Custom local domain + HTTP/2 + SSL

Docker Starter

Ready-to-use starter for microservices architecture with Docker

This project is a starter for creating web applications with microservices architecture, fully wrapped in Docker containers. Includes API server, frontend application and Nginx Gateway with SSL + HTTP/2 support.

Architecture

The project consists of three main components:

API Service

• Technology: Single Node.js demo server
• Port: ${API_PORT}

Frontend Service

• Technology: Vanilla JavaScript + HTML + Nginx (demo app)
• Port: ${FRONT_PORT}
  • Static frontend with Nginx
  • Integration with API service
  • Automatic Docker build

Gateway Service

• Technology: Nginx
• Ports: 80 (HTTP), 443 (HTTPS)
• Features:
  • HTTP/2 support
  • Reverse proxy for API and Frontend
  • SSL/TLS termination
  • HTTP → HTTPS redirect
  • Security (HSTS, XSS Protection)

🚀 Quick Start

Prerequisites

• Docker and Docker Compose
• Make
• mkcert (for SSL certificate generation)

1. Clone and Setup

git clone https://github.com/scott-walker/docker-starter.git
cd docker-starter
cp .env.example .env

2. Environment Variables Configuration

Edit the .env file:

# Main project settings
PROJECT_NAME=starter

# Gateway settings
GATEWAY_API_HOST=starter-api
GATEWAY_API_PORT=3000
GATEWAY_API_SERVER_NAME=api.host.lc
GATEWAY_FRONT_HOST=starter-front
GATEWAY_FRONT_PORT=3000
GATEWAY_FRONT_SERVER_NAME=host.lc

# API settings
API_PORT=3000

# Frontend settings
FRONT_PORT=3000
FRONT_API_HOST=api.host.lc

3. Generate SSL Certificates

make generate-ssl

4. Add Hosts to /etc/hosts

make add-hosts

5. Build and Run

# Build all images
make build

# Start all services
make start

Available Commands

Main Commands

Command	Description
make build	Build all Docker images
make start	Start all services
make stop	Stop all services
make restart	Restart all services

Build Commands

Command	Description
make build-gateway	Build Gateway image
make build-api	Build API image
make build-front	Build Frontend image

Run Commands

Command	Description
make run-gateway	Run Gateway container
make run-api	Run API container
make run-front	Run Frontend container

Utilities

Command	Description
make generate-ssl	Generate SSL certificates
make add-hosts	Add hosts to /etc/hosts
make create-network	Create Docker network

🌐 Service Access

After startup, services will be available at the following addresses:

• Frontend: ${GATEWAY_FRONT_SERVER_NAME}
• API: ${GATEWAY_API_SERVER_NAME}

Security

The project includes the following security measures:

• SSL/TLS: Automatic HTTP → HTTPS redirect
• HSTS: HTTP Strict Transport Security
• XSS Protection: Protection against cross-site scripting
• Content Security: Protection against MIME-type sniffing
• Frame Options: Protection against clickjacking

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

🆘 Support

If you have questions or issues: Issue

Created with ❤️ for quick Docker project startup