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

Hey!

Your understanding’s pretty spot-on. nginx forward proxy is client-side (hiding IPs, filtering traffic). Reverse proxy is server-side (load balancing, SSL, caching).

Real-world tip: Use reverse proxy if you’ve got multiple apps on one server (like Node + PHP). Forward proxy? Rare unless you’re managing internal traffic.

Try setting up a simple reverse proxy first—it’s way more common for web apps.