By default, for ease of testing and getting started, OpenSearch Dashboards runs over HTTP. To enable TLS for HTTPS, update the following settings in `opensearch_dashboards.yml`.
opensearch.ssl.verificationMode | This setting is for communications between OpenSearch and OpenSearch Dashboards. Valid values are `full`, `certificate`, or `none`. We recommend `full` if you enable TLS, which enables hostname verification. `certificate` just checks the certificate, not the hostname, and `none` performs no checks (suitable for HTTP). Default is `full`.
opensearch.ssl.certificateAuthorities | If `opensearch.ssl.verificationMode` is `full` or `certificate`, specify the full path (e.g. `[ "/usr/share/opensearch-dashboards-1.0.0/config/root-ca.pem" ]` to the certificate authority for your OpenSearch cluster.
server.ssl.enabled | This setting is for communications between OpenSearch Dashboards and the web browser. Set to true for HTTPS, false for HTTP.
server.ssl.certificate | If `server.ssl.enabled` is true, specify the full path (e.g. `/usr/share/opensearch-dashboards-1.0.0/config/my-client-cert.pem` to a valid client certificate for your OpenSearch cluster. You can [generate your own]({{site.url}}{{site.baseurl}}/security-plugin/configuration/generate-certificates/) or get one from a certificate authority.
server.ssl.key | If `server.ssl.enabled` is true, specify the full path (e.g. `/usr/share/opensearch-dashboards-1.0.0/config/my-client-cert-key.pem` to the key for your client certificate. You can [generate your own]({{site.url}}{{site.baseurl}}/security-plugin/configuration/generate-certificates/) or get one from a certificate authority.
If you use the Docker install, you can pass a custom `opensearch_dashboards.yml` to the container. To learn more, see the [Docker installation page]({{site.url}}{{site.baseurl}}/opensearch/install/docker/).
After enabling these settings and starting OpenSearch Dashboards, you can connect to it at `https://localhost:5601`. You might have to acknowledge a browser warning if your certificates are self-signed. To avoid this sort of warning (or outright browser incompatibility), best practice is to use certificates from trusted certificate authority.