Subdomain Reverse Proxy

Hey there! Welcome to the Subdomain Reverse Proxy repository. This is a super simple yet flexible way to set up subdomain-based reverse proxying using Nginx and Docker. It's designed to be lightweight, secure, and easy to deploy.

What's this all about?

This repository sets up a reverse proxy server where you can:

• Redirect subdomains to different backend services
• Configure multiple server blocks with different routing rules
• Run everything in a Docker container for easy deployment
• Handle HTTP traffic with potential for SSL/TLS configuration

Getting Started

Prerequisites

• Docker
• Docker Compose
• Domain name with ability to create subdomains
• Backend services to proxy to

Quick Setup

1. Clone this repository:

   git clone https://github.com/Cedric-Froehner/subdomain-reverse-proxy.git
   cd subdomain-reverse-proxy

2. Edit the nginx.conf file to configure your subdomains and backend services:

   server {
     server_name your-subdomain.example.com;
     location / {
       proxy_pass http://your-backend-service:port;
     }
   }

3. Start the server:

   docker-compose up -d

That's it! Your reverse proxy is now running and will route traffic based on the subdomain.

Configuration

File Structure

subdomain-reverse-proxy/
├── docker-compose.yml  # Docker configuration
├── nginx.conf         # Nginx server configuration
└── README.md         # This documentation

Port Configuration

By default, the reverse proxy runs on port 80. To change this, edit the port mapping in your docker-compose.yml file:

services:
  subdomain-reverse-proxy:
    # ... other configuration ...
    ports:
      - "80:80"  # Format is "external_port:internal_port"

To use a different port (for example, port 8080), change the external port:

    ports:
      - "8080:80"

After changing the port, restart the container:

docker-compose down
docker-compose up -d

Multiple Server Blocks

You can configure multiple server blocks for different subdomains. Here's an example:

# Default server block - catches undefined subdomains
server {
  server_name _;
  location / {
    return 404;
  }  
}

# Specific subdomain configuration
server {
  server_name app.example.com;
  location / {
    proxy_pass http://localhost:3000;
  }
}

# Another subdomain
server {
  server_name api.example.com;
  location / {
    proxy_pass http://localhost:8080;
  }
}

Security Notes

• The configuration file is mounted as read-only in the container
• The server runs in an Alpine-based container for minimal attack surface
• HTTPS is recommended for production use (you'll need to configure SSL certificates)
• Consider implementing rate limiting and other security measures for production

Using with Document Provider

This reverse proxy works great with document-provider to serve your protected documents through different subdomains. Here's how to set it up:

1. First, set up your document-provider instance following its documentation. Note the port it's running on (default: 8080).

2. Add a server block for your documents subdomain in nginx.conf:

   server {
     server_name docs.example.com;
     
     location / {
       proxy_pass http://your-document-provider:8080;
     }
   }

It is possible to add both containers to the same docker network to prevent publishing the document-provider directly to the outside world.

Now your documents will be accessible through docs.example.com while still maintaining all the security features of document-provider!

Contributing

Got ideas to make this better? Awesome! Feel free to:

1. Fork the repository
2. Create your feature branch
3. Make your changes
4. Submit a pull request

Need Help?

If you run into any issues or have questions, feel free to:

• Open an issue in this repository
• Check the Nginx documentation for advanced configuration options
• Look into Docker documentation for container-related questions

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

This project uses the official Nginx Docker image (nginx:stable-alpine). The Nginx license and any other third-party licenses are handled through their respective Docker images and packages.

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Made to make subdomain routing a bit easier.