A reverse proxy sits in front of your application server, handling SSL termination, load balancing, and caching. Nginx is commonly used as a reverse proxy in front of Node.js, Python, or other app servers.
What a Reverse Proxy Does
- Accepts HTTPS connections and forwards plain HTTP to the backend
- Distributes load across multiple backend servers
- Serves static files directly without hitting the app
- Hides the backend server and port from the public
Nginx as a Reverse Proxy
Example: proxy requests to a Node.js app running on port 3000:
server {\n listen 80;\n server_name yourdomain.com;\n\n location / {\n proxy_pass http://127.0.0.1:3000;\n proxy_http_version 1.1;\n proxy_set_header Upgrade $http_upgrade;\n proxy_set_header Connection 'upgrade';\n proxy_set_header Host $host;\n proxy_cache_bypass $http_upgrade;\n }\n}Adding SSL with Certbot
Install Certbot and get a free SSL certificate for your Nginx reverse proxy:
apt install certbot python3-certbot-nginx -y\ncertbot --nginx -d yourdomain.comCertbot automatically modifies your Nginx config to handle HTTPS and sets up auto-renewal.