diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 3c8ce82..1d45b7c 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -25,6 +25,9 @@ upl
     static/index.html  upload tool markup
     static/styles.css  responsive tool styling
     static/app.js      upload scheduler, retries, and browser resume state
+  Deployment
+    deploy/nginx/      nginx reverse proxy example
+    scripts/           reusable local smoke tests
   Validation
     tests/             integration tests for server behavior
     TESTS.md           reusable manual and automated test checklist
@@ -50,3 +53,25 @@ just run
 ```
 
 `just check` also syntax-checks the static browser JavaScript with `node`.
+
+## nginx
+
+Run `upl` on localhost and put nginx in front of it for TLS and access control:
+
+```sh
+UPL_BIND=127.0.0.1:3000 UPL_DATA_DIR=/srv/upl/data upl
+```
+
+Use `deploy/nginx/upl.conf.example` as the starting point for the nginx site.
+Before exposing the service, replace the certificate paths and add a protection
+layer such as HTTP basic auth, an IP allowlist, or VPN-only access.
+
+For a local Docker-based reverse-proxy smoke test:
+
+```sh
+just nginx-smoke
+```
+
+The smoke test binds the Rust server to `0.0.0.0` so the nginx container can
+reach it through Docker's host gateway. The production nginx example keeps the
+server bound to localhost.
diff --git a/TESTS.md b/TESTS.md
index 43f4756..6bd34a3 100644
--- a/TESTS.md
+++ b/TESTS.md
@@ -19,6 +19,11 @@ Keep this file as the reusable verification checklist while implementing
     - `POST /api/uploads/:id/complete` assembles verified chunks.
     - `POST /api/uploads/:id/complete` rejects incomplete uploads.
     - `static/app.js` passes `node --check`.
+- `just nginx-smoke`
+  - Runs upl behind nginx in Docker.
+  - Uploads a 17 MiB file through nginx.
+  - Restarts the Rust backend mid-upload, resumes through nginx, completes, and
+    compares SHA-256 hashes.
 
 ## Manual
 
@@ -40,6 +45,9 @@ features land.
 - Attempt an invalid chunk index and confirm it is rejected.
 - Attempt a wrong-size non-final chunk and confirm it is rejected.
 - Complete an upload and compare the final file with the source file:
+- Install `deploy/nginx/upl.conf.example` on the deployment host, add the real
+  TLS certificate and access-control settings, and repeat the resume scenarios
+  through the public nginx URL.
 
 ```sh
 sha256sum source-file data/complete/uploaded-file
diff --git a/deploy/nginx/upl.conf.example b/deploy/nginx/upl.conf.example
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..5db8439
--- /dev/null
+++ b/deploy/nginx/upl.conf.example
@@ -0,0 +1,37 @@
+# Production shape for browser -> nginx -> upl -> local filesystem.
+#
+# Replace server_name, certificate paths, and access control before exposing
+# this app. Keep upl itself bound to 127.0.0.1.
+
+upstream upl_backend {
+    server 127.0.0.1:3000;
+    keepalive 16;
+}
+
+server {
+    listen 443 ssl http2;
+    server_name uploads.example.com;
+
+    ssl_certificate /etc/letsencrypt/live/uploads.example.com/fullchain.pem;
+    ssl_certificate_key /etc/letsencrypt/live/uploads.example.com/privkey.pem;
+
+    client_max_body_size 64m;
+
+    # Add HTTP basic auth, an IP allowlist, VPN-only access, or another
+    # protection layer before exposing this personal upload tool publicly.
+    # auth_basic "upl";
+    # auth_basic_user_file /etc/nginx/upl.htpasswd;
+
+    location / {
+        proxy_pass http://upl_backend;
+        proxy_http_version 1.1;
+        proxy_request_buffering off;
+        proxy_buffering off;
+        proxy_read_timeout 3600s;
+        proxy_send_timeout 3600s;
+        proxy_set_header Host $host;
+        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
+        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto https;
+        proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
+    }
+}
diff --git a/justfile b/justfile
index d1d140c..76dbf14 100644
--- a/justfile
+++ b/justfile
@@ -10,6 +10,9 @@ static-check:
 clippy:
     cargo clippy --all-targets
 
+nginx-smoke:
+    ./scripts/nginx-smoke.sh
+
 check:
     just fmt
     just test
diff --git a/scripts/nginx-smoke.sh b/scripts/nginx-smoke.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..6a70c38
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/nginx-smoke.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,152 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+set -euo pipefail
+
+backend_port="${UPL_SMOKE_BACKEND_PORT:-39123}"
+proxy_port="${UPL_SMOKE_PROXY_PORT:-39124}"
+nginx_image="${NGINX_IMAGE:-nginx:stable-alpine}"
+
+workspace_dir="$(pwd)"
+mkdir -p "$workspace_dir/target/nginx-smoke"
+tmp_dir="$(mktemp -d "$workspace_dir/target/nginx-smoke/run.XXXXXXXX")"
+data_dir="$tmp_dir/data"
+nginx_conf_dir="$tmp_dir/nginx-conf.d"
+nginx_conf="$nginx_conf_dir/default.conf"
+backend_log="$tmp_dir/backend.log"
+source_file="$tmp_dir/source.bin"
+chunk0="$tmp_dir/chunk0.part"
+chunk1="$tmp_dir/chunk1.part"
+backend_pid=""
+nginx_container="upl-nginx-smoke-$$"
+
+cleanup() {
+    if [[ -n "$backend_pid" ]] && kill -0 "$backend_pid" 2>/dev/null; then
+        kill "$backend_pid" 2>/dev/null || true
+        wait "$backend_pid" 2>/dev/null || true
+    fi
+    docker rm -f "$nginx_container" >/dev/null 2>&1 || true
+    rm -rf "$tmp_dir"
+}
+trap cleanup EXIT
+
+start_backend() {
+    UPL_BIND="0.0.0.0:$backend_port" UPL_DATA_DIR="$data_dir" \
+        cargo run --quiet >"$backend_log" 2>&1 &
+    backend_pid="$!"
