Nginx

Config Commands

Learn Nginx configuration file structure, server blocks (virtual hosts), location directives, and best practices for organizing complex configurations with includes and modular design.

8 commands

Pro Tips

Organize server blocks in `/etc/nginx/sites-available/` and symlink to `sites-enabled/` for easy management.

Use `include` directives to break large configs into modular files (e.g., `ssl-params.conf`, `security-headers.conf`).

Set appropriate `server_names_hash_bucket_size` if you have many long domain names to avoid startup errors.

Place most specific `location` blocks first - Nginx uses longest prefix match for location selection.

Common Mistakes

The `root` directive in location blocks is inherited but can be overridden - be careful with nested locations.

Changes to nginx.conf require a reload/restart, but Nginx validates syntax before applying to prevent downtime.

Commands

Check specific config

$ sudo nginx -c /path/to/nginx.conf -t

Test a specific configuration file

Show config path

$ nginx -t 2>&1 | grep 'configuration file'

Show path to main configuration file

Disable site

$ sudo rm /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/<site>

Disable a site configuration

Edit main config

$ sudo nano /etc/nginx/nginx.conf

Edit main Nginx configuration

Edit site config

$ sudo nano /etc/nginx/sites-available/<site>

Edit site-specific configuration

Enable site

$ sudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/<site> /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/

Enable a site configuration

List enabled sites

$ ls -la /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/

List all enabled site configurations

List available sites

$ ls -la /etc/nginx/sites-available/

List all available site configurations