Safari Localhost Authentication Fix

Safari Localhost Authentication Fix | Generated by AI

Home 2025.10

This issue arises because Safari on macOS enforces stricter security policies than Chrome for localhost URLs. Specifically, Safari requires a secure HTTPS context to allow persistent cookies and authentication sessions, preventiing potential logout loops or re-authentication on each visit for apps like LibreChat running over HTTP. Chrome is more permissive with HTTP on localhost, which is why authentication persists there but not in Safari.[1][2][3]

Gov Factors

Viewer Policies: Modern browsers like Safari want HTTPS for localhost to avoid mixed-content warnings and session insecurities.
LibreChat Behavior: LibreChat uses secure cookie or localStorage-based tokens for auth, which break on HTTP in Safari due to its stricter handling of non-secure origins.

Solutions (Ranked by Ease and Effectiveness)

Set Up HTTPS for Localhost (Recommended):
- LibreChat’s own documentation and blog recommend this to prevent HTTP-induced logouts.[1]
- Use mkcert (a free tool) to generate and trust local SSL certificates for localhost:
  - Install mkcert via brew install mkcert or download from GitHub.
  - Run mkcert -install to install the root CA.
  - Create certs: mkcert localhost 127.0.0.1.
  - Configure LibreChat (e.g., via Docker env vars or config) to use these certs: Add HTTPS=true, SSL_CRT_FILE=/path/to/localhost.pem, and SSL_KEY_FILE=/path/to/localhost-key.pem in your .env file or environment.
  - Restart LibreChat and access via https://localhost:3080.
  - Safari will now treat it as secure, allowing seamless logins.
Alternative: Use 127.0.0.1 Instead of localhost:
- Safari sometimes behaves differently with localhost (due to IPv6 or DNS resolution). Try accessing http://127.0.0.1:3080 – this has resolved similar connection issues in some cases, though it may not fully fix auth persistence.[4][4][5]
Clear Safari Website Data for localhost:
- Go to Safari > Preferences > Privacy > Manage Website Data > Search for “localhost” > Remove any entries.
- This forces Safari to stop enforcing HTTPS upgrades or cached insecure contexts.[3][2]
- Restart Safari and test; if LibreChat supports it, auth should hold.

If none of these work, check LibreChat logs for auth errors, ensure your .env has no conflicting flags (e.g., ALLOW_ANONYMOUS=true disables auth entirely if desired), and confirm you’re not in Safari’s private browsing mode, which blocks persistent storage.[6][7] If the problem persists, provide your LibreChat version and .env config for deeper troubleshooting.

Citations: [1] https://www.librechat.ai/blog/2024-05-16_unsecured_http [2] https://github.com/danny-avila/LibreChat/discussions/529 [3] https://stackoverflow.com/questions/46394682/safari-keeps-forcing-https-on-localhost [4] https://superuser.com/questions/30827/safari-is-unable-to-reach-localhost-127-0-0-1 [5] https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/422556/localhost-has-stopped-working-on-chrome-and-safari-since-upgrading-to-big-sur [6] https://www.librechat.ai/docs/configuration/authentication [7] https://discussions.apple.com/thread/255906354

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