🔒 react-native-ssl-manager

Production-ready SSL certificate pinning for React Native and Expo apps. This library provides seamless SSL certificate pinning integration for enhanced network security, protecting applications against man-in-the-middle (MITM) attacks. With dynamic configuration options and the ability to toggle SSL pinning, it's perfect for both development and production environments.

🎥 Live Demo

iOS Demo

Android Demo

📱 Interactive Features Shown:

• Toggle SSL pinning on/off
• Real-time API testing with visual feedback
• Certificate validation results
• Performance metrics display

🎬 Watch Full Demo Videos:

• iOS Demo - Complete iOS SSL pinning demonstration
• Android Demo - Complete Android SSL pinning demonstration

✨ Features

• 🔒 Easy SSL certificate pinning - Simple setup with JSON configuration
• 🔄 Dynamic SSL control - Enable/disable SSL pinning at runtime
• 🏗️ New Architecture Ready - Full support for React Native's New Architecture (Fabric/TurboModules)
• 🏛️ Legacy Compatible - Works with both New and Legacy Architecture
• 📱 Cross-platform - Native support for iOS & Android
• 🚀 Expo Compatible - Built-in Expo plugin with auto-configuration
• ⚡ Zero Configuration - Auto-setup with smart fallbacks
• 🧪 Developer Friendly - Perfect for development and testing workflows
• 🎯 Production Ready - Optimized performance, no debug logs

📦 Installation

For React Native CLI Projects

# Using npm
npm install react-native-ssl-manager

# Using yarn
yarn add react-native-ssl-manager

# Using bun
bun add react-native-ssl-manager

For iOS, run pod install:

cd ios && pod install

For Expo Projects

# Using expo CLI
npx expo install react-native-ssl-manager

# Using bun with expo
bunx expo install react-native-ssl-manager

Add the plugin to your app.json or app.config.js:

{
  "expo": {
    "plugins": [
      [
        "react-native-ssl-manager",
        {
          "sslConfigPath": "./ssl_config.json"
        }
      ]
    ]
  }
}

🚀 Architecture Support

This library supports both React Native architectures:

• ✅ New Architecture (Fabric/TurboModules) - React Native 0.68+
• ✅ Legacy Architecture - All React Native versions

The library automatically detects and uses the appropriate architecture at runtime.

🚀 Quick Start

Step 1: Create SSL Configuration

Create a ssl_config.json file in your project root:

{
  "sha256Keys": {
    "api.example.com": [
      "sha256/AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA=",
      "sha256/BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBB="
    ],
    "api.dev.example.com": [
      "sha256/CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC=",
      "sha256/DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD="
    ]
  }
}

Step 2: Basic Usage

import { setUseSSLPinning, getUseSSLPinning } from 'react-native-ssl-manager';

// Enable SSL pinning
await setUseSSLPinning(true);

// Check if SSL pinning is enabled
const isEnabled = await getUseSSLPinning();
console.log('SSL Pinning enabled:', isEnabled);

// Disable SSL pinning (for development/testing)
await setUseSSLPinning(false);

Step 3: Test Your Implementation

// Test with SSL pinning enabled
await setUseSSLPinning(true);
try {
  const response = await fetch('https://api.example.com/data');
  console.log('✅ SSL Pinning working - request succeeded');
} catch (error) {
  console.log('⚠️ Check your SSL configuration');
}

// Test without SSL pinning
await setUseSSLPinning(false);
const response = await fetch('https://api.example.com/data');
console.log('🔓 Request without SSL pinning');

Configuration File (ssl_config.json)

Create a configuration file with your domain certificates. Example structure:

{
  "domains": {
    "development": "api.dev.example.com",
    "production": "api.example.com"
  },
  "sha256Keys": {
    "api.dev.example.com": [
      "sha256/certificate-hash-1=",
      "sha256/certificate-hash-2="
    ],
    "api.example.com": [
      "sha256/certificate-hash-3=",
      "sha256/certificate-hash-4="
    ]
  }
}

📚 API Reference

setUseSSLPinning(usePinning: boolean): Promise<void>

Enables or disables SSL pinning dynamically.

