Reverse Proxy

NetBird Reverse Proxy lets you expose internal services running on peers or behind network resources to the public internet. NetBird handles TLS termination, optional authentication, and proxies incoming traffic through the WireGuard mesh to reach the target service - all without opening ports or configuring firewalls on your internal machines.

How it works

When you create a reverse proxy service, NetBird provisions a public domain with an automatic TLS certificate. Incoming HTTPS requests to that domain are terminated at the NetBird proxy cluster, then forwarded through an encrypted WireGuard tunnel to the target peer or network resource running your application. The target service only needs to be reachable within your NetBird network - it does not need a public IP address or open ports.

You can optionally require authentication (SSO via your configured IdP, password, or PIN) before users can reach the service, ensuring that even publicly accessible URLs remain protected.

Concepts

Services

A service is the core configuration unit of the Reverse Proxy. Each service maps a public domain to one or more internal targets and defines how traffic is authenticated and forwarded. A service consists of:

• Domain - the public URL where the service is reachable
• Targets - one or more backend destinations that handle incoming requests
• Authentication - optional SSO, password, or PIN protection
• Settings - advanced options for host header forwarding and redirect rewriting
• Enabled/Disabled toggle - turn the service on or off without deleting it

Targets

A target defines where proxied traffic is sent within your NetBird network. Each service can have multiple targets for path-based routing. Every target specifies a type, protocol, port, and optional path.

Each target also has the following properties:

• Path (optional) - a URL path prefix for path-based routing (e.g., /api). See Path-based routing below.
• Protocol - HTTP or HTTPS, depending on what the backend service speaks
• Port - the port on the target machine (defaults to 80 for HTTP, 443 for HTTPS)
• Enabled/Disabled toggle - individually enable or disable targets without removing them

Domains

Every service needs a domain. The available domain types depend on whether you are using NetBird Cloud or a self-hosted deployment.

Cloud deployments provide free domains in the format:

{subdomain}.{nonce}.{cluster}.proxy.netbird.io

For example: myapp.abc123.eu.proxy.netbird.io where myapp is your chosen subdomain, abc123 is a nonce unique to your account, and eu is the proxy cluster region. These domains appear in the domain selector with a Free badge and are available immediately with no additional configuration.

Self-hosted deployments provide cluster domains in the format:

{subdomain}.{proxy-domain}

For example: myapp.proxy.mycompany.com where myapp is your chosen subdomain and proxy.mycompany.com is the domain configured on your proxy instance(s) via the NB_PROXY_DOMAIN environment variable. These domains appear in the domain selector with a Cluster badge.

In both deployment types, the available domains are dynamically derived from the proxy instances currently connected to the management server. They are not pre-provisioned - they reflect whichever proxy servers are actively registered.

Custom domains work identically in both cloud and self-hosted deployments. You can use your own domain name (e.g., app.example.com) by creating a CNAME record that points to your proxy cluster address. See Custom Domains for setup instructions.

All domain types receive automatic TLS certificates managed by the proxy.

Authentication

You can protect a service with one or more authentication methods. When multiple methods are enabled, users can choose which one to use when accessing the service.

For detailed configuration instructions, see Authentication.

Service statuses

After creating a service, it progresses through several statuses as NetBird provisions the domain and establishes connectivity:

Self-hosted proxy setup

Self-hosted deployments require a separate NetBird proxy instance (netbirdio/netbird-proxy) that connects to your management server via gRPC and handles TLS termination and traffic forwarding for your reverse proxy services.

Existing deployments - If you have an existing self-hosted deployment and want to add the proxy, follow the Enable Reverse Proxy migration guide. It covers generating an access token, adding the proxy container with Traefik TLS passthrough labels, setting up wildcard DNS, and verifying the setup.

TLS certificate configuration

The proxy supports two modes for TLS certificate management:

ACME mode (Let's Encrypt) - The proxy automatically provisions TLS certificates for each domain using Let's Encrypt. Enable this mode with:

When a certificate is successfully issued, the proxy notifies the management server and the service status changes to active.

Static certificate mode - Provide your own certificate and key files. This is useful for wildcard certificates or certificates from a corporate CA. Configure with:

Static certificates support hot-reload through file watching. When the certificate or key file changes on disk, the proxy picks up the new files automatically without requiring a restart.

High availability

Multiple proxy instances configured with the same NB_PROXY_DOMAIN value form a single proxy cluster. This provides high availability - if one instance goes down, the remaining instances in the cluster continue serving traffic. Each instance independently connects to the management server via gRPC and registers under the shared cluster address.

