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What the finished setup looks like
Assume a server hosts two applications:
app1.example.comlistens locally on port3001.app2.example.comlistens locally on port3002.
Nginx is the public entry point. It accepts HTTP and HTTPS traffic, selects a virtual server by the requested hostname, terminates TLS for that hostname, and forwards the request to the matching private application. The browser never needs to know the backend port.
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Prerequisites to verify first
DNS must point every name at this server
Create an address record for each subdomain, such as an A record for IPv4 or an AAAA record for IPv6. Before requesting a certificate, verify that the public DNS result is the address of the Nginx host. Certificate validation will fail if the name resolves somewhere else, if only an unreachable IPv6 address is published, or if DNS changes have not propagated.
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Check each name from a client outside the server’s network. For example:
dig +short app1.example.com
dig +short app2.example.comUse the resulting addresses to confirm that the request can actually reach this machine, not merely that a DNS record exists.
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Open the required ports
- TCP 80: required for normal HTTP requests and the HTTP-01 ACME challenge.
- TCP 443: required for HTTPS clients after the certificate is installed.
Allow both ports in the host firewall and any cloud security group or edge firewall. The application ports, such as 3001 and 3002, should normally remain bound to localhost or protected from the public internet; clients should reach them through Nginx.
Confirm the software and privileges
You need Nginx, a running backend for each subdomain, a shell account with permission to use sudo, and Certbot with its Nginx plugin. Package names vary by distribution. Check the installed Certbot release before following a command exactly:
certbot --version
nginx -v
systemctl status nginxCertbot documentation has appeared in both 5.8.0 stable and 5.9.0 development versions; options can differ between releases, so use the syntax supported by the version installed on your server.
Understand the Nginx directives involved
| Directive | Purpose | Where it belongs |
|---|---|---|
listen |
Chooses the local TCP port, normally 80 or 443. | server |
server_name |
Matches the requested hostname. | server |
ssl_certificate |
Points to the public certificate chain. | HTTPS server |
ssl_certificate_key |
Points to the private key for that certificate. | HTTPS server |
location |
Matches a URI path and holds request handling rules. | server |
proxy_pass |
Sets the protocol, destination address, optional port, and optional URI for the proxied request. | location |
proxy_set_header |
Overrides headers sent to the backend, including the original host and forwarding information. | location |
The syntax is proxy_pass URL;. The URL can use http or https, a domain name or IP address with an optional port, or a Unix-domain socket. If the URL includes a URI path, Nginx replaces the part of the incoming request URI that matched the location parameter. That trailing-path behavior is a frequent source of unexpected 404s, so decide deliberately whether the backend should receive the original path or a rewritten one.
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Start with port 80. This gives Certbot a reachable virtual host and leaves the ACME challenge directory available while the certificate is being issued. Put the following in the site configuration for app1.example.com (the exact directory differs by distribution):
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server {
listen 80;
server_name app1.example.com;
location /.well-known/acme-challenge/ {
root /var/www/certbot;
}
location / {
return 301 https://$host$request_uri;
}
}Create the challenge directory and ensure the Nginx worker can read it:
sudo mkdir -p /var/www/certbot
sudo nginx -t
sudo systemctl reload nginxRepeat the HTTP block with app2.example.com as the server_name. Do not let a catch-all virtual host intercept the challenge request for a named subdomain.
Before running Certbot, request a test file and confirm it is reachable over plain HTTP:
echo ok | sudo tee /var/www/certbot/health-check
curl -i http://app1.example.com/.well-known/acme-challenge/health-checkThe response should be successful and contain ok. Remove the test file after validation if it is no longer needed.
Issue and install the certificate with Certbot
Use the Nginx plugin for an exact hostname
Run Certbot once for each exact subdomain:
sudo certbot --nginx -d app1.example.com
sudo certbot --nginx -d app2.example.comThe --nginx option performs two jobs: it proves control of the name and obtains a certificate, then it can edit the Nginx configuration to install the certificate. During the interactive run, choose the option that redirects HTTP traffic to HTTPS when prompted, unless another application intentionally needs unredirected HTTP.
