Nginx Proxy Configuration

This page describes how to configure Nginx to serve as a reverse proxy for the backend API of the CorTest project.

It ensures that incoming HTTP requests are properly routed to the Express server running locally, while serving static files from a separate directory (e.g., an HTML landing page).

Why use Nginx?

In a production environment, your Node.js server should not be directly exposed to the public. Instead, we use Nginx as a reverse proxy:

To handle routing based on URL paths.
To serve static files efficiently (e.g., landing page).
To manage SSL, caching, rate limiting, etc., if needed later.
To separate application and web server concerns.

Setup Summary

Nginx listens on port 80 (default HTTP port).
It forwards specific API calls to Express, which listens on port 2880.
All other requests are served from a static folder (e.g., /var/www/html).

Configuration Breakdown

Here is a simplified view of the configuration logic from default.conf:

default.conf
server {
    listen 80;
    server_name _;

    # Proxy API requests to the Express server (port 2880)
    location /categories {
        proxy_pass http://127.0.0.1:2880/categories;
        ...
    }

    location /register {
        proxy_pass http://127.0.0.1:2880/register;
        limit_except POST {
            deny all;
        }
        ...
    }

    location /profil/ {
        proxy_pass http://127.0.0.1:2880/profil/;
        ...
    }

    # Serve static HTML files for all other routes
    location / {
        root /var/www/html;
        index index.html;
    }
}

Port Mapping Explained

Layer	Port	Role
Nginx	`80`	Public-facing entry point
Express API	`2880`	Internal API server (local)

Nginx listens on port 80 and receives all incoming requests. When a request matches a specific API route (/register, /profil/:uid, etc.), Nginx forwards it to the local Express server on port 2880.

This way, your Node.js backend stays encapsulated, and Nginx handles all external traffic.

Route Protection Example

The /register route is sensitive because it modifies the database. The following directive ensures that only POST requests are allowed:

limit_except POST {
    deny all;
}

This blocks any accidental or malicious GET, PUT, or DELETE requests to /register.

Static Files

Requests that do not match an API route (e.g., /, /about.html, etc.) fall back to the default handler:

location / {
    root /var/www/html;
    index index.html;
}

This serves a static frontend or landing page from /var/www/html.

Why use Nginx?​

Setup Summary​

Configuration Breakdown​

Port Mapping Explained​

Route Protection Example​

Static Files​

Further Reading​