Tips and tricks
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🚀 How to Host FE + BE on a Mac Mini with Caddy (Auto SSL)
This setup will:
- Route
zoomitthemes.go.ro/api/*→ Backend (port 5437) - Route
zoomitthemes.go.ro/*→ Frontend (port 3000) - Automatically generate Let’s Encrypt SSL certificates
1️⃣ Install Caddy on the Mac Mini
Add a Code block in Gutenberg:
brew install caddy
2️⃣ Create the Caddyfile
Create the file:
/opt/homebrew/etc/Caddyfile
Add this configuration:
zoomitthemes.go.ro {
handle /api/* {
reverse_proxy localhost:5437
} handle {
reverse_proxy localhost:3000
}
}
🔁 What This Does
zoomitthemes.go.ro/api/*→ Backend on port 5437zoomitthemes.go.ro/*→ Frontend on port 3000
3️⃣ Port Forward on Your Router
Forward the following ports (TCP) to your Mac Mini local IP address:
- 80
- 443
This allows Caddy to:
- Receive public traffic
- Automatically generate SSL certificates
4️⃣ Start Caddy
Option A — Run Manually
sudo caddy run --config /opt/homebrew/etc/Caddyfile
Option B — Run as a Service (Recommended)
brew services start caddy
5️⃣ Run Your Applications
🖥 Terminal 1 – Backend
cd yourname-be
npm start
🌐 Terminal 2 – Frontend
cd yourname-fe
npm start
🔐 Automatic SSL
Caddy will automatically request and install Let’s Encrypt SSL certificates the first time someone accesses your domain.
No manual certificate configuration required.
⚠️ Important: Handle the /api Prefix
Your backend must either:
Option A — Handle /api routes directly
OR
Option B — Strip /api in Caddy (Recommended)
Update your Caddyfile like this:
zoomitthemes.go.ro { handle /api/* {
uri strip_prefix /api
reverse_proxy localhost:5437
} handle {
reverse_proxy localhost:3000
}
}
✔ Result
- Public request: https://zoomitthemes.go.ro/api/agents
- Internally becomes: http://localhost:5437/agents
Cleaner backend routes, no /api prefix needed in your Node app.
✅ Final Architecture
Internet
↓
Caddy (Mac Mini)
↓
├── FE → localhost:3000
└── BE → localhost:5437
Run MySQL on Mac Mini with Docker Compose (Full Stack Setup)
This guide shows how to run MySQL using Docker Compose on your Mac Mini and connect it to your Backend + Frontend stack.
1️⃣ Create docker-compose.yml
In your project root, create a file named:
docker-compose.yml
Add the following configuration:
services:
db:
image: mysql:8
container_name: yourname-db
restart: unless-stopped
ports:
- "3306:3306"
environment:
MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD: ${MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD:-root}
MYSQL_DATABASE: yourname
MYSQL_USER: yourname
MYSQL_PASSWORD: yourname
volumes:
- mysql_data:/var/lib/mysqlvolumes:
mysql_data:
2️⃣ Start MySQL on Your Mac Mini
Run:
docker compose up -d
This will:
- Pull MySQL 8 image
- Start the container
- Create a persistent Docker volume (
mysql_data) - Expose MySQL on port 3306
3️⃣ Run Database Migrations
npm run migrate
4️⃣ Start the Backend
npm start
Your backend should now connect to:
localhost:3306
💾 Data Persistence
Your MySQL data is stored inside a Docker volume:
mysql_data
This means:
- ✅ Data survives container restarts
- ✅ Data survives system reboots
- ❌ Data is removed only if you manually delete the volume
🧩 Full Stack Running on Mac Mini
┌─────────┬────────┬───────────────────────────┐
│ Service │ Port │ Command │
├─────────┼────────┼───────────────────────────┤
│ MySQL │ 3306 │ docker compose up -d │
├─────────┼────────┼───────────────────────────┤
│ BE │ 5437 │ npm start │
├─────────┼────────┼───────────────────────────┤
│ FE │ 3000 │ npm start (in FE folder) │
├─────────┼────────┼───────────────────────────┤
│ Caddy │ 80/443 │ brew services start caddy │
└─────────┴────────┴───────────────────────────┘
🔐 Your .env Configuration
Your environment file remains the same:
DATABASE_URL=mysql://yourname:yourname@localhost:3306/yourname
🏗 Final Architecture on Mac Mini
Internet
↓
Caddy (80/443)
↓
Frontend (3000)
↓
Backend (5437)
↓
MySQL Docker (3306)
↓
Docker Volume (mysql_data)