A Beginner's Guide to NGINX and NGINX Proxy Manager

Whether you’re self-hosting applications or deploying websites in production, reverse proxies are one of the most powerful tools in your DevOps toolbox. At the heart of it all is NGINX—a versatile, open-source server that can function as a web server, reverse proxy, load balancer, and even a mail proxy.

However, writing manual NGINX configurations—especially for multiple services, subdomains, and SSL certificates—can quickly become tedious, redundant and error-prone.

That’s where NGINX Proxy Manager (NPM) steps in to simplify everything with a clean and user-friendly interface.

In this blog, we’ll begin with the basics of NGINX, and then walk you through how to deploy NGINX Proxy Manager in just a few steps.

🧠 What is NGINX?

NGINX (pronounced engine-x) is a high-performance, open-source web server that’s designed for scalability and efficiency. It can be used for:

Serving static files (HTML, CSS, JavaScript)
Acting as a reverse proxy (routing external traffic to internal services)
Load balancing between servers
Caching for faster delivery
SSL termination (handling HTTPS connections)

Originally built to solve the C10K problem—handling 10,000+ concurrent connections—NGINX has become one of the most popular servers in the world.

🔄 What is a Reverse Proxy?

A reverse proxy acts as a gateway: it receives client requests, forwards them to the appropriate backend service, and returns the response to the client. This allows you to:

Host multiple apps on a single server (e.g., app1.example.com, app2.example.com)
Serve all apps over HTTPS using Let’s Encrypt
Hide internal infrastructure from the public
Apply rate limiting, access control, or logging policies

⚙️ Installing NGINX the Traditional Way

On most Linux distributions, you can install NGINX with:

sudo apt update -y
sudo apt install nginx -y

To verify NGINX is running:

systemctl status nginx

You should be able to visit http://<your-server-ip> and see the NGINX welcome page.

To configure new sites manually, you’ll edit files under /etc/nginx/sites-available/ and link them to /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/

😵‍💫 The Problem: Manual NGINX Config is a Pain

For each new service or domain, you have to:

Add a new subdomain
Set up SSL with Let’s Encrypt
Configure proxying rules
Handle authentication and security settings
Test your NGINX config and reload the service

This process is powerful but not beginner-friendly and quickly becomes a burden when managing many services.

🎉 The Solution: NGINX Proxy Manager (NPM)

NGINX Proxy Manager is a Docker-based application that wraps the power of NGINX in an easy-to-use web interface.

🔑 Key Features

Intuitive web UI to manage proxy hosts
Automatic SSL certificates via Let’s Encrypt
Redirection and 404 host handling
Access control via IP or basic auth
Custom NGINX config snippets
Lightweight and easy to deploy via Docker

🧱 How to Install NGINX Proxy Manager on Ubuntu/Debian

Prerequisites

A Linux server or cloud VPS
Docker and Docker Compose installed
A registered domain (optional but recommended)

Step 1: Install Docker & Docker Compose

sudo apt update
sudo apt install docker.io docker-compose -y

Verify Docker is running:

sudo systemctl status docker

If inactive, enable and start it:

sudo systemctl enable docker
sudo systemctl start docker

Step 2: Create the Docker Compose File

Create a working directory:
```
  mkdir npm && cd npm
```

Now create the docker-compose.yml file:

  version: '3.8'
  services:
    app:
      image: 'jc21/nginx-proxy-manager:latest'
      restart: unless-stopped
      ports:
        # These ports are in format <host-port>:<container-port>
        - '80:80' # Public HTTP Port
        - '443:443' # Public HTTPS Port
        - '81:81' # Admin Web Port

      environment:
        # Mysql/Maria connection parameters:
        DB_MYSQL_HOST: "db"
        DB_MYSQL_PORT: 3306
        DB_MYSQL_USER: "npm"
        DB_MYSQL_PASSWORD: "npm"
        DB_MYSQL_NAME: "npm"
      volumes:
        - ./data:/data
        - ./letsencrypt:/etc/letsencrypt
      depends_on:
        - db

    db:
      image: 'jc21/mariadb-aria:latest'
      restart: unless-stopped
      environment:
        MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD: 'npm'
        MYSQL_DATABASE: 'npm'
        MYSQL_USER: 'npm'
        MYSQL_PASSWORD: 'npm'
        MARIADB_AUTO_UPGRADE: '1'
      volumes:
        - ./mysql:/var/lib/mysql

💡 Why a database?
The database stores all your proxy host settings, SSL metadata, users, and configuration changes persistently

Step 3: Launch the Container

Run the containers:

docker-compose up -d

Step 4: Access the Web Interface

Open your browser and visit:
http://your-server-ip:81

Email: admin@example.com
Password: changeme

You’ll be prompted to change your login details after the first login.

Once you login, you’ll be redirected to your dashboard

🔧 Setting Up Your First Proxy Host

Go to "Proxy Hosts" > "Add Proxy Host"
Enter your domain name (e.g., npm.domain.com)
Enter the internal IP address and port of your service (e.g., 192.168.1.100:8080)
Enable "Block Common Exploits"
Switch to the SSL tab:
- Enable SSL
- Request a Let’s Encrypt certificate
- Enable Force SSL

Click Save

🎉 Done! Your service is now live, secure, and reachable via your custom domain. (npm.domain.com in this case)

🔐 Advanced Features

Access Lists – Restrict access using IP whitelisting or basic auth
Custom NGINX Directives – Add your own caching rules, headers, or security policies
Rate Limiting – Throttle excessive traffic and protect against DoS attacks
Redirection Hosts – Easily forward old URLs to new destinations
404 Hosts – Define catch-all behavior for unknown or misrouted domains

💡 Common Use Cases

Host self-hosted apps like Nextcloud, Jellyfin, Bitwarden, or Portainer
Expose internal microservices on custom subdomains
Make local development tools publicly accessible with HTTPS
Replace complex manual NGINX or Traefik setups with a user-friendly dashboard

🧠 Final Thoughts

NGINX is incredibly powerful, but configuring it manually can be time-consuming and error-prone.
NGINX Proxy Manager simplifies this process without sacrificing flexibility.

It’s perfect for:

✅ Self-hosters
✅ Developers managing multiple projects
✅ Small teams hosting internal tools
✅ Anyone who wants easy SSL and quick proxy setup

🧰 A Beginner's Guide to NGINX and NGINX Proxy Manager

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