Traefik Reverse Proxy: Complete Guide for Self-Hosters

Traefik is the reverse proxy that makes self-hosting practical. Automatic HTTPS, Docker-native service discovery, and configuration that updates without restarts. Here's everything you need to know.

Why Traefik?

Core Concepts

Entrypoints

Where traffic enters Traefik. Typically port 80 (HTTP) and 443 (HTTPS).

Routers

Rules that match incoming requests to services. Match on host, path, headers, etc.

Services

The backend applications that handle requests. Defined by Docker labels or file config.

Middlewares

Transformations applied between router and service: redirects, rate limiting, authentication, headers, etc.

Providers

Where Traefik discovers its configuration: Docker (labels), file (YAML/TOML), Kubernetes, etc.

Minimal Docker Compose Setup

services:
  traefik:
    image: traefik:v3
    command:
      - --api.dashboard=true
      - --entrypoints.web.address=:80
      - --entrypoints.websecure.address=:443
      - --certificatesresolvers.le.acme.tlschallenge=true
      - --certificatesresolvers.le.acme.email=you@domain.com
      - --providers.docker=true
    ports:
      - 80:80
      - 443:443
    volumes:
      - /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock:ro
      - ./acme.json:/acme.json

  myapp:
    image: nginx
    labels:
      - traefik.http.routers.myapp.rule=Host(`app.example.com`)
      - traefik.http.routers.myapp.tls.certresolver=le

That's it. Traefik sees the Docker container, creates a router, provisions a Let's Encrypt certificate, and starts proxying. No config files to edit, no nginx reload.

Advanced Patterns

File Provider (For Non-Docker Services)

Not everything runs in Docker. Use file-based configuration for external services, VMs, or legacy apps. Traefik watches the file and hot-reloads on changes.

Middlewares

• redirectScheme — HTTP → HTTPS redirect
• stripPrefix — remove path prefixes before forwarding
• rateLimit — protect against abuse
• basicAuth — simple password protection
• headers — add security headers (HSTS, CSP, etc.)

Priority-Based Routing

When multiple routers match the same path, priority determines which wins. Higher number = higher priority. Essential when running multiple services on the same domain (e.g., main site + blog).

Read how we use Traefik in production at QuikCue →