Master Nginx Proxy Manager with Docker: Easy Setup, Static & Dynamic Proxies

Introduction

nginx-proxy-manager

is a visual Nginx management tool with over 25k stars on GitHub. It lets you create proxy hosts, obtain free SSL certificates automatically, and manage users without deep Nginx knowledge.

Features

Beautiful and secure user‑management interface.

Create proxy, redirect, and streaming rules without knowing Nginx.

Automatic free SSL certificate issuance and renewal.

Access Lists and Basic authentication for secure host access.

User, permission management and audit logging.

Installation

Using Docker to install nginx-proxy-manager is very convenient.

Pull the Docker image: docker pull jc21/nginx-proxy-manager:latest Run the container:

docker run -p 80:80 -p 81:81 -p 443:443 --name nginx-proxy-manager \
  -v /mydata/nginx-pm/data:/data \
  -v /mydata/nginx-pm/letsencrypt:/etc/letsencrypt \
  -d jc21/nginx-proxy-manager:latest

After the container starts, open the management page at http://<your‑ip>:81 with the default credentials [email protected]:changeme.

Static Proxy Example

Using the mall e‑commerce project as an example, modify your local /etc/hosts file: 192.168.3.101 mall.macrozheng.com Add a proxy host in the UI (Hosts → Proxy Hosts → Add Proxy Host) and configure the domain and target server in the Details tab.

In the Advanced tab, add a custom Nginx location block for static files:

location /admin {<br/>    alias /data/html/admin;<br/>    index index.html index.htm;<br/>}

Upload the built admin frontend to /mydata/nginx-pm/data/html and access it at http://mall.macrozheng.com/admin/.

For the frontend shop, add another location block:

location /app {<br/>    alias /data/html/app;<br/>    index index.html index.htm;<br/>}

Now the shop is reachable at http://mall.macrozheng.com/app/.

Dynamic Proxy Example

Modify /etc/hosts for the API domain: 192.168.3.101 api.macrozheng.com Add a new proxy host and set the hostname to admin-api.macrozheng.com. The API is then accessible at http://api.macrozheng.com/swagger-ui/.

Other Features

Enable SSL with automatic free certificate issuance.

Use Access Lists for Basic authentication on proxy hosts.

User Management for handling users and permissions.

Audit Log to view operation history.

Chinese Version

A Chinese‑localized image nginx-proxy-manager-zh provides the same functionality with translated UI. Run it with:

docker run -p 80:80 -p 81:81 -p 443:443 --name nginx-proxy-manager \
  -v /mydata/nginx-pm/data:/data \
  -v /mydata/nginx-pm/letsencrypt:/etc/letsencrypt \
  -d chishin/nginx-proxy-manager-zh:release

Conclusion

The visual Nginx Proxy Manager offers a clean interface and powerful features, allowing you to manage Nginx proxies, SSL certificates, and access controls without deep Nginx expertise.

Project Links

GitHub: https://github.com/NginxProxyManager/nginx-proxy-manager