Skip to main content

Nginx

Nginx is a widely used reverse proxy and web server known for stability, performance, and a huge ecosystem of community guides. It’s a good fit for blogs, APIs, static sites, and any workload where you want predictable behavior and clear configuration. Below is a minimal setup to run your application behind Nginx with HTTPS enabled.

Install​

sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y nginx
sudo systemctl enable --now nginx

Nginx comes with a systemd unit; enable --now starts it and auto-starts on boot.

Basic reverse proxy (app on :3000)​

Create a server block:

sudo mkdir -p /var/www/example.com
sudo nano /etc/nginx/sites-available/example.com
server {
  listen 80;
  server_name example.com;

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

sudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/example.com /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/
sudo nginx -t && sudo systemctl reload nginx

This uses proxy_pass from ngx_http_proxy_module.

HTTPS (Let’s Encrypt, auto-configure)​

If you installed Certbot (snap installs the recommended build), this one command issues certs and updates Nginx config:

sudo snap install core; sudo snap refresh core
sudo snap install --classic certbot
sudo certbot --nginx -d example.com

Renewal runs via systemd timers; you can check with systemctl list-timers.

Verify​

curl -I http://example.com
curl -I https://example.com
sudo nginx -t

Notes​

Deploy Nginx Automatically​

If you prefer not to manage servers, certificates, and configs yourself, you can deploy an Nginx-based app on Hostim.dev in seconds. Free HTTPS, domains, logs, metrics, and persistent services included.

👉 Try deploying an app with automatic HTTPS