Redirects: proxy vs. 301.

Not every path needs to be proxied. Some should permanently move. A reverse proxy is also the right place to enforce HTTPS and the canonical host.

When to redirect instead of proxy

• The URL structure changed. /old-blog/x → /blog/x.
• You're deprecating a section entirely.
• You want to consolidate example.com → www.example.com.
• You want to force HTTPS.

The right status code

• 301 Moved Permanently — SEO transfers. Use for stable, permanent moves.
• 302 Found — temporary. Use sparingly.
• 308 Permanent Redirect — like 301 but preserves the HTTP method (important for non-GET requests).

Pattern: redirect rule in front of proxy rules

const RULES = [
  // Force HTTPS on canonical host
  { test: (url) => url.protocol === 'http:', redirect: (url) => `https://${url.host}${url.pathname}${url.search}` },

  // Consolidate apex onto www
  { test: (url) => url.hostname === 'example.com', redirect: (url) => `https://www.example.com${url.pathname}${url.search}` },

  // Permanent path move
  { test: (url) => url.pathname.startsWith('/old-blog/'), redirect: (url) => `https://www.example.com/blog${url.pathname.slice(9)}${url.search}` },

  // then proxy rules…
];

for (const r of RULES) {
  if (r.test && r.test(url)) {
    return Response.redirect(r.redirect(url), 301);
  }
}

Gotchas