Nginx Proxy Manager (NPM) Setup

Set up Rybbit with Nginx Proxy Manager without exposing ports directly to the host

This guide shows you how to set up Rybbit with Nginx Proxy Manager without exposing ports directly to the host.

Prerequisites

Nginx Proxy Manager already running
Basic knowledge of Docker networks
Domain name pointed to your server

This setup assumes you have NPM running and are capable of creating SSL certificates. You can also use any other reverse proxy as long as you can put it on the same Docker network as Rybbit.

Setup Steps

Create Custom Docker Compose

Create a new directory for your Rybbit installation and create a docker-compose.yml file:

services:
  rybbit_clickhouse:
    image: clickhouse/clickhouse-server:25.4.2
    container_name: rybbit_clickhouse
    volumes:
      - ./clickhouse-data:/var/lib/clickhouse
      - ./clickhouse_config:/etc/clickhouse-server/config.d
    environment:
      - CLICKHOUSE_DB=${CLICKHOUSE_DB:-analytics}
      - CLICKHOUSE_USER=${CLICKHOUSE_USER:-default}
      - CLICKHOUSE_PASSWORD=${CLICKHOUSE_PASSWORD:-frog}
    healthcheck:
      test: ["CMD", "wget", "--no-verbose", "--tries=1", "--spider", "http://localhost:8123/ping"]
      interval: 3s
      timeout: 5s
      retries: 5
      start_period: 10s
    restart: unless-stopped
    networks:
      - internal

  rybbit_postgres:
    image: postgres:17.4
    container_name: rybbit_postgres
    environment:
      - POSTGRES_USER=${POSTGRES_USER:-frog}
      - POSTGRES_PASSWORD=${POSTGRES_PASSWORD:-frog}
      - POSTGRES_DB=${POSTGRES_DB:-analytics}
    volumes:
      - ./postgres-data:/var/lib/postgresql/data
    healthcheck:
      test: ["CMD-SHELL", "pg_isready -U $${POSTGRES_USER} -d $${POSTGRES_DB}"]
      interval: 3s
      timeout: 5s
      retries: 5
      start_period: 10s
    restart: unless-stopped
    networks:
      - internal

  rybbit_backend:
    image: ghcr.io/rybbit-io/rybbit-backend:${IMAGE_TAG:-latest}
    container_name: rybbit_backend
    environment:
      - NODE_ENV=production
      - CLICKHOUSE_HOST=http://rybbit_clickhouse:8123
      - CLICKHOUSE_DB=${CLICKHOUSE_DB:-analytics}
      - CLICKHOUSE_PASSWORD=${CLICKHOUSE_PASSWORD:-frog}
      - POSTGRES_HOST=rybbit_postgres
      - POSTGRES_PORT=5432
      - POSTGRES_DB=${POSTGRES_DB:-analytics}
      - POSTGRES_USER=${POSTGRES_USER:-frog}
      - POSTGRES_PASSWORD=${POSTGRES_PASSWORD:-frog}
      - BETTER_AUTH_SECRET=${BETTER_AUTH_SECRET}
      - BASE_URL=${BASE_URL}
      - DISABLE_SIGNUP=${DISABLE_SIGNUP}
    depends_on:
      rybbit_clickhouse:
        condition: service_healthy
      rybbit_postgres:
        condition: service_started
    healthcheck:
      test: ["CMD", "wget", "--no-verbose", "--tries=1", "--spider", "http://127.0.0.1:3001/api/health"]
      interval: 3s
      timeout: 5s
      retries: 5
      start_period: 10s
    restart: unless-stopped
    networks:
      - internal
      - npm_proxy

  rybbit_client:
    image: ghcr.io/rybbit-io/rybbit-client:${IMAGE_TAG:-latest}
    container_name: rybbit_client
    environment:
      - NODE_ENV=production
      - NEXT_PUBLIC_BACKEND_URL=${BASE_URL}
      - NEXT_PUBLIC_DISABLE_SIGNUP=${DISABLE_SIGNUP}
    depends_on:
      - rybbit_backend
    restart: unless-stopped
    networks:
      - internal
      - npm_proxy

networks:
  internal:
    driver: bridge
  npm_proxy:
    external: true

volumes:
  clickhouse-data:
  postgres-data:

Configure Environment

Create a .env file in the same directory:

