Simple Local Traefik

Traefik is an open-source edge router that intelligently proxies incoming network traffic to other services. You could run a hosting company with it, or run your local apps with .test domains and full HTTPS.

This project focuses on the simplest steps needed to setup a local Traefik environment so you can start testing with real domain names. Whether for vanity or otherwise.

Instructions

1. Install Docker and Homebrew.

2. Add traefik.test and any desired .test domains to /etc/hosts.

   127.0.0.1  traefik.test
   127.0.0.1  my-site.test

3. Create an external Docker network called web that will be used to connect traefik to other services (e.g. a Docker container running an nginx image).

   docker network create web

4. Install mkcert (and nss if you're using Firefox).

   brew install mkcert
   brew install nss

5. Setup a local root certificate authority (CA) using mkcert.

   mkcert -install

6. Clone this repository

   git clone https://github.com/cwilby/simple-local-traefik.git
   cd simple-local-traefik
   

7. Create a TLS certificate/key file for traefik.test and store in certs folder within the repository. Repeat for each of your domains.

   mkcert -cert-file certs/local.crt -key-file certs/local-key.pem "traefik.test"

8. Start traefik and verify that https://traefik.test/dashboard/ works. Note that the final / is mandatory.

   docker-compose up -d

9. To start a Docker container connected to Traefik:

   docker run nginx:latest \
     --network web \
     --label "traefik.enable=true" \
     --label "traefik.docker.network=web" \
     --label "traefik.http.routers.my-site.entryPoints=https" \
     --label "traefik.http.routers.my-site.rule=Host(`my-site.test`)" \
     --label "traefik.http.routers.my-site.tls=true"

10. To do the same in a seperate docker-compose file:

    version: "3.7"
    
    networks:
      web:
        external: true
    
    services:
      my-site:
        image: nginx:latest
        networks:
          - web
        labels:
          - traefik.enable=true
          - traefik.docker.network=web
          - traefik.http.routers.my-site.entryPoints=https
          - traefik.http.routers.my-site.rule=Host(`my-site.test`)
          - traefik.http.routers.my-site.tls=true

Frequently Asked Questions

What if a Docker container uses a port other than port 80?

You can add a label to your Docker container to set the port, but it's better to let Traefik auto-find the port by looking at the ports exposed by the container.

In other words, if you have a Docker container that exposes port 8080, Traefik will know to use port 8080.

Contributing

Please submit issues if you think something can be improved, and preferably pull requests if you have the time.