X-Forwarded-Proto header

The HTTP X-Forwarded-Proto (XFP) request header is a de-facto standard header for identifying the protocol (HTTP or HTTPS) that a client used to connect to a proxy or load balancer.

Server access logs contain the protocol used between the server and the load balancer, but not the protocol used between the client and the load balancer. To determine the protocol used between the client and the load balancer, the X-Forwarded-Proto request header can be used.

A standardized version of this header is the HTTP Forwarded header, although it's much less frequently used.

Syntax

X-Forwarded-Proto: <protocol>

Directives

<protocol>

The forwarded protocol (http or https).

Examples

X-Forwarded-Proto client protocol

The following header indicates that the original request was made over HTTPS before being forwarded by a proxy or load balancer:

X-Forwarded-Proto: https

Non-standard forms

The following forms may be seen in request headers:

# Microsoft
Front-End-Https: on

X-Forwarded-Protocol: https
X-Forwarded-Ssl: on
X-Url-Scheme: https

Specifications

Not part of any current specification. The standardized version of this header is Forwarded.

See also

• X-Forwarded-Host, X-Forwarded-For headers
• Forwarded