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Document lighttpd configuration example from matrix.jaxlug.ngo #19875

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1 change: 1 addition & 0 deletions changelog.d/19875.doc
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Document lighttpd reverse proxy configuration example from matrix.jaxlug.ngo, a contribution from the JaxLUG, the Jacksonville Linux Users Group Inc..
73 changes: 71 additions & 2 deletions docs/reverse_proxy.md
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Expand Up @@ -4,8 +4,10 @@ It is recommended to put a reverse proxy such as
[nginx](https://nginx.org/en/docs/http/ngx_http_proxy_module.html),
[Apache](https://httpd.apache.org/docs/current/mod/mod_proxy_http.html),
[Caddy](https://caddyserver.com/docs/quick-starts/reverse-proxy),
[HAProxy](https://www.haproxy.org/) or
[relayd](https://man.openbsd.org/relayd.8) in front of Synapse.
[HAProxy](https://www.haproxy.org/),
[relayd](https://man.openbsd.org/relayd.8) or
[lighttpd](https://www.lighttpd.net/)
in front of Synapse.
This has the advantage of being able to expose the default HTTPS port (443) to Matrix
clients without requiring Synapse to bind to a privileged port (port numbers less than
1024), avoiding the need for `CAP_NET_BIND_SERVICE` or running as root.
Expand Down Expand Up @@ -312,6 +314,73 @@ relay "matrix_federation" {
}
```

### lighttpd
```conf
server.modules = (
Comment thread
anoadragon453 marked this conversation as resolved.
"mod_rewrite",
"mod_redirect",
"mod_access",
"mod_setenv",
"mod_openssl",
"mod_proxy",
"mod_accesslog"
)

server.username = "lighttpd"
server.groupname = "lighttpd"

# leave commented out for proper IPv6 see below IPv4 0.0.0.0 & IPv6 [::]
#server.use-ipv6 = "enable"

@anoadragon453 anoadragon453 Jun 24, 2026

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If this is intended as "you can use IPv6 if you want!" comment, could you add a line saying so? Otherwise it comes across as dead code/accidentally left in.

@wltjr wltjr Jun 24, 2026

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I added comment, you want to ensure that is commented out.


ssl.pemfile = "/etc/lighttpd/cert+privkey.pem"
ssl.ca-file = "/etc/lighttpd/fullchain.pem"

$SERVER["socket"] == "0.0.0.0:80" { }
$SERVER["socket"] == "0.0.0.0:443" { ssl.engine = "enable" }
$SERVER["socket"] == "0.0.0.0:8448" { ssl.engine = "enable" }
$SERVER["socket"] == "[::]:80" { }
$SERVER["socket"] == "[::]:443" { ssl.engine = "enable" }
$SERVER["socket"] == "[::]:8448" { ssl.engine = "enable" }

# both lighttpd and synapse need permissions for socket r/w
$HTTP["url"] =~ "(/_matrix|_synapse/admin|/_synapse/client)" {
proxy.balance = "hash"
proxy.server = (
"" => (
"backend-socket" => (
"host" => "/var/lib/synapse/main_public.sock",
"port" => 0
)
)
)
proxy.forwarded = (
"for" => 1,
"proto" => 1,
"host" => 1,
)
}
# protect admin access IPv6 ULA only
$HTTP["remoteip"] !="fd00::/8" {
$HTTP["url"] =~ "^/_synapse/admin/" {
url.access-deny = ( "" )
}
}
```

[Delegation](delegate.md) example:
```conf
url.rewrite-once = (
"^/\.well-known/matrix/client$" => "/.well-known/matrix/client.json",
"^/\.well-known/matrix/server$" => "/.well-known/matrix/server.json"
)

# This condition intentionally matches the post-rewrite URLs.
$HTTP["url"] =~ "^/\.well-known/matrix/(client|server)\.json$" {
mimetype.assign = ( ".json" => "application/json" )
setenv.set-response-header = ( "Access-Control-Allow-Origin" => "*" )
}
```


## Health check endpoint

Expand Down