nginx.conf

server {
    listen 80 default_server;
    server_name _;
    
    gzip_vary on;
    gzip_proxied any;
    gzip_comp_level 6;
    gzip_buffers 16 8k;
    gzip_http_version 1.1;
    gzip_min_length 0;
    gzip_types text/plain application/javascript text/css application/json application/x-javascript text/xml application/xml application/xml+rss text/javascript application/vnd.ms-fontobject application/x-font-ttf font/opentype;

    # react app & front-end files
    location / {
        root /var/www/{MY_FOLDER};
        try_files $uri /index.html;
    }  

    # node api reverse proxy
    location /api/ {
        proxy_pass http://localhost:{PORT}/;
        proxy_http_version 1.1;
        proxy_set_header Upgrade $http_upgrade;
        proxy_set_header Connection 'upgrade';
        proxy_set_header Host $host;
        proxy_cache_bypass $http_upgrade;
    }
}