# How can I run Next.js on localhost through HTTPS?

**Author:** Lee Robinson

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Next.js supports generating self-signed certificates for use with local development when running `next dev`. This guide will show how to use Next.js with HTTPS on `localhost`.

## Requirements

Ensure you are on the latest version of Next.js (`npm i next@latest`). If you do not already have a Next.js project created, you can [get started](https://nextjs.org/docs/getting-started/installation) with `npx create-next-app@latest`.

## Enabling HTTPS for local development

For certain features, it may be required to use HTTPS to have a secure environment on localhost. Next.js supports generated self-signed certificates for use with `next dev` as follows:

`next dev --experimental-https`

This will start the Next.js development server with HTTPS enabled on `https://localhost:3000`.

## Considerations

- These self-signed certificates should only be used for local development. In production, use properly issued certificates from trusted authorities. When deploying to Vercel, HTTPS is [automatically configured](https://vercel.com/docs/security/encryption) for your Next.js application with zero additional work.
  
- For specific testing scenarios, you might need to use real certificates and actual domains. This can be achieved by modifying the `/etc/hosts` file to map domain names to `127.0.0.1`.
  

## Conclusion

Next.js has built-in support for securely running your application on `localhost` with HTTPS. You can get started by running `next dev --experimental-https`.

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