Why Nginx?
Nginx is the web server of choice at KnausDev, whether I need load balancing, static file serving, reverse proxying, or SSL termination, it handles all of it with a config syntax that gives me more direct control than Apache ever did. Every production application I deploy through Hetzner sits behind Nginx.
How I Use It
Nginx is the front door for everything I host at KnausDev. It sits between Cloudflare and the application layer, routing traffic to the right Docker container, Laravel instance, or static site.
Where Nginx runs
- Reverse proxy: routing requests to Docker containers, Laravel applications, and self-hosted services like Gitea and Nextcloud
- Load balancing: distributing traffic across application instances when a single backend isn’t enough
- Static file serving: serving Astro builds, assets, and media files directly
- SSL termination: handling HTTPS in front of backend services that don’t need to manage their own certificates
- Production hosting: the web server behind every site and application deployed on Hetzner machines running Ubuntu Server
Status
Active: default web server for all production infrastructure.