Nginx

How to add Nginx as a reverse proxy

The following commands are tailored for Ubuntu/Debian systems. If you’re using a different Linux distribution, you may need to adjust package management commands accordingly (e.g., yum for CentOS, brew for macOS).

Install Nginx

sudo apt update && sudo apt install nginx -y
sudo systemctl start nginx && sudo systemctl enable nginx

Install Certbot for SSL

sudo apt update && sudo apt install python3-certbot-nginx -y

Create the Webroot Directory

sudo mkdir -p /var/www/certbot/.well-known/acme-challenge && sudo chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/certbot

Create a temporary Nginx config for creating SSL certificates

Make sure to change subdomain.domain.tld to your actual subdomain and ensure that it is pointed to your server’s IP address.

Edit the file /etc/nginx/sites-available/subdomain.domain.tld:

server {
    listen 80;
    listen [::]:80;  # IPv6 support
    server_name <subdomain.domain.tld>;  # CHANGE HERE

    location /.well-known/acme-challenge/ {
        root /var/www/certbot;
    }

    location / {
        return 301 https://$host$request_uri;
    }

    # Hide NGINX version for security reasons
    server_tokens off;
}

Then create the symlink:

sudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/<subdomain.domain.tld> /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/

Obtain SSL Certificates Using Webroot method

sudo certbot certonly --webroot -w /var/www/certbot -d <subdomain.domain.tld> --email your-email@example.com --agree-tos --no-eff-email

Edit the Nginx config

Edit the file /etc/nginx/sites-available/subdomain.domain.tld.

Secure Config (Recommended)
Simple Config

# HTTP -> HTTPS Redirection
server {
    listen 80;
    listen [::]:80;  # IPv6 support
    server_name <subdomain.domain.tld>;  # CHANGE HERE

    location /.well-known/acme-challenge/ {
        root /var/www/certbot;
    }

    location / {
        return 301 https://$host$request_uri;
    }

    # Hide NGINX version for security reasons
    server_tokens off;
}

# HTTPS Configuration
server {
    listen 443 ssl http2;
    listen [::]:443 ssl http2;  # Enable HTTP/2 and IPv6 support if you need
    server_name <subdomain.domain.tld>; # CHANGE HERE

    # Hide NGINX version
    server_tokens off;

    # SSL Certificates
    ssl_certificate /etc/letsencrypt/live/<subdomain.domain.tld>/fullchain.pem;  # CHANGE HERE
    ssl_certificate_key /etc/letsencrypt/live/<subdomain.domain.tld>/privkey.pem;  # CHANGE HERE
    ssl_trusted_certificate /etc/letsencrypt/live/<subdomain.domain.tld>/chain.pem;  # CHANGE HERE

    # Security: Stronger SSL Configuration
    ssl_session_cache shared:SSL:10m;  # Cache SSL sessions
    ssl_session_timeout 1d;  # Set session timeout to 1 day
    ssl_session_tickets off;  # Disable SSL session tickets

    # Use only modern SSL/TLS protocols (disables older insecure ones)
    ssl_protocols TLSv1.2 TLSv1.3;

    # Configure SSL ciphers (strong encryption algorithms)
    ssl_ciphers ECDHE-ECDSA-AES128-GCM-SHA256:ECDHE-RSA-AES128-GCM-SHA256:ECDHE-ECDSA-AES256-GCM-SHA384:ECDHE-RSA-AES256-GCM-SHA384:ECDHE-ECDSA-CHACHA20-POLY1305:ECDHE-RSA-CHACHA20-POLY1305:DHE-RSA-AES128-GCM-SHA256:DHE-RSA-AES256-GCM-SHA384;
    ssl_prefer_server_ciphers off;  # Allow clients to prefer their ciphers

    # Diffie-Hellman parameter for Perfect Forward Secrecy (PFS)
    ssl_dhparam /etc/ssl/certs/dhparam.pem;  # Generate with `sudo openssl dhparam -out /etc/ssl/certs/dhparam.pem 2048`

