Configuring HTTPS

It is strongly recommended that you configure your web portal with a security certificate, so players can connect securely using HTTPS instead of HTTP. CertBot comes pre-installed in the default Ares installation; you just need to set it up for your domain.

1. From the aresmush directory, run bin/certs.
2. Follow the prompts. You will need to:
   • Enter your hostname (e.g., yourgame.aresmush.com).
   • Provide an email to certbot for registration purposes.
   • Agree to the Certbot terms of service.

3. Reboot the server. See Rebooting the Server.

4. It may take a few minutes for the server to reboot. When it does, test out the web portal (you probably need a force-refresh in your browser) and the game.

Certificate Renewal

Security certificates expire after 90 days. If all went well with your install, CertBot should automatically renew your certificates when they expire. If you get a security warning saying that your certificate is invalid when viewing the web portal, you may need to reboot the server so that the game and web portal recognize the renewed certificate.

Devstart and HTTPS

The bin/devstart command to run the game in dev mode will not work if HTTPS is enabled. Instead you must run the start command manually: bundle exec rake startares

MUSH Client SSL

This feature only applies to the web portal. Ares does not currently support a SSL connection through standard MU clients.