[ Setup Node.js, Apache and an nginx reverse-proxy with Docker ] :

1. Download And Install Docker:

• For windows
  • Docker for Windows
• For Linux
  • Docker for Linux

2. Clone the repository:

git clone https://github.com/Ashkumar7/Node-Php-Apache-Nginx-In-Docker.git

3. and run the container:

docker compose up -d

[ But hold on, how this works? ] :

• Take how internal network looks like after running the containers:

• Now, let's understand how this works:

  • When we hit the url http://localhost:8000 in our browser, the request goes to the nginx container. Nginx is configured to reverse-proxy the request to the apache container and node container. Nginx container is configured to listen on port 80, take a look at the docker-compose.yml file. you will see the following configuration:

    nginx:
      ports:
        - '8000:80' # "host_port:container_port"

  • Now, every file inside api folder is served by the apache container. take a look at the default.conf file inside root folder. any client request to /api will be reverse-proxied to the apache container. therefore those are available for node container. you will see the following configuration:

    location /api {
        rewrite ^([^.\?]*[^/])$ $1/ break;
        proxy_pass http://php:80;
    }
    

• Now, we can test this inside our nodejs backend.

  const php_backend_url = 'http://php:80';
  
  try {
    const req = await fetch(`${php_backend_url}/api/get_my_ip.php`);
    const res = await req.json();
    console.log(res);
  } catch (error) {
    console.log(error);
  }

[ Now Lets Understand docker-compose.yml file ]:

version: '3.9'

services:
  nginx:
    container_name: reverse_proxy
    image: nginx:alpine
    ports:
      - '8000:80'
    volumes:
      - ./php/:/var/www/html
      - ./default.conf:/etc/nginx/conf.d/default.conf
    depends_on:
      - php
      - node

  php:
    container_name: php
    image: php:8.0-apache
    volumes:
      - ./php/:/var/www/html

  node:
    image: node:18.10-slim
    environment:
      - NODE_ENV=production
    working_dir: /app
    volumes:
      - ./node/:/app
    depends_on:
      - php
    command: >
      sh -c '
        if [ -z "$(which yarn)" ]; then
          echo "Yarn not found, installing...";
          npm install -g yarn;
        else
          echo "Yarn is already installed";
        fi &&
        if [ -z "$(which typescript)" ]; then
          echo "Typescript not found, installing...";
          npm install -g typescript;
        else
          echo "Typescript is already installed";
        fi &&
        yarn install &&
        npx prisma generate &&
        yarn start
      '

• in our docker-compose.yaml file there are 3 services - nginx, php-apache, node.

  • lets break down everything inside the nginx service:
    • we give container_name of any of our choice using container_name key

      container_name: reverse_proxy

    • we pull a specific image nginx:alpine from docker-hub using image key

      image: nginx:alpine

    • we define host_port and container_port using ports key. so if any request comes through host_port it will forwarded to container_port then nginx will handle the rest later on.

      ports:
        - '8000:80' # "host_port:container_port"

    • then we have volumes which will mirror the directory content to the container directory

      volumes:
        - ./php/:/var/www/html
        - ./default.conf:/etc/nginx/conf.d/default.conf

    • depends_on key is to tell Docker Compose will start the php and node services before starting the service with the depends_on directive.

    depends_on:
      - php
      - node

  • lets break down everything inside the php service:
    • we give container_name of any of our choice using container_name key

      container_name: php

    • we pull a specific image php:8.0-apache from docker-hub using image key

      image: php:8.0-apache

    • then we have volumes which will mirror the directory content to the container directory

      volumes:
        - ./php/:/var/www/html

  • lets break down everything inside the node service:
    • we give container_name of any of our choice using container_name key

      container_name: node

    • we can set environment variable using environments key

      environments:
        - NODE_ENV=production

    • The working_dir key in Docker Compose is used to set the working directory inside the container for a specific service. The working directory is the location in the container where commands are executed.

      working_dir: /app

    • we pull a specific image node:18.10-slim from docker-hub using image key

      image: node:18.10-slim

    • then we have volumes which will mirror the directory content to the container directory

      volumes:
        - ./node/:/app

    • depends_on key is to tell Docker Compose will start the php service before starting the service with the depends_on directive.

      depends_on:
        - php

    • command key is use to execute command, in our case install dependencies and run the app.

      command: >
        sh -c '
          if [ -z "$(which yarn)" ]; then
          echo "Yarn not found, installing...";
          npm install -g yarn;
          else
          echo "Yarn is already installed";
          fi &&
          if [ -z "$(which typescript)" ]; then
          echo "Typescript not found, installing...";
          npm install -g typescript;
          else
          echo "Typescript is already installed";
          fi &&
          yarn install &&
          npx prisma generate &&
          yarn start
        '

Credits

• Raizel#Kreideprinz: It`s me ofcourse!

Feel free to customize based on your specific needs and the nature of your app.