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Nginx server blocks and reverse proxy on Windows

Verified 1 min read

Host multiple names with server_name, serve static roots, proxy Node/Java upstreams, and forward Host/X-Forwarded headers without loops.

Tested onStandard / Datacenter · Build 26100.33650 · x64
E1
Build
26100.33650
Edition
Standard / Datacenter
Architecture
x64
Support
Documentation (E1)
Evidence
E1Official documentation
Verified
2026-10-29
Page type
Task

The short answer

Section titled “The short answer”

One server block = one virtual host:

server {
    listen 8082;
    server_name lab.local;


    root C:/nginx/html/lab;
    index index.html;


    location / {
        try_files $uri $uri/ =404;
    }
}

server_name matches the HTTP Host header. Without it, the first/default_server block answers. Use one block per hostname, not one port per app.

Static site

Section titled “Static site”
server {
    listen 8082;
    server_name lab.local;
    root C:/sites/lab;
    index index.html;


    location /assets/ {
        expires 7d;
        add_header Cache-Control "public";
    }


    location / {
        try_files $uri $uri/ /index.html;
    }
}

Use forward slashes in Windows paths. Relative root resolves against the Nginx working directory, so absolute paths are safer.

Test with a Host header:

Terminal window
curl.exe -H "Host: lab.local" http://127.0.0.1:8082/

Reverse proxy

Section titled “Reverse proxy”

Node/Java/Python upstream on localhost:

upstream app_backend {
    server 127.0.0.1:3000;
    keepalive 16;
}


server {
    listen 8083;
    server_name app.local;


    location / {
        proxy_pass http://app_backend;
        proxy_http_version 1.1;
        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 60s;
    }
}

Do not append a URI to proxy_pass unless you intend to rewrite the path. proxy_pass http://app_backend; preserves the request URI; proxy_pass http://app_backend/; changes it.

WebSocket

Section titled “WebSocket”
map $http_upgrade $connection_upgrade {
    default upgrade;
    ''      close;
}


location /ws/ {
    proxy_pass http://127.0.0.1:3000;
    proxy_http_version 1.1;
    proxy_set_header Upgrade $http_upgrade;
    proxy_set_header Connection $connection_upgrade;
    proxy_read_timeout 3600s;
}

map must be in the http block, not inside server.

Verify

Section titled “Verify”
Terminal window
cd C:\nginx
.\nginx.exe -t
.\nginx.exe -s reload
curl.exe -I -H "Host: lab.local" http://127.0.0.1:8082/
curl.exe -I -H "Host: app.local" http://127.0.0.1:8083/
Get-Content .\logs\error.log -Tail 50

If every hostname returns the same site, server_name/Host is not matching, or another block is default_server. If a proxy returns 502, the upstream is not listening or the port is wrong.

Lab boundary

Section titled “Lab boundary”

E1. The lab ran Nginx 1.28.0 on 8081, but did not add a second server block or a proxied upstream. The configs are the verification path for Server 2025.

Sources