Dashboard shows "Invalid API Key" when deployed behind external reverse proxy (Traefik)

[Maosalas]

Environment

• OpenWA version: v0.1.6
• Deployment: Docker + external Traefik reverse proxy
• OS: Ubuntu 24.04
• Dashboard URL: custom domain via Traefik (e.g. wa.domain.com)
• API URL: separate subdomain via Traefik (e.g. wa-api.domain.com)

Description

When deploying OpenWA with an external Traefik instance (not the bundled one via with-proxy profile),
the dashboard consistently shows "Invalid API Key" even when using the correct key from logs and .api-key file.

The API itself works correctly — confirmed via curl:

curl -s http://localhost:2785/api/health \
  -H "X-API-Key: <valid-key>"
# returns: {"status":"ok","timestamp":"..."}

Root Cause

The dashboard is a static React app served by Nginx. The Dockerfile.traefik builds the frontend
with the API URL hardcoded (likely http://localhost:2785), which works when both containers share
the same network but breaks in the browser because localhost resolves to the user's machine,
not the VPS.

Additionally, the default nginx/conf.d/default.conf generated by Dockerfile.traefik has no
/api proxy block:

server {
    listen 80;
    server_name localhost;
    root /usr/share/nginx/html;
    index index.html;
    location / {
        try_files $uri $uri/ /index.html;
    }
}

Fix Applied

Adding a proxy block to the Nginx config so /api requests are forwarded to the openwa-api container:

server {
    listen 80;
    server_name localhost;
    root /usr/share/nginx/html;
    index index.html;

    location /api {
        proxy_pass http://openwa-api:2785;
        proxy_set_header Host $host;
        proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
    }

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

Suggested Fix

The Dockerfile.traefik or the dashboard's nginx/conf.d/default.conf should include the /api
proxy block by default, or the React app should support a runtime VITE_API_URL environment variable
so users can point the dashboard to the correct API URL without rebuilding.

Steps to Reproduce

1. Clone the repo
2. Deploy with docker compose up -d using docker-compose.override.yml with external Traefik labels
3. Access dashboard via public domain
4. Enter valid API key → "Invalid API Key" error

Additional Notes

• The bundled with-proxy profile (internal Traefik) was not tested — this issue is specific to
  users bringing their own reverse proxy.
• The API key itself is valid and works via direct curl to the API container.