Articles/HTTP

X-Forwarded-Proto Header Explained

What the HTTP X-Forwarded-Proto header does and when it's used.

Published October 15, 2026

The X-Forwarded-Proto header tells a backend server which protocol (http or https) the original client used.

Key points

  • Commonly needed behind a reverse proxy that terminates TLS, so the backend app knows the original request was actually secure
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