Why use Nginx in front of Node.js?

Running Node.js directly on port 80 or 443 works but isn’t ideal for production. Nginx as reverse proxy provides:

SSL/TLS termination - Handle HTTPS at Nginx level
Static file serving - Nginx serves static files faster than Node.js
Load balancing - Distribute traffic across multiple Node.js instances
Security - Hide Node.js port from internet
Caching - Cache responses to reduce application load

Prerequisites

A VPS with Node.js installed
Node.js application running (assuming port 3000)
Domain name pointing to server (for SSL)
SSH access with root or sudo privileges

Step 1: Install Nginx

sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y nginx
sudo systemctl start nginx
sudo systemctl enable nginx

Step 2: Configure reverse proxy

Create new Nginx configuration:

sudo nano /etc/nginx/sites-available/myapp

Add (replace yourdomain.com):

server {
    listen 80;
    server_name yourdomain.com www.yourdomain.com;

    location / {
        proxy_pass http://127.0.0.1:3000;
        proxy_http_version 1.1;
        proxy_set_header Upgrade $http_upgrade;
        proxy_set_header Connection 'upgrade';
        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;
        proxy_cache_bypass $http_upgrade;
    }
}

Step 3: Enable site

sudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/myapp /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/
sudo rm /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/default
sudo nginx -t
sudo systemctl reload nginx

Step 4: Add SSL with Let’s Encrypt

sudo apt install -y certbot python3-certbot-nginx
sudo certbot --nginx -d yourdomain.com -d www.yourdomain.com

Certbot will:

Verify domain ownership
Obtain SSL certificate
Configure Nginx for HTTPS
Set up auto-renewal

Step 5: Configure firewall

In ColossusCloud control panel:

Port 80 (HTTP) - Open for Let’s Encrypt verification
Port 443 (HTTPS) - Open for secure traffic
Port 3000 - Keep closed! Nginx handles external traffic
Port 22 (SSH) - Restrict to your IP

Serving static files

For better performance, let Nginx serve static files directly:

# Serve static files directly
location /static/ {
    alias /home/youruser/myapp/public/;
    expires 30d;
    add_header Cache-Control "public, immutable";
}

Troubleshooting

502 Bad Gateway

Node.js app isn’t running
Check: ss -tlnp | grep 3000

504 Gateway Timeout

Node.js taking too long to respond
Add timeout settings to location block

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Nginx as reverse proxy for Node.js applications