# Required: Your domain and base URL
DOMAIN_NAME=your.domain.com
BASE_URL=https://your.domain.com

# Required: Authentication secret (generate a random 32+ character string)
BETTER_AUTH_SECRET=your_generated_secret_here

# Optional: Disable new user signups after creating admin account
DISABLE_SIGNUP=false

# Optional: Custom image tag
IMAGE_TAG=latest

Generate a secure BETTER_AUTH_SECRET using: openssl rand -hex 32

Setup Docker Network

Create the external network that NPM uses (if it doesn't exist):

docker network create npm_proxy

Make sure your NPM container is connected to this network:

# Check if NPM is on the network
docker network inspect npm_proxy

# If needed, connect NPM to the network
docker network connect npm_proxy <npm_container_name>

Copy ClickHouse Config (Optional)

Optionally, copy the ClickHouse configuration for better control:

# If you cloned the main repo, copy the config
cp -r /path/to/rybbit/clickhouse_config ./

# Or download it directly
curl -L https://github.com/rybbit-io/rybbit/archive/master.tar.gz | tar -xz --strip=2 rybbit-master/clickhouse_config

Start Services

Start all Rybbit services:

docker compose up -d

Verify all services are running:

docker compose ps

Configure NPM

In your Nginx Proxy Manager interface:

Create Proxy Host:
- Domain Names: your.domain.com
- Scheme: http
- Forward Hostname/IP: rybbit_client
- Forward Port: 3002
- Enable "Cache Assets", "Block Common Exploits", "Websockets Support"
Add Custom Location:
- Location: /api
- Scheme: http
- Forward Hostname/IP: rybbit_backend
- Forward Port: 3001

Advanced Configuration (in the custom location):

location /api/ {
    proxy_pass http://rybbit_backend: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;
}

SSL Configuration:
- Enable SSL
- Request a new SSL certificate with Let's Encrypt
- Enable "Force SSL" and "HTTP/2 Support"

Access Rybbit

Navigate to https://your.domain.com and create your admin account.

Alternative Proxy Configurations

Traefik

If you're using Traefik instead, add these labels to your services:

services:
  rybbit_backend:
    # ... existing config
    labels:
      - "traefik.enable=true"
      - "traefik.http.routers.rybbit-api.rule=Host(`your.domain.com`) && PathPrefix(`/api`)"
      - "traefik.http.routers.rybbit-api.tls.certresolver=letsencrypt"
      - "traefik.http.services.rybbit-api.loadbalancer.server.port=3001"
      - "traefik.docker.network=traefik_proxy"
  
  rybbit_client:
    # ... existing config
    labels:
      - "traefik.enable=true"
      - "traefik.http.routers.rybbit-client.rule=Host(`your.domain.com`)"
      - "traefik.http.routers.rybbit-client.tls.certresolver=letsencrypt"
      - "traefik.http.services.rybbit-client.loadbalancer.server.port=3002"
      - "traefik.docker.network=traefik_proxy"

networks:
  traefik_proxy:
    external: true

Cloudflare Tunnel

For Cloudflare Tunnel, create a tunnel configuration:

tunnel: your-tunnel-id
credentials-file: /path/to/credentials.json

ingress:
  - hostname: your.domain.com
    path: /api
    service: http://rybbit_backend:3001
  - hostname: your.domain.com
    service: http://rybbit_client:3002
  - service: http_status:404

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

NPM can't reach containers:

Verify both NPM and Rybbit are on the same network
Check container names match the proxy configuration

SSL certificate issues:

Ensure domain is pointed to your server
Check NPM logs for certificate generation errors

502 Bad Gateway:

Verify Rybbit services are healthy: docker compose ps
Check container logs: docker compose logs

Networking

Check network connectivity:

# List all networks
docker network ls

# Inspect the npm_proxy network
docker network inspect npm_proxy

# Check which containers are connected
docker ps --format "table {{.Names}}\t{{.Networks}}"

Logs

Monitor logs for debugging:

# Rybbit services
docker compose logs -f

# Specific service
docker compose logs -f rybbit_backend

# NPM logs (adjust container name)
docker logs -f nginx-proxy-manager

Remember to regularly backup your data volumes (clickhouse-data and postgres-data) and your .env file.

Nginx Proxy Manager (NPM) Setup

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