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Nginx Reverse Proxy

NGINX Reverse Proxy on Port 80 with llm.com​

Note: This will work only on your current system under your network, but this can save you from typing 192....230:8080 for accessing your locally hosted app.

1. Stop and Disable any apps working on Port 80 (this port is normally used for web communication)​

For my case, Apache2 was running on Port 80

sudo systemctl stop apache2
sudo systemctl disable apache2

2. Install Nginx (if not already installed)​

sudo apt update
sudo apt install nginx -y

3. Configure /etc/hosts for Local Domain Resolution​

This tells your system to resolve llm.com locally.

sudo nano /etc/hosts

Add the line 127.0.0.1 llm.com

If you're on a different machine than the one running Nginx, use the Nginx server's IP instead.

4. Create a Reverse Proxy Config for llm.com​

Create a new config file:

sudo nano /etc/nginx/sites-available/llm.com

Paste this config:

server {
    listen 80;
    server_name llm.com;

    location / {
        proxy_pass http://192.168.1.230:8080;  # replace with your app's actual IP and port
        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;
    }
}

5. Enable the Config​

Link it into sites-enabled:

sudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/llm.com /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/

Optional:

Remove the default site to avoid conflicts:

sudo rm /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/default

6. Test Nginx Config and Restart​

Check for syntax errors:

sudo nginx -t

If it says syntax is ok and test is successful, then restart Nginx:

sudo systemctl restart nginx

7. Visit Your App​

Open your browser and go to http://llm.com

It should show the app running on 192.168.1.230:8080, now proxied cleanly by Nginx!

8. Add More Apps​

Add More Domains Easily by repeating steps 4–7 with new configs, example:

dbui.com → 192.168.1.231:3000

adminportal.com → 192.168.1.232:5000

Each with their own file in /etc/nginx/sites-available/ and an entry in /etc/hosts


Every Commands in one Bash Script
#!/usr/bin/env bash

# ========== 1. Ask user for required input ==========
echo
echo "Nginx Reverse Proxy Setup Script (No strict validations)"
echo
read -rp "Enter the local domain you want to use (e.g. llm.com): " LOCAL_DOMAIN
read -rp "Enter the application host IP (e.g. 192.168.1.230): " APP_HOST
read -rp "Enter the application port (e.g. 8080): " APP_PORT

sleep 2

# ========== 2. Display what's going to happen ==========
echo
echo "This script will perform the following steps:"
echo "--------------------------------------------------"
echo
echo "1. Stop and disable Apache2 (if running) to free up port 80"
echo
echo "2. Install Nginx if it's not already installed"
echo
echo "3. Add the following entry to /etc/hosts:"
echo "     127.0.0.1 ${LOCAL_DOMAIN}"
echo
echo "4. Create an Nginx reverse proxy configuration:"
echo "     - ${LOCAL_DOMAIN} => http://${APP_HOST}:${APP_PORT}"
echo
echo "5. Enable the new Nginx site and disable the default"
echo
echo "6. Restart Nginx to apply the changes"
echo "--------------------------------------------------"
echo

read -rp "Do you want to continue and enter sudo shell? (y/n): " CONFIRM
if [[ "$CONFIRM" != "y" ]]; then
  echo "Aborted by user."
  exit 1
fi

echo "Entered sudo shell..."
echo

# ========== 3. Enter sudo shell and run all tasks ==========
sudo env LOCAL_DOMAIN="$LOCAL_DOMAIN" APP_HOST="$APP_HOST" APP_PORT="$APP_PORT" bash -c "$(cat <<'EOF'

set -euo pipefail

# Variables
NGINX_SITES_AVAILABLE="/etc/nginx/sites-available"
NGINX_SITES_ENABLED="/etc/nginx/sites-enabled"
CONFIG_PATH="${NGINX_SITES_AVAILABLE}/${LOCAL_DOMAIN}"
HOSTS_LINE="127.0.0.1 ${LOCAL_DOMAIN}"

# Step 1: Stop Apache
if systemctl is-active --quiet apache2; then
  systemctl stop apache2
  systemctl disable apache2
  echo "Stopped and disabled Apache2."
else
  echo "Apache2 not running."
fi

# Step 2: Install Nginx
if ! command -v nginx >/dev/null; then
  apt update
  apt install -y nginx
  echo "Nginx installed."
else
  echo "Nginx already installed."
fi

# Step 3: Update /etc/hosts
if ! grep -Fxq "${HOSTS_LINE}" /etc/hosts; then
  echo "${HOSTS_LINE}" >> /etc/hosts
  echo "Added ${HOSTS_LINE} to /etc/hosts."
else
  echo "Entry already exists in /etc/hosts."
fi

# Step 4: Create Nginx config
cat > "${CONFIG_PATH}" <<NGINX_CONF
server {
    listen 80;
    server_name ${LOCAL_DOMAIN};

    location / {
        proxy_pass http://${APP_HOST}:${APP_PORT};
        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;
    }
}
NGINX_CONF


echo "Created Nginx config at ${CONFIG_PATH}"

# Step 5: Enable config
if [ ! -L "${NGINX_SITES_ENABLED}/${LOCAL_DOMAIN}" ]; then
  ln -s "${CONFIG_PATH}" "${NGINX_SITES_ENABLED}/${LOCAL_DOMAIN}"
  echo "Enabled site: ${LOCAL_DOMAIN}"
fi

# Remove default site if exists
if [ -e "${NGINX_SITES_ENABLED}/default" ] || [ -L "${NGINX_SITES_ENABLED}/default" ]; then
  rm -f "${NGINX_SITES_ENABLED}/default"
  echo "Removed default site."
fi

# Step 6: Test and restart Nginx
nginx -t
systemctl restart nginx
echo "Nginx restarted."

echo "Setup complete! You can now visit: http://${LOCAL_DOMAIN}"
EOF
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