Table of Contents

Local HTTPS Services with Custom .local domains

2025-06-05
#local #web #configuration #container

This guide explains how to serve multiple local services on custom domains (e.g. .local → service1.local) with HTTPS, using Caddy and no external DNS or certificates.

Prerequisites

Arch Linux (or derivative)
Services running locally on different ports (e.g., 8080, 9090)
caddy installed:
```
sudo pacman -S caddy
```

Step 1: Map Local Hostnames

Edit /etc/hosts:

sudoedit /etc/hosts

Add:

127.0.0.1  service1.local service2.local service3.local

Step 2: Configure Caddyfile

Edit or create your Caddyfile (default path: /etc/caddy/Caddyfile):

service1.local {
    tls internal
    reverse_proxy 127.0.0.1:8080
}

service2.local {
    tls internal
    reverse_proxy 127.0.0.1:9090
}

This tells Caddy to:

Use internal TLS (self-signed CA)
Reverse-proxy requests based on hostname and forward to corresponding ports

Step 3: Start Caddy

Restart the service to apply changes:

sudo systemctl restart caddy

Step 4: Trust Caddy’s Local CA (One-Time Setup)

1. Copy the root certificate:

sudo cp /var/lib/caddy/pki/authorities/local/root.crt /etc/ca-certificates/trust-source/anchors/caddy-local.crt

2. Update the system trust store:

sudo trust extract-compat

3. (Optional) Trust in Firefox:

Preferences → Privacy & Security → Certificates → View Certificates → Authorities → Import
Choose /var/lib/caddy/pki/authorities/local/root.crt
Check “Trust this CA to identify websites”

You might need to copy the root.crt into your home and chown it to load it in firefox...

Done!

Now you can access:

https://service1.local → 127.0.0.1:8080
https://service2.local → 127.0.0.1:9090

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