[b]"What’s the difference between nginx forward proxy and reverse proxy? Which one should I use?"[/b] Alternatively,

Forward proxy vs reverse proxy in nginx is all about direction, mate.

Forward: Client -> Proxy -> Internet
Reverse: Client -> Proxy -> Your Servers

Use forward for anonymity (like scraping without getting blocked). Reverse for security + performance (like caching static files).

Nginx’s blog breaks it down nicely—worth a read!