Deploying Flask with Nginx Reverse Proxy on AWS Lightsail

A production-ready template for deploying a Flask web server behind an Nginx reverse proxy on AWS Lightsail Containers.

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Table of Contents

• Overview
• Prerequisites
• Setup & Deployment
• Logging & Monitoring
• Cleanup
• FAQ
• License

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Overview

Deploy a secure, scalable Flask app with:

• Nginx Reverse Proxy: Routes traffic to Flask and hides backend details.
• AWS Lightsail Containers: Managed Docker hosting with simplicity.
• Isolated Environments: Separate containers for proxy and app logic.

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Prerequisites

• AWS Account
• AWS CLI + Lightsail Control Plugin
• Docker

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Setup & Deployment

1. Clone the Repository

git clone https://github.com/CynthiaWahome/lightsail-nginx-flask.git
cd lightsail-nginx-flask

2. Build and Test Locally

# Build Flask
docker build -t flask-container ./flask

# Build Nginx
docker build -t nginx-container ./nginx

# Run containers
docker run -d -p 5000:5000 --name flask-app flask-container
docker run -d -p 80:80 --name nginx-proxy --link flask-app nginx-container

3. Deploy to AWS Lightsail

# Create service
aws lightsail create-container-service \
  --service-name my-service \
  --power small \
  --scale 1

# Push images (replace X/Y with your versions)
aws lightsail push-container-image \
  --service-name my-service \
  --label flask-container \
  --image flask-container

aws lightsail push-container-image \
  --service-name my-service \
  --label nginx-container \
  --image nginx-container

# Deploy
aws lightsail create-container-service-deployment \
  --service-name my-service \
  --containers file://containers.json \
  --public-endpoint file://public-endpoint.json

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Logging & Monitoring

# Nginx logs
aws lightsail get-container-log \
  --service-name my-service \
  --container-name sample-nginx \
  --log-type "nginx-access"

# Flask logs
aws lightsail get-container-log \
  --service-name my-service \
  --container-name sample-flask \
  --log-type "flask"

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Cleanup

aws lightsail delete-container-service --service-name my-service

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FAQ

Q: Why 502 Bad Gateway?
A: Check FLASK_HOST in containers.json matches the Flask container name.

Q: How to add HTTPS?
A: Configure SSL in Nginx and use AWS Certificate Manager (ACM).

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License

This project is licensed under the Apache License 2.0. See the LICENSE file for more details.