Configure Apache to act as a reverse proxy by Laragon

To serve the content from localhost:3001 directly when you access http://localhost, you need to configure Apache to act as a reverse proxy. This setup will forward requests from http://localhost to http://localhost:3001 without the user needing to manually enter the port.

Here's how you can set it up:

Ensure the Necessary Modules Are Enabled:

You need the mod_proxy and mod_proxy_http modules enabled in your Apache configuration. In the Apache configuration file (httpd.conf), ensure the following lines are uncommented:

LoadModule proxy_module modules/mod_proxy.so 
LoadModule proxy_http_module modules/mod_proxy_http.so 

Add the Reverse Proxy Configuration:

Add a VirtualHost entry to set up the reverse proxy.

Here's the updated Apache configuration:

<VirtualHost *:80> 
ServerName localhost 
# Proxy settings 
ProxyPreserveHost On 
ProxyPass / http://localhost:3001/ 
ProxyPassReverse / http://localhost:3001/ 
</VirtualHost> 

<VirtualHost *:80> 
DocumentRoot C:\laragon\www\projects\file_manager\server\public 
ServerName admin.promo.local 
</VirtualHost>

Steps to Implement:

Locate the Configuration File:

For Laragon, you might find the configuration file at C:\laragon\bin\apache\httpd-2.4.35\conf\httpd.conf or a similar path.

Edit the Configuration:

• Open the configuration file with a text editor.
• Add the VirtualHost entry for localhost with the proxy settings as shown above.
• Ensure the necessary modules are loaded by checking for the LoadModule lines mentioned above.
• 
  

Save and Restart Apache:

• Save the changes to the configuration file.
• Restart Apache to apply the changes. This can be done through the Laragon control panel or via command line.