Category: OpenAI

I ‘m trying to run an OpenAI python application from inside a corporate network but I’m getting SSL errors. What do I do?

Getting SSL errors when trying to run an OpenAI Python application from within a corporate network is relatively common, especially in environments where there is strict control over internet traffic. Here are some detailed steps and explanations on how to address SSL certificate issues:

1. Understand the Error

SSL errors can occur for several reasons when your application attempts to establish a secure connection to OpenAI’s servers. Common reasons include:

• The corporate firewall intercepts encrypted connections and uses its own certificates (a man-in-the-middle setup).
• The system does not recognize or trust the root certificates required by OpenAI’s servers.
• Outdated SSL/TLS libraries in your Python environment.

2. Add Corporate Certificates to Your Environment

If your corporate network intercepts SSL traffic and re-encrypts it with its own certificates (which is common in secure environments), you’ll need to add your corporate’s root certificate to your Python environment. Here’s how you can do it:

• Locate your corporate CA certificate. This is usually a .crt file. If you’re not sure where to find it, ask your IT department.
• Install the certificate in your environment. You can use the certifi package, which Python requests use for SSL, to locate your current bundle and append your corporate certificate to this bundle.

Example Code:

import certifi
import requests

# Path to your corporate CA certificate
corp_cert = '/path/to/your/corporate_certificate.crt'

# Append your corporate CA certificate to certifi's bundle
with open(certifi.where(), 'a') as f:
    with open(corp_cert, 'r') as corp_cert_file:
        f.write(corp_cert_file.read())

# Now you can use requests as usual, it will include your corporate certificate
response = requests.get('https://api.openai.com/v1/models')
print(response.text)

3. Update SSL/TLS Libraries

Ensure that your Python environment has up-to-date libraries for handling SSL/TLS connections. You can update these libraries using pip:

pip install --upgrade requests urllib3 pyOpenSSL certifi

4. Disable SSL Verification (Not Recommended)

As a last resort, and only for testing purposes (never in production), you can bypass SSL verification to avoid SSL errors. This is insecure and exposes you to various security risks such as man-in-the-middle attacks.

Example Code with Disabled SSL Verification:

import requests

# WARNING: Disabling SSL verification is insecure and not recommended for production use
response = requests.get('https://api.openai.com/v1/models', verify=False)
print(response.text)

5. Consult IT Department

If none of the above solutions work, it may be necessary to consult your IT department. There could be network policies in place that are blocking your requests or causing SSL errors, and IT support might need to adjust the firewall or proxy settings.

Addressing SSL errors often involves ensuring that all intermediary systems between your application and OpenAI’s servers trust and correctly handle the SSL certificates. Always start by trying to incorporate the corporate certificates into your application as securely as possible.