// Enable SSL pinning
await setUseSSLPinning(true);

// Disable SSL pinning
await setUseSSLPinning(false);

Parameters:

• usePinning (boolean): Whether to enable SSL pinning

Returns: Promise

getUseSSLPinning(): Promise<boolean>

Retrieves the current state of SSL pinning.

const isEnabled = await getUseSSLPinning();
console.log('SSL Pinning enabled:', isEnabled);

Returns: Promise - Current SSL pinning status

🔧 Configuration

SSL Configuration File Structure

⚠️ Important: The configuration file must be named exactly ssl_config.json and placed in your project root directory.

Your ssl_config.json should follow this structure:

{
  "sha256Keys": {
    "your-api-domain.com": [
      "sha256/primary-certificate-hash=",
      "sha256/backup-certificate-hash="
    ],
    "another-domain.com": [
      "sha256/another-certificate-hash="
    ]
  }
}

📁 File Location Requirements:

• ✅ React Native CLI: Place ssl_config.json in project root
• ✅ Expo: Place ssl_config.json in project root (same level as app.json)
• ❌ Don't rename the file - it must be exactly ssl_config.json
• ❌ Don't place in subdirectories - must be in project root

Important Notes ⚠️

Restarting After SSL Pinning Changes

When using setUseSSLPinning, a restart of the application is required for changes to take effect. This is because SSL pinning is implemented at the native level.

Using React Native Restart

First, install react-native-restart:

# Using npm
npm install react-native-restart

# Using yarn
yarn add react-native-restart

For iOS, run pod install:

cd ios && pod install

Then use it in your code:

import RNRestart from 'react-native-restart';

const toggleSSLPinning = async (enabled: boolean) => {
  await setUseSSLPinning(enabled);
  // Restart the app to apply changes
  RNRestart.Restart();
};

// Example with user confirmation
const handleSSLToggle = async (enabled: boolean) => {
  // Save any necessary state
  await saveAppState();
  
  // Update SSL pinning
  await setUseSSLPinning(enabled);
  
  // Show user message
  Alert.alert(
    'Restart Required',
    'The app needs to restart to apply security changes.',
    [
      {
        text: 'Restart Now',
        onPress: () => RNRestart.Restart()
      }
    ]
  );
};

Development and Testing Benefits

For Developers

• Quick Toggling: Easily switch SSL pinning on/off during development
• Performance Optimization: Minimize SSL verification overhead during development
• Flexible Configuration: Support multiple environments with different certificates

For QA Teams

• Efficient Testing: Quickly verify API behavior with and without SSL pinning
• Issue Investigation: Easily isolate SSL-related issues
• Environment Switching: Seamlessly test across different environments

Best Practices

1. Environment Management

   • Keep separate configurations for development and production
   • Store production certificates securely

2. Performance Optimization

   • Enable SSL pinning only when necessary during development
   • Use development certificates for testing environments

3. Security Considerations

   • Always enable SSL pinning in production
   • Regularly update certificates before expiration
   • Maintain multiple backup certificates

✅ Completed Roadmap

Recently Completed Features

• ✅ Expo Plugin Integration - COMPLETED!

  • ✅ Native SSL pinning support for Expo projects
  • ✅ Seamless configuration through expo-config-plugin
  • ✅ Auto-linking capabilities for Expo development builds
  • ✅ Support for Expo's development client

• ✅ New Architecture Support - COMPLETED!

  • ✅ Full TurboModule implementation
  • ✅ Fabric renderer compatibility
  • ✅ Automatic architecture detection
  • ✅ Backward compatibility with Legacy Architecture

• ✅ Production Optimizations - COMPLETED!

  • ✅ Removed debug logs for production builds
  • ✅ Performance optimizations
  • ✅ Clean codebase ready for release

🚀 Future Roadmap

Upcoming Features

• 🔄 Advanced Certificate Management

  • Certificate rotation support
  • Automatic certificate validation
  • Certificate expiry notifications

• 📊 Enhanced Developer Experience

  • SSL pinning analytics and monitoring
  • Better error reporting and debugging tools
  • Integration with popular development tools

• 🔧 Extended Platform Support

  • Web support for React Native Web
  • Additional certificate formats support

🧪 Testing Your SSL Implementation

Using the Example App

This library comes with a comprehensive test app that demonstrates SSL pinning functionality:

