Proxy Admaxxer Through Apache (mod_proxy)

Apache HTTP Server's mod_proxy and mod_proxy_http modules let you forward specific URL paths to an upstream server while keeping your domain in the browser. This is the standard approach for any Apache-served site — shared hosting excluded, since shared hosts typically disable mod_proxy.

Why Proxy?

• Ad-blocker bypass. Requests routed through your domain are not matched by blocklists targeting admaxxer.com.
• Consolidate TLS. All traffic uses your existing SSL certificate — no additional certificate management.
• Control. Apache config gives you fine-grained control: timeouts, header rewriting, caching, and access logging — all in one place.

Prerequisites

• Apache 2.4+ with mod_proxy, mod_proxy_http, and mod_ssl enabled.
• Root or sudo access to edit the virtual host config or .htaccess.
• Your Admaxxer workspace ID from Connections › Install.

Step 1 — Enable Proxy Modules

sudo a2enmod proxy proxy_http ssl
sudo systemctl reload apache2

Verify they loaded:

apache2ctl -M | grep -E 'proxy|ssl'

You should see proxy_module and proxy_http_module in the list.

Step 2 — Add ProxyPass Directives to Your VirtualHost

Edit your virtual host config (e.g., /etc/apache2/sites-available/yourdomain.conf) and add inside the <VirtualHost> block:

<VirtualHost *:443>
  ServerName yourdomain.com
  # ... existing SSL, DocumentRoot, etc. ...

  # Admaxxer pixel proxy
  SSLProxyEngine on
  ProxyPreserveHost Off

  ProxyPass        /js/script.js    https://admaxxer.com/js/script.js
  ProxyPassReverse /js/script.js    https://admaxxer.com/js/script.js

  ProxyPass        /api/event       https://admaxxer.com/api/event
  ProxyPassReverse /api/event       https://admaxxer.com/api/event

</VirtualHost>

SSLProxyEngine on is required because the upstream uses HTTPS. ProxyPreserveHost Off sends Host: admaxxer.com to the upstream rather than your domain — required for SNI on the Admaxxer side.

Step 3 — Test the Config and Reload

sudo apachectl configtest
sudo systemctl reload apache2

Always run configtest before reloading to catch syntax errors.

Step 4 — Update the Admaxxer Snippet

In Admaxxer go to Connections › Install, enable Custom proxy domain, and enter your domain. Copy the regenerated snippet and update your site's HTML.

Step 5 — Test the Proxy

curl -I https://yourdomain.com/js/script.js
# Expect: HTTP/2 200  content-type: application/javascript

curl -v -X POST https://yourdomain.com/api/event \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{"name":"pageview","url":"https://yourdomain.com/"}'
# Expect: HTTP/2 200 or 204

Optional: .htaccess Method (no VirtualHost access)

If you cannot edit the VirtualHost config but mod_proxy is enabled, use .htaccess:

RewriteEngine On
RewriteRule ^js/script\.js$ https://admaxxer.com/js/script.js [P,L]
RewriteRule ^api/event(.*)$ https://admaxxer.com/api/event$1 [P,L,QSA]

The [P] flag triggers mod_proxy internally. Note: AllowOverride All must be set in your VirtualHost for .htaccess to work.

Troubleshooting

• 500 Internal Server Error. mod_proxy is not enabled, or SSLProxyEngine on is missing. Check /var/log/apache2/error.log for "No protocol handler".
• SSL_connect error to admaxxer.com. Ensure mod_ssl is loaded and the server has network access to port 443 on admaxxer.com. Some firewalls block outbound HTTPS.
• Infinite loop. If your ProxyPass path matches the document root, Apache may proxy to itself. Use specific paths (/js/script.js) not wildcards.
• Caching proxy responses. If you have mod_cache enabled, add CacheDisable /js/script.js and CacheDisable /api/event to avoid stale cached responses.

Rollback

Remove the ProxyPass and ProxyPassReverse lines from the VirtualHost, run apachectl configtest, and reload Apache. Disable the custom proxy domain in Admaxxer to revert the snippet.

Other Proxy Guides

Cloudflare · Vercel · Next.js · Nuxt · Netlify · WordPress · NGINX

See also: Connections › Install for the base snippet.