Nginx Proxy Manager¶

Description¶

Nginx Proxy Manager (NPM) is an application that adds an intuitive interface to the Nginx web server, making it simpler for beginners to use. The functions of Nginx remain the same, allowing users to create forwarding domains, redirections, streams, and 404 hosts. It is also capable of generating and assigning free Let’s Encrypt SSL certificates, as well as Access Lists and basic HTTP authentication. Lastly, it’s also possible to add additional advanced configurations using the traditional text-based Nginx format.

NPM installation and configuration¶

NPM Docker compose¶

Create a working directory and a Docker compose file for NPM:

mkdir nginx-proxy-manager && cd nginx-proxy-manager
sudo nano docker-compose.yml

Write the following configuration to the file:

services:
  app:
    image: 'docker.io/jc21/nginx-proxy-manager:latest'
    restart: unless-stopped
    ports:
      - '80:80'
      - '81:81'
      - '443:443'
    volumes:
      - ./data:/data
      - ./letsencrypt:/etc/letsencrypt

Pull the Docker image and deploy the container:

sudo docker compose up -d

NPM configuration¶

Login¶

Access the NPM admin panel via the IP address of your machine:

http://192.168.1.x:81 (or similar)

Proceed to log in using the initial default credentials:

Then create your user account.

Create a proxy host¶

From the Dashboard, click on ‘Proxy Hosts’ and in the following screen click on ‘Add Proxy Host’. A configuration panel will prompt you to configure the following:

DetailsSSL

• Enter your registered domain name(s), hostname/IP you want to forward, and the port that the application is listening on.

• Some applications require having Websockets Support enabled for the site to work properly, so be sure to review the application’s documentation for setting up a reverse proxy.

• Request a new SSL Certificate from Let’s Encrypt. Again, some services may require HTTP/2 support and/or HSTS to be enabled.

• As for DNS challenge, select your DNS provider and paste in the API token that you obtained from them.

• Agree to the Let’s Encrypt ToS and click Save to generate the new SSL certificate and create the new proxy host.

Verify that the entered information is correct and click Save.

Result

If successful, the Status of the new proxy host will be Online. Click on the Source URL to access your application:

Notice that you did not receive a warning from your browser about accessing an insecure HTTP website and that there is now a padlock symbol to the left of the URL:

This indicates that there is an active HTTPS connection to this website.