Domains & SSL

Configure custom domains and automatic SSL certificates for your apps.

Custom Domains

Setting a Domain

Set the domain through the Plitho dashboard:

1. Go to Apps → your app → Domain tab
2. Enter your domain (e.g., myapp.com)
3. Save

DNS Configuration

Point your domain to the server:

Record Type	Name	Value
A	@ or myapp	Server IP address
AAAA	@ or myapp	Server IPv6 (if available)

Adding Multiple Domains

Add extra domains via the dashboard:

1. Go to Apps → your app → Domain tab
2. Enter the additional domain
3. Click Add Domain

Each domain gets its own SSL certificate.

IP-Based Deployment (No Domain)

If you don't set a domain, your app is accessible directly at http://your-server:PORT. No nginx proxy, no SSL.

SSL Certificates

Automatic SSL

Plitho automatically provisions SSL certificates via Let's Encrypt when you configure a domain. No manual setup required.

How It Works

1. You set a domain in the dashboard
2. Plitho generates an nginx config with SSL
3. The agent requests a certificate from Let's Encrypt
4. Certificate auto-renews before expiry

Resetting SSL

If you need to reissue a certificate:

1. Go to Apps → your app → Domain tab
2. Click Reset SSL

Or via SSH:

ssh -p 2222 plitho@your-server reset-ssl myapp

Nginx Configuration

Plitho generates nginx configs automatically for each app. You don't need to manage nginx yourself — Plitho handles it.

How Nginx Works

When you deploy an app with a domain:

1. Plitho generates an nginx config for your app
2. The config proxies requests to your app's port
3. SSL is handled at the nginx level
4. Your app only needs to listen on its server_port

Custom Nginx Configuration

For advanced use cases, you can add extra nginx configuration using the nginx.include_file option in your plitho.yml:

apps:
  - name: myapp
    nginx:
      include_file: /etc/nginx/snippets/myapp.conf

This adds an include directive to the generated nginx config, letting you inject custom configuration without overriding Plitho's generated config.

What You Can Do With It

Custom headers:

# /etc/nginx/snippets/myapp.conf
proxy_set_header X-Custom-Header "my-value";
add_header X-Frame-Options "SAMEORIGIN";

Rate limiting:

# /etc/nginx/snippets/myapp.conf
limit_req zone=api burst=20 nodelay;

Custom error pages:

# /etc/nginx/snippets/myapp.conf
error_page 502 503 504 /50x.html;
location = /50x.html {
    root /usr/share/nginx/html;
}

WebSocket support:

# /etc/nginx/snippets/myapp.conf
proxy_http_version 1.1;
proxy_set_header Upgrade $http_upgrade;
proxy_set_header Connection "upgrade";

Request body size:

# /etc/nginx/snippets/myapp.conf
client_max_body_size 100M;

Note

The include_file path must be accessible by the agent (runs as root). Place custom configs in a location like /etc/nginx/snippets/.

Tip

Most apps don't need custom nginx config. Plitho's generated config handles SSL, proxying, and headers automatically. Only use include_file if you need something specific.

Troubleshooting

SSL not provisioning

• Make sure DNS points to the server
• Check that port 80 is open (needed for Let's Encrypt challenge)
• Check the agent logs if you have admin access

Mixed content warnings

If your app loads resources over HTTP while on HTTPS:

• Enable "Force HTTPS" in the dashboard (Apps → your app → Domain tab)
• Use relative URLs or https:// for all resource links