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/huytdps13400/react-native-ssl-manager.git

# Test with React Native CLI
cd react-native-ssl-manager/example
npm install
npm run ios # or npm run android

# Test with Expo
cd ../example-expo
npm install
npx expo run:ios # or npx expo run:android

The example app provides:

• 🎛️ SSL Control Panel - Toggle SSL pinning on/off
• 🧪 Multiple Test Scenarios - Test different API endpoints
• 📊 Real-time Results - See detailed test results with timing
• 🔍 Visual Feedback - Color-coded success/failure indicators

Manual Testing Steps

1. 🔓 Test without SSL Pinning:

   await setUseSSLPinning(false);
   // All API calls should work normally

2. 🔒 Test with SSL Pinning (Correct Certificate):

   await setUseSSLPinning(true);
   // Calls to pinned domains should work
   const response = await fetch('https://your-pinned-domain.com/api');

3. ⚠️ Test with SSL Pinning (Wrong Certificate):

   await setUseSSLPinning(true);
   // Calls to non-pinned domains should fail
   try {
     await fetch('https://unpinned-domain.com/api');
   } catch (error) {
     console.log('✅ SSL Pinning working - blocked untrusted certificate');
   }

Testing with Proxyman 🔍

Proxyman is a powerful tool for testing SSL pinning implementation. Here's how you can verify your SSL pinning configuration:

Setup Verification

1. Install Proxyman

   • Download and install Proxyman
   • Install Proxyman's SSL certificate on your device/simulator

2. Testing SSL Pinning

   // Enable SSL Pinning
   await setUseSSLPinning(true);
      
   // Make API requests through your app
   // If SSL pinning is working correctly:
   // - Requests will fail when Proxyman tries to intercept them
   // - You'll see SSL/TLS handshake errors
      
   // Disable SSL Pinning for debugging
   await setUseSSLPinning(false);
   // Now you can intercept and inspect API calls with Proxyman

Common Test Scenarios

1. Verify SSL Pinning is Active

   • Enable SSL pinning
   • Attempt to intercept traffic with Proxyman
   • Requests should fail with SSL handshake errors

2. Debug API Calls

   • Disable SSL pinning temporarily
   • Use Proxyman to inspect API requests/responses
   • Helpful for QA testing and development

3. Certificate Validation

   • Verify your SSL configuration matches the certificates in ssl_config.json
   • Test against both development and production endpoints

Troubleshooting Tips

• If requests succeed with Proxyman while SSL pinning is enabled, check your configuration
• Verify that the SHA256 hashes in your config match your server certificates
• Test both development and production environments separately

This integration with Proxyman makes it easy to:

• Verify SSL pinning implementation
• Debug API communications
• Validate security configurations
• Speed up development and testing workflows

📋 Requirements & Compatibility

React Native Versions

• ✅ React Native 0.60+ (AutoLinking support)
• ✅ React Native 0.68+ (New Architecture support)
• ✅ Expo SDK 47+ (Expo plugin support)

Platform Support

• ✅ iOS 13.0+
• ✅ Android API 21+ (Android 5.0)

Architecture Support

• ✅ New Architecture (Fabric/TurboModules)
• ✅ Legacy Architecture (Bridge-based)

Development Tools

• ✅ React Native CLI
• ✅ Expo CLI
• ✅ Expo Development Build
• ✅ Flipper (debugging support)
• ✅ Bun (package manager support)

🤝 Contributing

We welcome contributions! See the contributing guide to learn how to contribute to the repository and the development workflow.

Development Setup

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/huytdps13400/react-native-ssl-manager.git
cd react-native-ssl-manager

# Install dependencies (choose your package manager)
npm install
# or
yarn install
# or
bun install

# Build the library
npm run build
# or
bun run build

# Run tests
npm test
# or
bun test

# Test with example apps
npm run example:ios
npm run example:android
npm run example-expo:ios
npm run example-expo:android

# Test Bun compatibility
bun run bun:test-compatibility

📄 License

MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

🙏 Acknowledgments

• Built with create-react-native-library
• SSL pinning implementation inspired by industry best practices
• Special thanks to the React Native community

Made with ❤️ for the React Native community