Traefik requirement

Self-hosted deployments must use Traefik as the reverse proxy in front of the NetBird management server. Traefik is required because it supports TLS passthrough, which allows the NetBird proxy to handle TLS termination directly. Other reverse proxies that do not support TLS passthrough are not compatible with this feature.

Prerequisites

Before creating a reverse proxy service, make sure you have:

• At least one peer connected to your NetBird network, OR at least one network with resources and routing peers configured. See Networks for details.
• A domain to use. Free (cloud) or cluster (self-hosted) domains are available automatically, or you can add a custom domain.
• Self-hosted only: At least one proxy instance deployed and connected to your management server. See Self-hosted proxy setup above, or follow the Enable Reverse Proxy migration guide to add it to an existing deployment.
• Access to a NetBird account with the 'Services' permission module ('Network Admin' role or higher).

Quick start

Follow these steps to create your first reverse proxy service and expose an internal application to the internet.

Step 1: Open the Reverse Proxy page

Navigate to Reverse Proxy > Services in the NetBird dashboard and click Add Service.

Step 2: Configure service details

In the Details tab:

1. Enter a subdomain for your service (e.g., myapp).
2. Select a base domain. Cloud users see domains with a Free badge (e.g., abc123.eu.proxy.netbird.io). Self-hosted users see domains with a Cluster badge (e.g., proxy.mycompany.com, based on their deployed proxy instances). You can also select a custom domain you have already configured.
3. Click Add Target to define where traffic should be sent.

4. In the target configuration, select the type (Peer, Host, Domain, or Subnet), then choose the specific peer or resource.
5. Set the protocol (HTTP or HTTPS) and port for the target.
6. Optionally, enter a path if you are using path-based routing.

You can add multiple targets to route different URL paths to different backend services.

Step 3: Configure authentication

Switch to the Authentication tab to configure how users are authenticated before reaching your service.

• Enable SSO to require users to authenticate through your identity provider. Optionally restrict access to specific groups.
• Enable Password and set a shared password.
• Enable PIN Code and set a numeric code.
• Leave all methods disabled for public (unauthenticated) access.

Step 4: Configure advanced settings

Switch to the Settings tab to adjust advanced proxy behavior.

• Pass Host Header - when enabled, the original Host header from the client request is forwarded to the backend service instead of the target's hostname. This is useful when the backend application needs to know the public domain it is being accessed through.
• Rewrite Redirects - when enabled, Location headers in backend responses (used for HTTP redirects) are rewritten to use the public domain. This prevents users from being redirected to internal URLs that they cannot reach.

Step 5: Create the service

Click Add Service to create the reverse proxy service. NetBird will begin provisioning the TLS certificate and establishing the tunnel. Monitor the service status on the services list page until it shows active.

Managing services

Edit a service

Click on any service in the services list to open the edit modal. Make your changes across the Details, Authentication, or Settings tabs, then click Save Changes.

Enable or disable a service

Toggle the service on or off using the enabled/disabled switch. Disabling a service stops routing traffic to it without deleting the configuration, allowing you to quickly re-enable it later.

Delete a service

Delete a service to permanently remove it along with its domain and TLS certificate. This action cannot be undone.

Manage targets

Within a service, you can:

• Add targets - click Add Target to route traffic to additional backend services
• Remove targets - remove a target to stop routing traffic to that backend
• Enable or disable targets - toggle individual targets on or off without removing them from the service

Path-based routing

When a service has multiple targets, you can assign each target a unique path prefix to route different URL paths to different backends. For example:

Incoming requests are matched against the configured path prefixes and forwarded to the corresponding target. Each path must be unique within a service.

This is useful for consolidating multiple internal services under a single public domain, reducing the number of domains and TLS certificates you need to manage.

Integration with Networks

If you have already configured Networks with resources and routing peers, you can expose a network resource directly from the Networks page.

Click the Expose Service button on any resource to open the reverse proxy creation modal with that resource pre-populated as a target. This provides a quick way to make an existing internal resource available on the public internet.

The Networks page also displays a badge on each resource indicating how many reverse proxy services reference it, giving you visibility into which resources are publicly exposed.

Related pages

• Custom Domains - configure your own domain names for reverse proxy services
• Authentication - detailed guide on SSO, password, and PIN authentication options
• Access Logs - monitor and audit traffic to your reverse proxy services
• Networks - configure internal networks and resources
• Access Control - manage policies that control access to your network

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