[TheSmiddy]

how would npm install nginx be different from [yum|apt] install nginx?

[diamondo25]

Its a local installation, inside the folder, instead on the operating system. Also, other people will automatically install it when the package is saves inside the package.json or yarn file. You can also limit the version you want with these files, that the end user dont need to think about. Just yarn install :)

[11235813213455]

  serv() { docker run --rm --name "nginx-${1:-8000}" -p "${1:-8000}:80" "${@:2}" -v $PWD:/usr/share/nginx/html:ro caub/nginx-dev; }

this is what I do to run a local static server, you could run nginx with a config for proxying on docker as well

also yarn.. bleh, just npm, nowadays it's even faster (on linux)

[11235813213455]

source of caub/nginx-dev: https://github.com/caub/docker-images/tree/master/nginx-dev

[wild_preference]

I'd like to double-down here on the benefit of having a local installation of a reverse proxy vs what yum/apt gives you.

Though this is the main reason I use Caddy over Nginx. I have my Caddy executable and config for all my projects right there in the home root. I ssh into one of my cheap vps and I'm an `ls` away from remembering how to configure it.

Meanwhile, every time I use Nginx I have to remember where the different folders are that it uses, where the configs are, and how to even start/stop/reload it. I usually symlink its config to the home root and paste a few common commands into ~/README.md for future-me.

Obviously, at a larger scale where you're automating your machines, this doesn't really matter. But at any scale under that where you're sshing into different machines, it becomes a nice to have.

[TomMarius]

On top of what others said, ease of use during (team) development through simplicity and consistency - some developers have Macs, some have Linux, some have Windows - and no one wants a work project altering their system anyhow.