+    wait_for "http://127.0.0.1:$backend_port/healthz"
+}
+
+wait_for() {
+    local url="$1"
+    for _ in $(seq 1 80); do
+        if curl -fsS "$url" >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+            return 0
+        fi
+        sleep 0.1
+    done
+
+    echo "Timed out waiting for $url" >&2
+    if [[ -f "$backend_log" ]]; then
+        tail -n 80 "$backend_log" >&2 || true
+    fi
+    return 1
+}
+
+json_field() {
+    local field="$1"
+    node -e '
+const field = process.argv[1];
+let input = "";
+process.stdin.setEncoding("utf8");
+process.stdin.on("data", (chunk) => input += chunk);
+process.stdin.on("end", () => {
+  const value = JSON.parse(input)[field];
+  if (value === undefined) process.exit(2);
+  process.stdout.write(String(value));
+});
+' "$field"
+}
+
+mkdir -p "$data_dir" "$nginx_conf_dir"
+
+cat >"$nginx_conf" <<EOF
+server {
+    listen $proxy_port;
+    client_max_body_size 64m;
+
+    location / {
+        proxy_pass http://host.docker.internal:$backend_port;
+        proxy_http_version 1.1;
+        proxy_request_buffering off;
+        proxy_buffering off;
+        proxy_read_timeout 3600s;
+        proxy_send_timeout 3600s;
+        proxy_set_header Host \$host;
+        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For \$proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
+        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto http;
+        proxy_set_header X-Real-IP \$remote_addr;
+    }
+}
+EOF
+
+start_backend
+
+docker run -d --rm \
+    --name "$nginx_container" \
+    --add-host host.docker.internal:host-gateway \
+    -p "127.0.0.1:$proxy_port:$proxy_port" \
+    -v "$nginx_conf_dir:/etc/nginx/conf.d:ro" \
+    "$nginx_image" >/dev/null
+wait_for "http://127.0.0.1:$proxy_port/healthz"
+
+dd if=/dev/urandom of="$source_file" bs=1M count=17 status=none
+dd if="$source_file" of="$chunk0" bs=1M count=16 status=none
+dd if="$source_file" of="$chunk1" bs=1M skip=16 status=none
+
+size="$(wc -c <"$source_file" | tr -d ' ')"
+create_response="$(
+    curl -fsS \
+        -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
+        -d "{\"name\":\"source.bin\",\"size\":$size,\"last_modified\":1760000000000}" \
+        "http://127.0.0.1:$proxy_port/api/uploads"
+)"
+upload_id="$(printf '%s' "$create_response" | json_field upload_id)"
+
+curl -fsS -X PUT \
+    -H "Content-Type: application/octet-stream" \
+    --data-binary "@$chunk0" \
+    "http://127.0.0.1:$proxy_port/api/uploads/$upload_id/chunks/0" >/dev/null
+
+progress_before_restart="$(
+    curl -fsS "http://127.0.0.1:$proxy_port/api/uploads/$upload_id"
+)"
+printf '%s' "$progress_before_restart" | grep -q '"completed_chunks":\[0\]'
+
+kill "$backend_pid"
+wait "$backend_pid" 2>/dev/null || true
+backend_pid=""
+start_backend
+
+progress_after_restart="$(
+    curl -fsS "http://127.0.0.1:$proxy_port/api/uploads/$upload_id"
+)"
+printf '%s' "$progress_after_restart" | grep -q '"completed_chunks":\[0\]'
+
+curl -fsS -X PUT \
+    -H "Content-Type: application/octet-stream" \
+    --data-binary "@$chunk1" \
+    "http://127.0.0.1:$proxy_port/api/uploads/$upload_id/chunks/1" >/dev/null
+
+complete_response="$(
+    curl -fsS -X POST "http://127.0.0.1:$proxy_port/api/uploads/$upload_id/complete"
+)"
+complete_path="$(printf '%s' "$complete_response" | json_field file_path)"
+
+source_hash="$(sha256sum "$source_file" | awk '{print $1}')"
+complete_hash="$(sha256sum "$complete_path" | awk '{print $1}')"
+
+if [[ "$source_hash" != "$complete_hash" ]]; then
+    echo "Checksum mismatch after nginx-proxied resume" >&2
+    exit 1
+fi
+
+echo "nginx smoke ok: $upload_id"