How to Fix error:0308010C:digital envelope routines::unsupported

The "error:0308010C:digital envelope routines::unsupported" occurs when you use Node.js of version 17+ and use OpenSSL v3.0 which has some major changes in its algorithm.

The error can be solved in the following ways.

• Set the NODE_OPTIONS environment variable to --openssl-legacy-provider
• Pass the --openssl-legacy-provider flag to Webpack
• For Create React App applications, upgrade react-scripts to v5.0.0 or higher
• Downgrade the installed node.js version to 16 or less

What causes error:0308010C:digital envelope routines::unsupported

The Node.js V17+ with OpenSSL 3.0 moved MD4 algorithms into OpenSSL 3.0’s legacy provider. A provider is a collection of algorithms that can be added to our application when it is required. A legacy provider contains algorithms that are unsafe security-wise and outdated. The legacy provider will not load by default.

Webpack uses some cryptographic methods based on the MD4 algorithm which is available in legacy providers for Node.js v17+ with OpenSSL 3.0. 

How to solve the error:0308010C:digital envelope routines::unsupported

There are some different ways to solve the error. Let us discuss them one by one.

Set the NODE_OPTIONS environment variable to --openssl-legacy-provider

To set the NODE_OPTIONS environment variable to --openssl-legacy-provider, open your terminal and run the below command.

# for macOS, Linux or Windows Git Bash
export NODE_OPTIONS=--openssl-legacy-provider

# for Windows CMD (Command Prompt)
set NODE_OPTIONS=--openssl-legacy-provider

# for Windows PowerShell
$env:NODE_OPTIONS="--openssl-legacy-provider"

# for Docker (in your Dockerfile)
ENV NODE_OPTIONS="--openssl-legacy-provider"

Pass the --openssl-legacy-provider flag to Webpack

If the above solution does not work, you can try to pass the --openssl-legacy-provider flag to the webpack. In a React app, open the package.json file in the root directory and you can pass --openssl-legacy-provider to the start script like:

{
  "scripts": {
    "start": "react-scripts start --openssl-legacy-provider",
  }
}

If the error is still persisting, then go for the next method of solution.

For Create React App applications, upgrade react-scripts to v5.0.0 or higher

Check the installed version of react-scripts on your application in the package.json file. If the version is less than v5.0.0, then upgrade the version of react-scripts to v5.0.0 or higher.

First, remove the currently installed react-scripts by running the below command.

# For npm
npm uninstall react-scripts

# For yarn
yarn remove react-scripts

 To install react-scripts V5.0.0 run the below command.

# For npm
npm install --save --save-exact reac[email protected]

# For yarn
yarn add --exact [email protected]

If you encounter errors after upgrading, then you may want to reinstall your dependencies. For this, delete your node_modules folder and package-lock.json from your application folder. Then clean your npm cache using the below command.

npm cache clean --force

Next, reinstall your dependencies by running npm install (or yarn).

npm install

For more details read the change log.

Downgrade the installed node.js version to 16 or less

Another solution for this error is to downgrade the installed node.js version to 16 or less. You can check the currently installed version of node.js by running the following command.

node -v

If you are running Node.js via nvm, then you can easily downgrade the node.js version by running the below command.

nvm install v16

For more about NVM, read it on github.

Conclusion

To solve the error:0308010C:digital envelope routines::unsupported, you have to enable the legacy provider for Node.js of version 17+ and use OpenSSL v3.0. For this set the NODE_OPTIONS environment variable to --openssl-legacy-provider or pass the --openssl-legacy-provider flag to webpack. Other solutions are upgrading react-scripts to a version greater than 5 or downgrading the installed node.js version to 16 or less.