goprox - HTTP to HTTPS Proxy Server

goprox is a lightweight HTTP proxy server written in Go that automatically converts HTTP requests to HTTPS requests. It's designed to help bypass defective SSL/TLS implementations by acting as a local proxy that handles the HTTPS conversion transparently.

Purpose

Many applications and systems have defective or problematic SSL/TLS implementations that can cause connectivity issues when making HTTPS requests directly. goprox solves this by:

• Acting as a local HTTP proxy that you can configure your applications to use
• Automatically converting all incoming HTTP requests to HTTPS requests
• Handling SSL/TLS negotiation on behalf of your applications
• Providing a simple workaround for SSL/TLS implementation problems

Features

• 🔒 HTTP to HTTPS Conversion: Automatically converts HTTP requests to HTTPS
• 🚀 Lightweight: Single binary with no external dependencies
• 📝 Request Logging: Logs all incoming requests for debugging
• 🔧 Header Management: Properly forwards and manages HTTP headers
• ⚡ High Performance: Built with Go's efficient HTTP handling

Installation

Prerequisites

• Go 1.24.6 or later

Build from Source

1. Clone the repository:

git clone https://github.com/albal/goprox.git
cd goprox

2. Initialize the Go module and build:

go mod init goprox
go mod tidy
go build -o goprox .

3. (Optional) Build with race detection for development:

go build -race -o goprox-race .

Usage

Starting the Proxy Server

Run the proxy server:

./goprox

Or run directly with Go:

go run .

The server will start and listen on port 8888 by default. You should see:

Starting HTTP proxy server on :8888

Configuring Your Applications

Configure your applications to use the proxy:

• Proxy Host: localhost or 127.0.0.1
• Proxy Port: 8888
• Protocol: HTTP proxy

Example Usage Scenarios

curl

# Use goprox to make HTTPS requests via HTTP proxy
curl -x http://localhost:8888 http://example.com

Environment Variables

export HTTP_PROXY=http://localhost:8888
export HTTPS_PROXY=http://localhost:8888
# Your applications will now use the proxy

Application Configuration

Many applications support proxy configuration through settings or command-line options. Configure them to use http://localhost:8888 as the HTTP proxy.

How It Works

1. goprox listens for HTTP requests on port 8888
2. For each incoming request:
   • Extracts the target host and path
   • Converts the request to use HTTPS scheme
   • Forwards the request to the destination server using HTTPS
   • Returns the response back to the client
3. All SSL/TLS negotiation is handled by goprox, not your application

Request Flow

Your App → HTTP Request → goprox :8888 → HTTPS Request → Target Server
Your App ← HTTP Response ← goprox ← HTTPS Response ← Target Server

Development

Code Quality Tools

Format code:

go fmt ./...

Vet code:

go vet ./...

Install and run linter (optional):

curl -sSfL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/golangci/golangci-lint/master/install.sh | sh -s -- -b $(go env GOPATH)/bin latest
$HOME/go/bin/golangci-lint run

Project Structure

.
├── main.go          # Single source file containing the complete proxy implementation
├── go.mod           # Go module definition
├── LICENSE          # MIT License
├── README.md        # This file
└── .gitignore       # Git ignore rules

Architecture

The proxy is implemented as a single Go file (main.go) using only the Go standard library:

• net/http - HTTP server and client functionality
• io - Request/response body copying
• log - Request logging

Configuration

Currently, goprox uses sensible defaults:

• Port: 8888 (hardcoded)
• Protocol: Converts all requests to HTTPS
• Logging: Enabled by default

Future versions may include configuration options for port, logging levels, and protocol handling.

Troubleshooting

Port Already in Use

If you see "bind: address already in use", another process is using port 8888:

# Kill existing goprox processes
pkill goprox
# Or find what's using the port
lsof -i :8888

Connection Issues

• Ensure your application is configured to use HTTP proxy (not HTTPS proxy)
• Verify the proxy address is http://localhost:8888
• Check the proxy logs for error messages

Contributing

We welcome contributions! Here's how you can help:

Pull Requests

• 🐛 Bug fixes - Help us improve reliability
• ✨ New features - Add configuration options, protocol support, etc.
• 📚 Documentation - Improve README, add examples
• 🧪 Tests - Add test coverage
• 🔧 Performance - Optimize proxy performance

Development Workflow

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch: git checkout -b feature/your-feature
3. Make your changes
4. Test your changes: go build -o goprox . && ./goprox
5. Format and vet: go fmt ./... && go vet ./...
6. Commit your changes: git commit -am 'Add your feature'
7. Push to the branch: git push origin feature/your-feature
8. Create a Pull Request

Ideas for Contributions

• Configuration file support
• Command-line flags for port and settings
• HTTPS proxy support (in addition to HTTP proxy)
• Request/response filtering and modification
• Performance metrics and monitoring
• Docker container support
• Authentication support

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

Author

Al West - Initial work

Acknowledgments

• Built with Go's excellent standard library
• Inspired by the need to work around problematic SSL/TLS implementations
• Thanks to the Go community for excellent documentation and examples