How to Configure Nginx as a Reverse Proxy

A reverse proxy forwards client requests to a backend application server.

Basic Reverse Proxy

Create /etc/nginx/sites-available/myapp:

server {
    listen 80;
    server_name app.example.com;

    location / {
        proxy_pass http://127.0.0.1:3000;
        proxy_http_version 1.1;
        proxy_set_header Upgrade $http_upgrade;
        proxy_set_header Connection "upgrade";
        proxy_set_header Host $host;
        proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto $scheme;
    }
}

Enable and Test

ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/myapp /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/
nginx -t
systemctl reload nginx

Use Cases

• Node.js apps (Express, Next.js)
• Python apps (Django, Flask, FastAPI)
• Docker containers
• Any application listening on a local port