Nginx Proxy Manager

This document provides a step-by-step guide on deploying Nginx Proxy Manager (NPM) and configuring it to route traffic to different services, including a dashboard and a Coolify instance. This tutorial uses information found at https://nginxproxymanager.com/setup/ as a reference.

Prerequisites

If you don't have Docker and Docker Compose installed, follow the official Docker documentation for your operating system:

• Install docker dependencies follow the instructions in order to install the Docker dependencies

Action: Open the necessary ports in your firewall

# Allow HTTP traffic
sudo ufw allow 80/tcp  #Public HTTP Port

# Allow HTTPS traffic
sudo ufw allow 443/tcp #Public HTTPS Port

# Allow HTTPS traffic
sudo ufw allow 81/tcp #Admin Web Port

Details:

Create a directory for your NPM deployment and create a docker-compose.yml file inside it.

Step 1: Create Docker Network with Custom Subnet

Create a Docker network with a specific subnet for better control over container IP addresses:

bash

# Create a new Docker network with a custom subnet
docker network create --subnet=10.0.1.0/24 --gateway=10.0.1.1 coolify

This creates a network with:

• Network name: docker-network-1
• Subnet: 10.0.1.0/24
• Gateway: 10.0.1.1

Step 2: Deploy Nginx Proxy Manager Container with Fixed IP

Create a docker-compose.yml file:

mkdir data/nginx-proxy-manager
cd data/nginx-proxy-manager
nano docker-compose.yml

Paste the following content: yaml

services:
  npm:
    image: "jc21/nginx-proxy-manager:latest"
    container_name: nginx-proxy-manager
    restart: unless-stopped
    ports:
      - "80:80"
      - "81:81"
      - "443:443"
    volumes:
      - npm-data:/data
      - npm-letsencrypt:/etc/letsencrypt
    networks:
      - coolify

networks:
  coolify:
    external: true

volumes:
  npm-data:
  npm-letsencrypt:

Deploy with Docker Compose:

bash

docker-compose up -d

Step 3: Verify NPM Container is Running and Check Its IP

bash

# Check if the container is running
docker ps | grep nginx-proxy-manager

# Check the assigned IP address
docker inspect -f '{{range .NetworkSettings.Networks}}{{.IPAddress}}{{end}}' nginx-proxy-manager

# Should return 10.0.1.2

        "Containers": {
            "5ff8c8f9c9a9786fa9b7710c20fc9f5c90d30a874c0b393fd5f7b8607b0c89d6": {
                "Name": "npm-container",
                "EndpointID": "a1eea2eda21f91a0e748a9d20d32416f88cc97b24d28ce662555ab079ae61e00",
                "MacAddress": "42:9b:7b:1c:ee:98",
                "IPv4Address": "10.0.1.2/24",
                "IPv6Address": ""
            }
        }

Alternatively, inspect the network to see all container IPs:

bash

docker network inspect coolify

Step 4: Initial Access to NPM Dashboard

1. Use SSH tunneling to access the NPM dashboard:

   bash

   # On your local machine, create an SSH tunnel
   ssh -L 8081:localhost:81 [email protected]

   Then open a web browser and navigate to: http://localhost:8081 Note: If you didn't bind port 81 to localhost only, you can directly access: http://99.99.99.99:81

2. Log in with the default credentials

   Email: [email protected]
   password: changeme

Step 5: Configure NPM to Serve Dashboard over HTTPS

1. In the NPM dashboard, navigate to "Hosts" → "Proxy Hosts"
2. Click "Add Proxy Host" button
3. In the "Details" tab:
   • Domain Names: nginx-proxy-manager.example.com
   • Scheme: http
   • Forward Hostname/IP: nginx-proxy-manager
   • Forward Port: 81
   • ✔️ set "Block Common Exploits"
   • ✔️ set "Cache Assets"
   • ✔️ set "Block Common Exploits"
4. Go to the "SSL" tab:
   • Request a new SSL certificate with Let's Encrypt
   • ✔️ set "Force SSL"
   • ✔️ set "HTTP/2 Support"
   • ✔️ set HSTS
   • ✔️ set HSTS Subdomains
   • Add your email for Let's Encrypt notifications
5. Go to the "Advanced" tab:

location / {
	proxy_pass http://nginx-proxy-manager:81;
	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_read_timeout 86400;
}

1. Click "Save" to create the proxy host

Step 6: Configure Cloudflare SSL/TLS Settings

Since you're using Cloudflare as your DNS provider, you need to adjust its SSL/TLS settings:

1. Log in to your Cloudflare dashboard
2. Navigate to your domain's settings
3. Go to the SSL/TLS section
4. Change the encryption mode from "Flexible" to "Full" or "Full (Strict)"
   • Use "Full" if you're using Let's Encrypt certificates
   • Use "Full (Strict)" if you're using custom verified certificates

This ensures proper end-to-end encryption from the client to Cloudflare and from Cloudflare to your server.

Step 7: Testing Your Setup

1. Clear your browser cache and cookies for subdomain1.example.com
2. Access https://subdomain1.example.com in a private/incognito window
3. You should now be able to log in successfully and access the NPM dashboard

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