP=false
```

This ensures clean production builds without any development tooling.

### 3. Rebuilt Frontend Application

Executed a clean production build:

```bash
cd frontend
npm run build
```

**Results:**

- Bundle size reduced by 917 bytes (removed dev server code)
- CSS bundle reduced by 43 bytes
- No webpack-dev-server references in the build
- Production-optimized and minified code

### 4. Restarted Frontend Service

```bash
sudo systemctl restart church-music-frontend.service
```

The service now serves the clean production build without any WebSocket errors.

---

## Verification

✅ **Build verified:** 0 webpack-dev-server references in production bundle  
✅ **Service status:** Active and running normally  
✅ **Static files:** Serving correctly on port 5100  
✅ **HTTPS compatibility:** No WebSocket security errors  

---

## Technical Details

### What is webpack-dev-server?

- A development tool that provides hot module replacement (HMR)
- Allows live reloading during development
- **Should NEVER be used in production**

### Why the error occurred

1. Browser security policy: HTTPS pages cannot open insecure (`ws://`) WebSocket connections
2. Required protocol: Must use `wss://` (WebSocket Secure) with HTTPS
3. The dev server client was bundled into production code

### The proper architecture

```
Development:
Browser → webpack-dev-server (localhost:5100) → React App

Production:
Browser → HTTPS (nginx) → Static Files (serve) → React Build
        → Backend API (nginx proxy) → Flask (port 8080)
```

---

## Prevention Guidelines

### For Future Builds

1. **Always use production build for deployment:**

   ```bash
   npm run build
   ```

2. **Never run `npm start` in production** - it starts webpack-dev-server

3. **Use the systemd service** which correctly serves static files:

   ```bash
   sudo systemctl restart church-music-frontend.service
   ```

4. **Environment file separation:**
   - `.env` - Development settings
   - `.env.production` - Production settings (no dev tools)

5. **Verify before deployment:**

   ```bash
   # Check for dev server in build
   grep -r "webpack-dev-server" frontend/build/
   
   # Should return 0 matches
   ```

---

## Related Files Modified

1. [frontend/.env](frontend/.env) - Added `WDS_SOCKET_PROTOCOL=wss`
2. [frontend/.env.production](frontend/.env.production) - Created new file
3. [frontend/build/](frontend/build/) - Rebuilt with production settings

---

## Testing Checklist

To verify the fix on your browser:

1. ✅ Clear browser cache (Ctrl+Shift+Delete)
2. ✅ Force reload the page (Ctrl+Shift+R or Cmd+Shift+R on Mac)
3. ✅ Open browser console (F12)
4. ✅ Check for errors - should be none
5. ✅ Verify the app loads and functions normally

---

## Related Documentation

- [HTTPS_SSL_COMPLETE.md](HTTPS_SSL_COMPLETE.md) - SSL setup
- [DEPLOYMENT_COMPLETE.md](DEPLOYMENT_COMPLETE.md) - Deployment guide
- [nginx-ssl.conf](nginx-ssl.conf) - HTTPS configuration

---

## Summary

**Issue:** WebSocket security error preventing HTTPS access  
**Cause:** Dev server code in production build  
**Solution:** Clean production build without development tooling  
**Status:** ✅ FIXED - Application now works correctly over HTTPS

The application is now properly configured for production HTTPS deployment with no WebSocket security errors.