    # OCSP Stapling for improved SSL/TLS performance
    ssl_stapling on;
    ssl_stapling_verify on;

    # DNS resolver for OCSP
    resolver 1.1.1.1 1.0.0.1 valid=300s;
    resolver_timeout 5s;

    # some HTTP Security Headers
    add_header Strict-Transport-Security "max-age=63072000; includeSubDomains; preload" always;  # HSTS
    add_header X-Frame-Options "SAMEORIGIN" always;  # Prevent Clickjacking
    add_header X-Content-Type-Options "nosniff" always;  # Prevent MIME-type sniffing
    add_header X-XSS-Protection "1; mode=block" always;  # XSS Protection
    add_header Referrer-Policy "no-referrer" always;  # Better privacy control
    add_header Permissions-Policy "geolocation=(self), microphone=(), camera=()" always;  # Limit browser permissions

    # Reverse Proxy to Postiz application
    location / {
        proxy_pass http://localhost:5000;
        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;

        # WebSocket Support
        proxy_set_header Upgrade $http_upgrade;
        proxy_set_header Connection "upgrade";
    }

    # Disable directory listing for security
    autoindex off;

    # Increase maximum post size to prevent 413 error with images larger than 2MB (changes max size to 100MB)
    client_max_body_size 100M;

    # Enable Gzip compression for better performance
    gzip on;
    gzip_comp_level 6;
    gzip_min_length 1100;
    gzip_buffers 4 32k;
    gzip_proxied any;
    gzip_types text/plain text/css text/javascript application/json application/xml image/svg+xml;

    # Optional Access/Error Logging
    access_log /var/log/nginx/<subdomain.domain.tld>.log; # CHANGE HERE
    error_log /var/log/nginx/<subdomain.domain.tld>.log; # CHANGE HERE
}

# HTTP -> HTTPS Redirection
server {
    listen 80;
    server_name <subdomain.domain.tld>; # CHANGE HERE

    # Location for Let's Encrypt validation
    location /.well-known/acme-challenge/ {
        root /var/www/certbot;
    }

    return 301 https://$host$request_uri;  # Redirect all traffic to HTTPS
}

# HTTPS Configuration
server {
    listen 443 ssl;
    server_name <subdomain.domain.tld>; # CHANGE HERE

    # SSL certificate
    ssl_certificate /etc/letsencrypt/live/<subdomain.domain.tld>/fullchain.pem; # CHANGE HERE
    ssl_certificate_key /etc/letsencrypt/live/<subdomain.domain.tld>/privkey.pem; # CHANGE HERE

    # Proxy requests to Postiz running on port 5000
    location / {
        proxy_pass http://localhost:5000;
        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;

        # WebSocket Support
        proxy_set_header Upgrade $http_upgrade;
        proxy_set_header Connection "upgrade";
    }

    # Optional Access/Error Logging
    access_log /var/log/nginx/<subdomain.domain.tld>.log; # CHANGE HERE
    error_log /var/log/nginx/<subdomain.domain.tld>.log; # CHANGE HERE
}

Generate DH Parameters

(Needed if you are using the “robust” nginx config option)

sudo openssl dhparam -out /etc/ssl/certs/dhparam.pem 2048

Test your Nginx configuration

sudo nginx -t

Automatic reload Nginx when SSL Certificates are renewed

echo -e '#!/bin/bash\nginx -t && systemctl reload nginx' | sudo tee /etc/letsencrypt/renewal-hooks/post/nginx-reload.sh && sudo chmod a+x /etc/letsencrypt/renewal-hooks/post/nginx-reload.sh

Reload Nginx

sudo systemctl reload nginx

Done!

Your Nginx reverse proxy is now running, securely serving your Postiz instance at your subdomain.domain.tld. 🎉

Getting Started

Installation

Configuration

Reverse Proxies

Troubleshooting

Providers

How to add Nginx as a reverse proxy

​How to add Nginx as a reverse proxy

How to add Nginx as a reverse proxy