I’ve used nginx proxy manager as a reverse proxy for a while now and want to switch because some set ups don’t work well with it. Tried nginx as a reverse proxy but seems kinda complicated and I just don’t really like it… I’ve heard good things about Caddy and how it automatically does the certs for you but heard it doesn’t mesh well with Cloudflare proxy or something along those lines. Caddy is definitely a contender.

What’s a good reverse proxy for a set up using Cloudflare?

Also, a bit off-topic, but is Cloudflare’s proxy really needed? I heard it’s insecure to self host sites without Cloudflare because you’re exposing your ip address and leaving yourself vulnerable but is it really bad to self host without Cloudflare?

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What’s a good reverse proxy for a set up using Cloudflare?

Having a reverse proxy behind your reverse proxy is a little redundant, but should work fine. My preference after trying several was nginx. The config takes a little to get used to, but it has a ton of features.

is Cloudflare’s proxy really needed?

Not at all.

Cloudflare just makes configuration a bit easier, especially if you’re behind CGNAT. I wrote a little about them here: https://blog.k3can.us/index.php?post/2025/02/Cloudflare-for-the-Selfhoster

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