Nginx Cheatsheet

Configuration files

• /etc/nginx/nginx.conf
• /etc/nginx/sites-available/*
• /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/*

# start stop restart status
$ sudo service nginx start
$ sudo service nginx stop
$ sudo service nginx restart

$ systemctl status nginx

# check nginx configuration for syntax errors
$ sudo nginx -t

$ nginx -s stop
$ nginx -s reload
$ nginx -s reopen
$ nginx -s quit

Basic server block structure

server {
  listen 80;
  server_name example.com www.example.com;
  location / {
    # other configurations
  }
}

Redirect HTTP to HTTPS

server {
  listen 80;
  server_name example.com
  return 301 https://$host$request_uri;
}

Root Directive

server {
  ...
  location / {
    root /path/to/your/files;
    index index.html;
  }
  ...
}

Proxy Pass

server {
  ...
  location /app {
    proxy_pass http://backend_server;
    proxy_set_header Host $host;
    proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
  }
  ...
}