Nginx Reverse Proxy Config Generator

A reverse proxy sits in front of your backend server (Node.js, Python, Go, etc.) and forwards client requests to it. You need one when: running multiple apps on one server (route by domain/path), adding SSL/TLS termination without modifying your app, hiding the backend port and implementation, adding rate limiting/security headers at the edge, or enabling WebSocket connections with proper upgrade headers.

Set Upstream URL to http://127.0.0.1:3000 and Server Name to your domain. Nginx listens on port 80 (or 443 with SSL) and forwards all requests to your Node app. Add proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For to make the real client IP available via req.headers['x-forwarded-for'] in your Node app. Also set proxy_buffering off for streaming/SSE responses.

WebSocket connections require the Upgrade header to be passed through. Check 'WebSocket Support' in this tool — it adds: proxy_http_version 1.1; proxy_set_header Upgrade $http_upgrade; proxy_set_header Connection 'upgrade'; Without these, the WebSocket handshake fails with a 400 or 502 error. This works for socket.io, ws, and any WS-based protocol.

proxy_read_timeout defines how long Nginx waits for a response from the upstream server before returning 504 Gateway Timeout. Default is 60s. Increase it for: long-running API endpoints, file uploads, AI inference, report generation, or any operation that takes more than a minute. Set it to the maximum expected response time plus a buffer. Never set it below your upstream's processing time.

CORS (Cross-Origin Resource Sharing) headers tell browsers whether a cross-origin request is allowed. Nginx can add these headers before the response reaches the client. This is useful when your backend doesn't handle CORS itself or when you want to centralize CORS policy. The Access-Control-Allow-Origin header specifies which origins are allowed — use * for any origin or a specific domain for tighter security.

The easiest way is Let's Encrypt: install certbot, run 'sudo certbot --nginx -d yourdomain.com'. Certbot auto-configures SSL in your nginx.conf. Alternatively, enable SSL in this generator and provide your certificate paths. The config will add an HTTP→HTTPS redirect block, TLSv1.2/1.3, and modern cipher suites. After applying, run 'sudo nginx -t' then 'sudo systemctl reload nginx'.