Certificates and key material are normally placed below /etc/letsencrypt/live/. A successful run commonly creates a directory such as /etc/letsencrypt/live/app1.example.com/ containing fullchain.pem and privkey.pem. Confirm the actual paths and generated directives on this machine rather than assuming a filename from another distribution.
Back up before allowing automated edits
Save the current Nginx configuration before Certbot changes it:
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sudo cp -a /etc/nginx /etc/nginx.backup-$(date +%F)If the plugin produces an unusable configuration, Certbot provides a rollback operation:
sudo certbot --nginx rollbackReview the resulting files after every automated change. Certbot can add the HTTPS listener and redirect, but it cannot know the correct backend port or application-specific headers unless those rules are already present.
Build the HTTPS reverse-proxy block
After the certificate exists, the HTTPS block for app1.example.com can look like this:
server {
listen 443 ssl;
server_name app1.example.com;
ssl_certificate /etc/letsencrypt/live/app1.example.com/fullchain.pem;
ssl_certificate_key /etc/letsencrypt/live/app1.example.com/privkey.pem;
include /etc/letsencrypt/options-ssl-nginx.conf;
ssl_dhparam /etc/letsencrypt/ssl-dhparams.pem;
location / {
proxy_pass http://127.0.0.1:3001;
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;
}
}The options-ssl-nginx.conf include and ssl-dhparams.pem path are common Certbot-generated items, not universal filenames. Keep the paths Certbot created for the installed package, and remove or correct an include only after confirming what exists on the server.
The second subdomain uses the same structure but its own certificate path and backend:
server {
listen 443 ssl;
server_name app2.example.com;
ssl_certificate /etc/letsencrypt/live/app2.example.com/fullchain.pem;
ssl_certificate_key /etc/letsencrypt/live/app2.example.com/privkey.pem;
location / {
proxy_pass http://127.0.0.1:3002;
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;
}
}Keep the corresponding port-80 block for each name. It should serve /.well-known/acme-challenge/ and redirect other requests to HTTPS. A certificate is tied to hostnames, so a certificate for app1.example.com does not automatically cover an unrelated subdomain unless that name is included in the certificate request.
Forward the headers applications need
Nginx changes some proxy headers by default, including Host and Connection, and drops headers whose values are empty. Explicit forwarding rules let the application reconstruct the original request:
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Host $hostpreserves the public hostname used for routing, redirects, and virtual-host logic.X-Real-IP $remote_addrpasses the direct client address.X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_forappends the client address to an existing proxy chain.X-Forwarded-Proto $schemetells the application that the browser used HTTPS, even though the Nginx-to-app hop uses plain HTTP.
Configure the application framework to trust these headers only from your Nginx proxy. Blindly trusting client-supplied forwarding headers can allow address or scheme spoofing when the backend is reachable directly.
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Support WebSockets and long-lived connections
Interactive dashboards, game backends, chat services, and Socket.IO-style applications may upgrade an HTTP request to a WebSocket. Add an HTTP/1.1 proxy and upgrade headers inside the relevant location:
location / {
proxy_pass http://127.0.0.1:3001;
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;
}Use these headers for the location that handles the upgraded endpoint. If a normal HTTP endpoint does not need WebSockets, avoid applying upgrade behavior globally without understanding how the application treats the Connection header.
Choose the correct proxy_pass path
Preserve the incoming URI
With this pairing, a request for /players?id=4 reaches the backend with the same path and query string:
location / {
proxy_pass http://127.0.0.1:3001;
}Because the address has no URI component, Nginx forwards the request URI as received.
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If the application is mounted under a different internal path, include a URI in proxy_pass:
location /api/ {
proxy_pass http://127.0.0.1:3001/v1/;
}Here, the part matching /api/ is replaced with /v1/. A request for /api/players therefore becomes /v1/players at the backend. Slashes matter; test both the root path and nested paths after changing this form.
