Is it possible to create a virtual directory on the local server with out a redirect?

[GRIFFCOMMca]

Have a reverse proxy setup, would like to create a virtual local directory /support/, is it possible to point this virtual directory to a real folder on the local server with out doing a redirect to a local website?

[tobychui]

Put the /support/ folder into Zoraxy build in static web server and create a vdir to 127.0.0.1:{static_web_server_port}/support/ should do the trick.

[GRIFFCOMMca]

That means turning on the internal webserver, what i mean is i have a reverse proxy:
https://domain.com > http://127.0.0.1:10443

I want to be able to do https://domain.com/support and that land on the hard drive "support" folder and not get reverse proxied, it looks like i need to do a redired for https://domain.com/support but i can only redirect it to another http protocol, cant i redirect it directly to a folder on the server? as its not "redirecting" as i dont want to the website user to know i did that

[tobychui]

Seeing your profile, you claim yourself as a IT specialist so I skip the basics and go straight to the point. Let me explain it again like you were 5.

A HTTP Proxy can only forward an upstream (e.g. your already running Apache / Nginx or open source project with a dedicated port for web UI) request to downstreams (e.g. your client using Chrome browser) in HTTP Protocol. In order to serve a file from hard drive file system, you need to use a piece software that "converts" and "serve" such file in HTTP protocols. You can think of it as an adapter that open HTML files & read from file system as raw bytes and convert it into HTTP protocol required bytes. They are both byte stream but how it is arranged can vastly different. Zoraxy have a tiny one called "Static Web Server" that ship with it, but if you do not want to use that adapter, you can use other web servers that you preferred.

You might want to ask, why browser can open files on local disks without a web server? Browser do that internally as usually browser have build in "viewers" for different files, like pdf viewer, image viewer and video player. So from user perspective, it can open website from local disks (as files, or start with files:// ), but it is not reading it in HTTP mode. It just use the browser's internal HTML parser to show you the content of the file without the HTTP part. Technically it is more like a text viewer with HTML rendering capability instead of a website. That is why sometime your site will be buggy when open with a browser directly without a web server (e.g. double clicking an html file in Windows), as some web features like AJAX loading and cross origin requests will not work under this mode.

So in simple words, you can choose to not use the internal static web server and opt for something else like Apache or Nginx that serve your folder, but you will still need to have a web server serving your file on disks in order for it to be processed by a HTTP proxy.

[GRIFFCOMMca]

I have ignored what appears to be an insult... so getting back to to being professional... Apache HTTP server can do it, .. is there a way for your software to do it (as you wrote it and i would assume you are aware of how all the other services work that exist).

[tobychui]

I am sorry if my best attempt to explain why a reverse proxy server is not a HTTP server make you feel insulted. I am not a native English speaker and I learn my English from Reddit, maybe that explains why.

Back to the topic, I am well aware that the Apache web server can do it because it is a full feature web server at its core. Zoraxy, on the other hand, is designed for handling HTTP proxy, and static web server is just one of the utilities function that it provides. It is technically possible for someone to contribute code that expands the static web server capabilities to achieve what you wanted, it is not currently on my roadmap at least.

Here's the thing, as I have mentioned in #460 , Zoraxy is never intended to replace any fully featured web server like Apache and Nginx. It is a great tool to get started with your first homelab networking structure, but its role is only guide you through the basics so you can move to, let say Caddy or Traefik later down the road (which, to be honest, it is really rare that a small homelab with a few machines will need that kind of professional grade tools). If you are comfortable to work with Apache, you should not be switching to Zoraxy.

[GRIFFCOMMca]

This was the reason for the question, i am aware this is not a full webserver, although you do have a webserver built in. It maybe what we need isnt possible, i wanted to avoid created the internal server then have a url in the reverse proxy "redirect" to that internal server, i assume this isnt possible as thats more of a complete webserver method?

What it appears i need is a redirect to a local disk folder, so /store/ points and serves files from a folder that doesnt "redirect" the URL as that will create issue from the browser perspective, we would like https://domain.com/store to NOT forward that to the back stream server, and serve it from the local holder instead with out the need of creating another internet webserver then having the browser "see" a "redirect" on that URL

[tobychui]

Ok, I think some clarification is needed here.

Firstly, Reverse proxy is not redirect. Zoraxy will not offer redirection response in reverse proxy (with one exception which is missing tail slash in URI). In apache and nginx implementation, they have fork a process from the main process to serve those local file via an internet web server and place a router in front of it. Just Zoraxy expose that internal mechanism for you as an UI (a single static web server, not multiple as in apache / nginx) doesn't means they are two different things.

Secondly, Zoraxy do not redirect your virtual directory. If your browsers are seeing redirection from your vdir site, it must be backend that is confused about the setup (which is also why I always told ppl not to use vdir unless the upstream is a static resources server or a custom site that purposely build for vdir reverse proxy). Use a subdomain like store.domain.com instead. Commonly screw up sites in vdir mode includes wordpress and also commonly seen in self hosted sites that requires you to enter a "primary domain / site domain" during setup.

Thirdly, if your site can be visited by your client in redirection mode (e.g. domain.com/store redirects to domain.com:8081/ and your client browser still see something instead of connection lost / closed), it means there are something wrong in your upstream setup. For example, listening port set to :8081 instead of 127.0.0.1:8081 and / or invalid firewall settings.

Hope this drawing can help you understand better how a reverse proxy is suppose to work.

Updates: By forward rule I mean "HTTP Proxy" rule in Zoraxy, in Zoraxy's view it is request that it need to forward to upstream, but in client's / browser view, it is a reverse proxy request.