Installation of Nginx Proxy Manager (latest)

Introduction

This guide explains how to install Nginx Proxy Manager (latest version) in a Docker container on a Vesta Lab VM. It provides a web-based GUI for managing reverse proxies, SSL certificates, and domain forwarding.

Prerequisites

• A Linux VM with Docker and Docker Compose installed (e.g., dock1)
• Open ports: 80, 81, and 443 must not be used by other services
• Internet access for pulling the container image

Step 1 – Create working directory

mkdir -p ~/npm-docker
cd ~/npm-docker

Step 2 – Create docker-compose.yml

version: '3'

services:
  npm:
    container_name: npm
    image: jc21/nginx-proxy-manager:latest
    restart: unless-stopped
    ports:
      - 80:80        # HTTP
      - 81:81        # Admin UI
      - 443:443      # HTTPS
    volumes:
      - npm-data:/data
      - npm-letsencrypt:/etc/letsencrypt

volumes:
  npm-data:
  npm-letsencrypt:

Step 3 – Start the container

docker-compose up -d

Step 4 – Access the Web UI

• URL: http://<IP_of_dock1>:81
• Default login:
• Email: admin@example.com
• Password: changeme

You will be prompted to set a new admin password on first login.

GUI Configuration (Optional)

Section	Action	Purpose
SSL Certificates	Request Let's Encrypt certs	Secure HTTPS for any domain
Hosts → Proxy	Add a new proxy host	Reverse proxy for services
Users	Create limited accounts	Delegate access with RBAC

Validation and Tests

docker ps
docker exec -it npm nginx -t
curl -I http://localhost

Common Issues

Problem	Solution
Port 80/443 already in use	Stop conflicting services like Apache/Nginx
Login fails	Reset via /data/nginx/logs/error.log
SSL issues	Ensure domain points to your public IP

Next Steps

• Configuration →
• Official documentation