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Proxy to an HTTPS backend
The protocol in the directive controls the Nginx-to-backend connection. To use TLS on that private hop, change the destination to an https URL and configure any required upstream certificate verification separately. Public browser TLS and upstream TLS are independent: the certificate served to visitors does not automatically authenticate the backend connection.
Validate and reload safely
Always validate syntax before a reload:
sudo nginx -tA successful test reports that the configuration syntax is valid and the test is successful. Only then apply it:
sudo systemctl reload nginxA reload lets existing connections finish while workers adopt the new configuration. If nginx -t reports an error, do not reload. Check the referenced line, certificate path, include file, semicolon, brace, and duplicate listener, then run the test again.
Test each hostname independently:
curl -I http://app1.example.com/
curl -I https://app1.example.com/
curl -I https://app2.example.com/The HTTP request should redirect if that is the policy you selected. The HTTPS response should come from the intended application, not from a default Nginx page or another subdomain’s backend.
Renewal and certificate lifecycle
Certbot obtains certificates with a limited lifetime and normally installs a scheduled renewal mechanism. Depending on the distribution and package, that mechanism may be a systemd timer or a cron job. Inspect what your installation provides:
systemctl list-timers | grep -i certbot
sudo crontab -l
ls -la /etc/cron.* 2>/dev/null | grep -i certbotRun a dry run to verify that renewal, validation, and the deployment hooks work without replacing the live certificate:
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sudo certbot renew --dry-runSchedule monitoring for failures and confirm that Nginx can reload after a renewed certificate is deployed. Keep port 80 reachable for the validation method being used.
Do not rely on automatic renewal when the certificate was issued with Certbot’s manual authentication plugin and later installed with the Nginx plugin. The manual authentication step requires human intervention, so that certificate will not renew automatically in the normal way.
Troubleshoot by symptom
Certbot cannot validate the domain
- Confirm the subdomain resolves publicly to this server.
- Check that TCP port 80 is open at every firewall layer.
- Ensure the port-80
server_namematches the requested name. - Make sure
/.well-known/acme-challenge/is not redirected to an application that hides the challenge file. - Run
nginx -tand reload after correcting the block.
HTTPS shows the wrong certificate or site
- Inspect every
server_namelistening on port 443 for duplicates or unintended wildcards. - Verify that the certificate directory contains the requested hostname.
- Check that the client is connecting to the expected DNS address, including IPv6.
- Confirm the TLS block and its certificate paths are in the configuration Nginx actually loaded.
The browser returns 502 Bad Gateway
- Check that the application is running and listening on the port in
proxy_pass. - From the Nginx host, request the backend directly:
curl -i http://127.0.0.1:3001/. - Verify the backend protocol. Using
https://for an HTTP-only service, or vice versa, prevents a successful connection. - Read the Nginx error log and the application’s log for connection refusals, timeouts, or application startup errors.
Routes or redirects contain the wrong path or scheme
- Review whether
proxy_passincludes a URI suffix; that determines prefix replacement. - Ensure the application receives
HostandX-Forwarded-Proto. - Configure the application to trust the proxy before enabling secure-cookie or HTTPS-only redirect logic.
WebSockets disconnect immediately
- Add
proxy_http_version 1.1,Upgrade, andConnection "upgrade"to the WebSocket location. - Check that the application endpoint and public path are identical after any URI replacement.
- Test the normal HTTP request and the upgraded endpoint separately.
Operational checklist for additional subdomains
- Create DNS records and verify public resolution.
- Start the application on a distinct local port or socket.
- Add a port-80 block with the exact
server_nameand reachable ACME challenge path. - Run
sudo nginx -t, reload, and confirm the challenge URL can be fetched. - Run
sudo certbot --nginx -d your-subdomain.example.com. - Review the generated certificate paths and HTTPS listener.
- Set the correct
proxy_passdestination and forwarding headers. - Add WebSocket directives only where the application requires them.
- Run
sudo nginx -tagain, then reload. - Test HTTP redirect, HTTPS content, backend routing, and renewal with
sudo certbot renew --dry-run.
This repeatable layout keeps certificate scope, hostname routing, and backend ownership clear as the number of game services or other applications grows.
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