Supabase Self-Hosted API Gateway: From Domain Setup to Security Optimization

D: 🚀 Introduction
Supabase is an open-source Firebase alternative that provides a PostgreSQL database, authentication, and real-time capabilities. While Supabase offers a managed cloud solution, many enterprises prefer self-hosting for better control, compliance, and cost efficiency. One critical component in a self-hosted Supabase setup is the API Gateway, which acts as the entry point for all client requests.

In this guide, we’ll walk through:
✅ Setting up a custom domain for your Supabase API Gateway
✅ Configuring HTTPS for secure communication
✅ Optimizing security with rate limiting, CORS, and JWT validation
✅ Performance tuning for high availability

🔧 Step 1: Setting Up a Custom Domain

By default, Supabase self-hosted instances use a local or IP-based URL (e.g., http://localhost:3000 or http://192.168.1.100:3000). For production, you need a custom domain (e.g., api.yourdomain.com).

Example: Configuring Nginx as a Reverse Proxy

1. Install Nginx (if not already installed):

   sudo apt update && sudo apt install nginx -y

2. Configure Nginx (/etc/nginx/sites-available/supabase-api):

   server {
      listen 80;
      server_name api.yourdomain.com;
   
      location / {
          proxy_pass http://localhost:3000; # Supabase default port
          proxy_set_header Host $host;
          proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
      }
   }

3. Enable the configuration:

   sudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/supabase-api /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/
   sudo nginx -t && sudo systemctl restart nginx

📌 Pro Tip: Use Cloudflare or AWS Route 53 for DNS management to improve reliability.

🔒 Step 2: Enabling HTTPS (SSL/TLS)

A secure API gateway requires HTTPS. Let’s use Let’s Encrypt for free SSL certificates.

Using Certbot for SSL

1. Install Certbot:

   sudo apt install certbot python3-certbot-nginx -y

2. Obtain a certificate:

   sudo certbot --nginx -d api.yourdomain.com

3. Certbot auto-configures Nginx to use HTTPS. Test with:

   curl https://api.yourdomain.com/rest/v1/

🔐 Security Note:

• Enable HTTP/2 in Nginx for better performance.
• Set up automatic certificate renewal:

  sudo certbot renew --dry-run

🛡️ Step 3: Security Optimization

A self-hosted API gateway must be hardened against attacks.

1. Rate Limiting (Prevent DDoS)

Add to Nginx config:

limit_req_zone $binary_remote_addr zone=supabase_limit:10m rate=10r/s;

server {
    ...
    location / {
        limit_req zone=supabase_limit burst=20 nodelay;
        proxy_pass http://localhost:3000;
    }
}

2. JWT Validation (Block Unauthorized Requests)

Supabase uses JWT for auth. Validate tokens at the gateway:

location /auth/v1/ {
    if ($http_authorization = "") {
        return 401;
    }
    proxy_pass http://localhost:3000;
}

3. CORS Restrictions

Only allow trusted domains:

add_header 'Access-Control-Allow-Origin' 'https://yourfrontend.com';
add_header 'Access-Control-Allow-Methods' 'GET, POST, OPTIONS';
add_header 'Access-Control-Allow-Headers' 'Authorization, Content-Type';

⚡ Step 4: Performance Tuning

To handle high traffic:

✅ Enable Gzip Compression (Nginx):

gzip on;
gzip_types application/json text/css;

✅ Database Connection Pooling:
Configure Supabase config.toml:

[api]
max_connections = 200

✅ Load Balancing (For HA):
Use multiple Supabase instances behind Nginx:

upstream supabase_servers {
    server 192.168.1.100:3000;
    server 192.168.1.101:3000;
}

server {
    location / {
        proxy_pass http://supabase_servers;
    }
}

🎯 Conclusion

A well-configured Supabase self-hosted API Gateway ensures:
✔ Security (HTTPS, rate limiting, JWT checks)
✔ Performance (Gzip, load balancing)
✔ Reliability (Custom domain, automated SSL)

By following this guide, you’ll have a production-ready Supabase setup! 🚀

🔗 Further Reading:

• Supabase Self-Hosting Docs
• Nginx Optimization Tips

Got questions? Drop them below! 👇