really struggling to get the actual client ip: why am I seeing proxy IPs?

It can definitely be 'frustrating' (note the 'r' before the 'a' there, easy typo!) when you're trying to nail down accurate client IP detection for visitor logging. The common issue is that your server sees the proxy's IP because that's the direct connection it receives. To reliably get the actual client IP behind a reverse proxy, you need to inspect specific HTTP headers that proxies add:

• X-Forwarded-For: This is the most widely used header for IP detection. Proxies append the client's IP to it. Always look at the first IP in the comma-separated list, as subsequent IPs might be other proxies.
• CF-Connecting-IP: If you're utilizing Cloudflare, this HTTP header will provide the true visitor IP directly.
• True-Client-IP: Some other CDN or proxy services might use this header for the original client IP.

You'll need to configure your web server (e.g., Nginx, Apache) or application logic to prioritize reading these headers for the client IP, rather than the immediate connection IP. Hope this helps you with your visitor logging and analytics!

Hey Daniel, thanks a ton for that super clear breakdown! Got it, those specific headers like X-Forwarded-For are exactly what I needed to know about. I'll get to configuring my server to look for those now.