Help Request: Nginx Reverse Proxy + Tailscale + OpenCloud Redirect Loop & Metadata Space Error

[Simonetrandafir]

I'm trying to set up a Tailscale-based internal network to serve:

• an Angular frontend (served via Nginx),
• a Node.js backend (/api/),
• and OpenCloud (/drive/) as a file storage service.

Everything runs inside Docker Compose, all connected via network_mode: service:tailscale.

However, I'm encountering two issues:

• A redirect loop on /drive/ when accessed from the browser.
• A persistent OpenCloud internal error related to missing metadata space.

I'm using Tailscale to create a private overlay network. My frontend container runs Nginx, which acts as a reverse proxy for:

• the backend at http://localhost:3000/,
• and OpenCloud at https://localhost:9090/.

All services are inside Docker containers, with network_mode: service:tailscale to share the same network namespace.

nginx.conf

server {
    listen localhost:80;  
    server_name _;  

    access_log /var/log/nginx/access.log;
    error_log  /var/log/nginx/error.log warn;

    root /usr/share/nginx/html;
    index index.html;

    location /api/ {
        proxy_pass http://localhost:3000/;
        proxy_http_version 1.1;
        proxy_set_header Host $host;
        proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto $scheme;
    }

    location ^~ /drive/ {
        rewrite ^/drive(/.*)$ $1 break;
        proxy_pass https://localhost:9090;
        proxy_ssl_verify off;
        proxy_set_header Host $host;
        proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto $scheme;
    }

    location / {
        index index.html;
        try_files $uri $uri/ /index.html;
    }

    location ~* \.js(\?.*)?$ {
        add_header Content-Type application/javascript;
        default_type application/javascript;
        expires 30d;
        access_log off;
    }

    location ~* \.css(\?.*)?$ {
        add_header Content-Type text/css;
        default_type text/css;
        expires 30d;
        access_log off;
    }

    location ~* \.(ico|png|jpe?g|svg|webp|woff2?|ttf|eot|json|map)$ {
        expires 30d;
        access_log off;
    }
}

docker-compose.yml

services:
  tailscale:
    image: tailscale/tailscale:stable
    network_mode: bridge
    ...

  frontend:
    build:
      context: ./frontend
    network_mode: service:tailscale
    volumes:
      - ./frontend/nginx.conf:/etc/nginx/conf.d/default.conf
    depends_on: [tailscale, backend]
    ...

  backend:
    build:
      context: ./backend
    network_mode: service:tailscale
    ...

  opencloud:
    image: opencloudeu/opencloud-rolling:latest
    network_mode: service:tailscale
    environment:
      OC_URL: https://tailscale.my_domain.net/drive/
      PROXY_HTTP_ADDR: 127.0.0.1:9090
      OC_INSECURE: true
      OC_CONFIG_DIR: /etc/opencloud
      OC_DATA_DIR: /var/lib/opencloud
    volumes:
      - ./opencloudDB/config:/etc/opencloud
      - ./opencloudDB/data:/var/lib/opencloud
    command: [ "-c", "opencloud init --force-overwrite --insecure true; opencloud server" ]

Redirect Loop Issue

Even with the rewrite rule in Nginx, the /drive/ path always redirects back to the frontend instead of reaching OpenCloud. If I remove the rewrite rule, the issue becomes worse: /drive/ enters an infinite redirect loop and never resolves.

Error:

ERR_TOO_MANY_REDIRECTS
Status Code: 308 Permanent Redirect
Location: https://tailscale.my_domain.net/drive/

OpenCloud Error (in logs)

{
  "error": "not found: space jsoncs3-public-share-manager-metadata not found",
  "filters": [
    {
      "type": 2,
      "Term": {
        "Id": {
          "opaque_id": "jsoncs3-public-share-manager-metadata!jsoncs3-public-share-manager-metadata"
        }
      }
    }
  ],
  "message": "failed to list storage spaces"
}

This appears to be a core OpenCloud internal space that isn’t initialized during opencloud init.

What I Need Help With

• How should Nginx properly reverse proxy OpenCloud’s /drive/ without causing a redirect loop?
• What is the correct way to initialize or define the missing jsoncs3-public-share-manager-metadata space?
• Should I use http:// or https:// in proxy_pass if I'm using OC_INSECURE=true?
• Is there a best practice for serving OpenCloud behind Nginx with Tailscale + network_mode: service:tailscale?

[ffuhrnew]

In your docker-compose.yml you wrote:

OC_URL: https://127.0.0.1:9090

If you connect directly to this specific URL --> Is it working?
If you reverse proxy your OpenCloud Installation towards the target

https://name.my_domain.net/drive/

this won´t work. Change the OC_URL to sth like:

https://cloud.my_domain.net
or:
https://drive.my_domain.net

and change your nginx reverse proxxy settings accordingly.

Please check out, if your OpenCloud Installation really listens on port 9090!

[Simonetrandafir]

Sorry for the misunderstanding. I mistakenly copied the wrong version. I’ve already tried with:
OC_URL: https://tailscale.my_domain.net/drive/
Since the public domain is provided directly by Tailscale, I can’t customize it or create a third-level subdomain. If you can also help me understand whether such customization is possible and how to configure it, that would be very helpful. But the issue is exactly as described, and it occurs precisely when setting:
OC_URL: https://tailscale.my_domain.net/drive/
I’ll try to check whether OpenCloud is actually listening on port 9090 or if I can access the page via localhost.