vhost-cli 🚀 [>_]

A fast, lightweight, and dependency-free CLI tool written in Bash to automate Virtual Host management and SSL provisioning for Nginx and Caddy.

Whether you need to quickly expose a Node.js/Python app via a reverse proxy, host a static site, or deploy a Single Page Application (SPA) with fallback routing, vhost handles the boilerplate and Let's Encrypt certificates for you in seconds.

✨ Features

• Auto-Detects Web Server: Works seamlessly with Caddy or Nginx.
• Reverse Proxy Mode: Easily proxy traffic to local ports (e.g., Next.js, Express, Docker containers).
• SPA Routing: Built-in try_files configuration for React, Vue, or Angular apps.
• Automated SSL: Zero-downtime Let's Encrypt integration via Certbot (for Nginx) or native ACME (for Caddy).
• Naked Domain Redirects: Automatically redirects domain.com to www.domain.com (or vice versa).
• JSON Output: Run list or inspect with --json for easy integration with dashboards or automation tools.

📦 Installation

Run the following command to download and install vhost globally on your Linux server:

curl -sL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/talamantesvictor/vhost-cli/main/install.sh | bash

Note: The installation requires sudo to place the executable in /usr/local/bin.

🛠️ Usage

vhost requires root privileges to modify server configurations and reload services.

Syntax:

sudo vhost <action> [options] [domain]

Actions

Action	Description
add	Creates a new virtual host and attempts SSL generation.
remove	Deletes an existing virtual host and its certificates.
list	Lists all configured domains on the server.
inspect	Shows detailed info about a specific domain (target, type, SSL status/expiry).

Options (for add)

Flag	Description
-p <port>	Reverse proxy target port (e.g., 3000).
-n <domain>	Naked domain redirect (e.g., domain.com -> www.domain.com).
-e <email>	Email for Let's Encrypt notifications (Highly recommended for Nginx).
-a	Enable SPA mode (fallback routing to /index.html).
-s	Force HTTPS redirect (Enabled by default).
--wildcard	Enable wildcard SSL (*.domain.com).

Global Options

Flag	Description
--caddy	Force Caddy server detection.
--nginx	Force Nginx server detection.
--json	Output results in JSON format (only for list & inspect).

Common Examples

1. Create a Reverse Proxy (Node.js/Docker) Proxy a domain to a local service running on port 3000:

sudo vhost add -p 3000 api.mydomain.com

2. Host a Static Website (or SPA) Serve static files and route 404s to index.html (Perfect for React/Vue):

sudo vhost add -a myapp.com

3. Setup Domain + www Redirect + SSL Email Configure www.domain.com, redirect domain.com to it, and register Let's Encrypt with your email:

sudo vhost add -n domain.com -e me@myemail.com www.domain.com

4. List all sites and Inspect a specific domain

sudo vhost list
sudo vhost inspect myapp.com

# Use --json for API-friendly output
sudo vhost list --json
sudo vhost inspect myapp.com --json

🔒 Requirements

• A Linux environment (Debian/Ubuntu recommended)
• Root (sudo) access
• Nginx + certbot OR Caddy
• Basic DNS utilities (dnsutils package for dig, optional but recommended for pre-flight checks).
  
  

📄 License

MIT License