Reverse Proxies Explained

Right now your tools run on ports like :3001, :8000, :8080. That’s fine for testing, but you don’t want users visiting http://your-ip:8000.

A reverse proxy maps clean domains to those ugly ports:


plausible.yourdomain.com  →  localhost:8000
uptime.yourdomain.com     →  localhost:3001
supabase.yourdomain.com   →  localhost:8443

It also handles HTTPS (SSL certificates) automatically.

Which One to Use?

Proxy	Our Take
Caddy ✅	Use this. Automatic HTTPS, zero-config SSL, human-readable config. Built for self-hosters.
Nginx Proxy Manager	GUI-first option. Great if you hate config files. Slightly more resource-heavy.
Traefik	Powerful but complex. Built for Kubernetes. Overkill for most self-hosting setups.
Nginx (raw)	The classic. Fine but verbose. No auto-SSL without certbot scripts.

🏆 The Verdict: Start with Caddy. Seriously. The config file is 6 lines.

Setting Up Caddy (Recommended)

Step 1: Deploy Caddy


# docker-compose.yml
version: '3.8'
 
services:
  caddy:
    image: caddy:2-alpine
    container_name: caddy
    restart: unless-stopped
    ports:
      - "80:80"
      - "443:443"
    volumes:
      - ./Caddyfile:/etc/caddy/Caddyfile
      - caddy_data:/data
      - caddy_config:/config
 
volumes:
  caddy_data:
  caddy_config:

Step 2: Configure Your Domains

Create a Caddyfile in the same directory:


plausible.yourdomain.com {
    reverse_proxy localhost:8000
}

uptime.yourdomain.com {
    reverse_proxy localhost:3001
}

git.yourdomain.com {
    reverse_proxy localhost:3000
}

That’s the entire config. Caddy automatically obtains and renews Let’s Encrypt SSL certificates for every domain listed.

Step 3: Point DNS

In your domain registrar (Cloudflare, Namecheap, etc.), add A records:

Type	Name	Value
A	`plausible`	`your-server-ip`
A	`uptime`	`your-server-ip`
A	`git`	`your-server-ip`

Step 4: Start


docker compose up -d

Within 60 seconds, Caddy will obtain SSL certificates and your tools will be live on proper HTTPS domains.

How It Works (Simplified)


User visits plausible.yourdomain.com
           ↓
      DNS resolves to your server IP
           ↓
      Caddy receives the request on port 443
           ↓
      Caddy reads Caddyfile: "plausible.yourdomain.com → localhost:8000"
           ↓
      Caddy forwards the request to your Plausible container
           ↓
      User sees Plausible dashboard over HTTPS 🔒

→ Setting Up a Reverse Proxy (Practical Guide) — Get Nginx, Caddy, or Traefik running now → SSL/TLS for Self-Hosters — Deep dive into certificates and security → Deploy Guides — All our guides include reverse proxy config