What's the difference between nginx forward proxy and reverse proxy? Which one should I use? Alternatively,

OP here—thanks for all the replies! This makes way more sense now. I set up a reverse proxy for my web app, and it’s working like a charm for SSL and load balancing.

Still curious though: anyone use a forward proxy in a non-corporate setup? Like for personal projects? Might experiment with it just for fun.

Also, big shoutout for the Docker tip—made testing way easier.