ssl-proxy-troubleshoot

SSL/Proxy Troubleshooting for Government Websites

This skill provides a systematic approach to diagnosing and resolving SSL certificate and proxy connectivity issues when accessing government websites, which often have stricter security configurations than commercial sites.

When to Use This Skill

• Cannot access a government or institutional website
• SSL certificate validation errors occur
• Proxy configuration blocks or interferes with requests
• Primary data sources are intermittently or persistently inaccessible

Systematic Troubleshooting Workflow

Step 1: Diagnose the Connection Issue

First, identify what type of connectivity problem you're facing:

import requests
import ssl

url = "https://example.gov/data"

# Test basic connectivity
try:
    response = requests.get(url, timeout=10)
    print(f"Status: {response.status_code}")
except requests.exceptions.SSLError as e:
    print(f"SSL Error: {e}")
except requests.exceptions.ProxyError as e:
    print(f"Proxy Error: {e}")
except requests.exceptions.ConnectionError as e:
    print(f"Connection Error: {e}")
except Exception as e:
    print(f"Other Error: {e}")

Step 2: Try Protocol Variations

Government sites sometimes have misconfigured redirects or support only specific protocols:

urls_to_try = [
    "https://example.gov/data",
    "http://example.gov/data",  # Try unencrypted
    "https://www.example.gov/data",  # Try www subdomain
    "http://www.example.gov/data",
]

for url in urls_to_try:
    try:
        response = requests.get(url, timeout=10, verify=False)
        if response.status_code == 200:
            print(f"Success with: {url}")
            break
    except Exception as e:
        print(f"Failed {url}: {e}")

Step 3: Disable SSL Verification (Temporary Debug)

Only use this for debugging. If it works, the issue is SSL certificate-related:

# Option A: Disable verification entirely (debug only)
response = requests.get(url, verify=False, timeout=30)

# Option B: Use custom SSL context with relaxed settings
import ssl
ssl_context = ssl.create_default_context()
ssl_context.check_hostname = False
ssl_context.verify_mode = ssl.CERT_NONE

response = requests.get(url, verify=False, timeout=30)