Nginx Reverse Proxy Tutorial: Configure a Proxy for Node.js, Python, and More

Overview

Nginx is the most widely deployed reverse proxy on the web. It sits in front of your application server, handles TLS termination, serves static files, and forwards dynamic requests. This tutorial walks through a production-ready reverse proxy configuration.

What Is a Reverse Proxy?

A reverse proxy accepts client requests and forwards them to one or more backend servers. The client never talks to the backend directly.

Install Nginx

# Ubuntu / Debian
sudo apt update
sudo apt install nginx

# CentOS / RHEL
sudo yum install nginx
sudo systemctl enable --now nginx

Basic Reverse Proxy Configuration

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

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

    location / {
        proxy_pass http://127.0.0.1:3000;
        proxy_http_version 1.1;
        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;
        proxy_set_header Upgrade $http_upgrade;
        proxy_set_header Connection "upgrade";
    }
}

Enable the site and reload:

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

Key proxy_set_header Directives

Serving Static Files Alongside the Proxy

location /static/ {
    alias /var/www/myapp/static/;
    expires 30d;
    add_header Cache-Control "public, immutable";
}

location / {
    proxy_pass http://127.0.0.1:3000;
}

Adding HTTPS with Let's Encrypt

sudo apt install certbot python3-certbot-nginx
sudo certbot --nginx -d example.com -d www.example.com

Certbot is available from the Certbot official site. It automatically updates the Nginx config and installs a renewal timer.

Common Configuration Errors