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Nginx Cheat Sheet

Nginx Cheat Sheet

Nginx is one of the world's most popular web servers, reverse proxies and load balancers. This cheat sheet covers the most commonly used commands, configuration examples, SSL setup, troubleshooting tips and performance optimization techniques.

NginxLinuxDevOpsHosting

In This Guide

✓ Service Commands
✓ Configuration Testing
✓ Virtual Hosts
✓ Reverse Proxy
✓ SSL Configuration
✓ Redirect Rules
✓ Security Headers
✓ Performance Tuning
✓ Troubleshooting
✓ CloudRevol Optimizations

Nginx Service Commands

These are the most commonly used commands for managing the Nginx service on Ubuntu and most Linux distributions.

sudo systemctl start nginx
sudo systemctl stop nginx
sudo systemctl restart nginx
sudo systemctl reload nginx
sudo systemctl status nginx
sudo systemctl enable nginx
sudo systemctl disable nginx

Configuration Validation

Always validate your configuration before reloading Nginx.

sudo nginx -t
sudo nginx -T

Important Nginx Locations

/etc/nginx/nginx.conf
/etc/nginx/sites-available/
/etc/nginx/sites-enabled/
/var/log/nginx/access.log
/var/log/nginx/error.log
/etc/nginx/conf.d/
/etc/nginx/snippets/

Monitor Nginx Logs

tail -f /var/log/nginx/access.log
tail -f /var/log/nginx/error.log
grep "500" /var/log/nginx/access.log
grep "404" /var/log/nginx/access.log

Basic Virtual Host Example

Simple website configuration serving content from a web root directory.

server {

    listen 80;

    server_name example.com www.example.com;

    root /var/www/example;

    index index.php index.html index.htm;

    location / {
        try_files $uri $uri/ /index.php?$query_string;
    }

}

Enable Virtual Host

sudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/example.com /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/
sudo nginx -t && sudo systemctl reload nginx

Redirect HTTP To HTTPS

Force all visitors to use secure HTTPS connections.

server {

    listen 80;

    server_name example.com www.example.com;

    return 301 https://$host$request_uri;

}

SSL Certificate Configuration

server {

    listen 443 ssl http2;

    server_name example.com;

    ssl_certificate /etc/ssl/example.crt;
    ssl_certificate_key /etc/ssl/example.key;

}

Generate Free SSL Certificate With Certbot

sudo apt install certbot python3-certbot-nginx -y
sudo certbot --nginx -d example.com -d www.example.com

Reverse Proxy Example

Commonly used for Node.js, Next.js, APIs, Docker containers and backend services.

server {

    listen 80;

    server_name api.example.com;

    location / {

        proxy_pass http://localhost:3000;

        proxy_set_header Host $host;

        proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;

        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;

        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto $scheme;

    }

}

Nginx For Node.js Applications

location / {

    proxy_pass http://127.0.0.1:3000;

    proxy_http_version 1.1;

    proxy_set_header Upgrade $http_upgrade;

    proxy_set_header Connection "upgrade";

    proxy_set_header Host $host;

}

PHP-FPM Configuration

location ~ \.php$ {

    include snippets/fastcgi-php.conf;

    fastcgi_pass unix:/run/php/php8.3-fpm.sock;

}

Basic Load Balancer Example

upstream backend {

    server 10.0.0.10:3000;

    server 10.0.0.11:3000;

    server 10.0.0.12:3000;

}

server {

    listen 80;

    location / {

        proxy_pass http://backend;

    }

}

Enable Gzip Compression

Gzip significantly reduces page size and improves load times.

gzip on;

gzip_comp_level 5;

gzip_min_length 256;

gzip_vary on;

gzip_proxied any;

gzip_types
text/plain
text/css
application/json
application/javascript
application/xml
text/javascript;

Browser Cache Configuration

location ~* \.(jpg|jpeg|png|gif|ico|css|js)$ {

    expires 30d;

    add_header Cache-Control "public";

}

Security Headers

add_header X-Frame-Options "SAMEORIGIN";

add_header X-Content-Type-Options "nosniff";

add_header Referrer-Policy "strict-origin";

add_header X-XSS-Protection "1; mode=block";

Rate Limiting

Protect applications against abuse and brute force attacks.

limit_req_zone $binary_remote_addr zone=login:10m rate=5r/s;

location /login {

    limit_req zone=login burst=20 nodelay;

}

Block Access To Hidden Files

location ~ /\. {

    deny all;

    access_log off;

    log_not_found off;

}

Performance Optimization Checklist

🚀 Speed Optimization

  • ✓ Enable Gzip Compression
  • ✓ Configure Browser Cache
  • ✓ Enable HTTP/2
  • ✓ Optimize Proxy Buffers
  • ✓ Use CDN

🛡 Security Hardening

  • ✓ Enable SSL/TLS
  • ✓ Configure Security Headers
  • ✓ Block Hidden Files
  • ✓ Enable Rate Limiting
  • ✓ Disable Server Tokens

CloudRevol AcceleronX Nginx Optimization

At CloudRevol, we go beyond standard Nginx deployments. Our AcceleronX Hosting Stack includes advanced web server, database and infrastructure optimizations designed to improve website speed, scalability and reliability without requiring application changes.

⚡

Gzip Compression

Reduces page size and improves load times.

🚀

Worker Process Tuning

Automatically adjusted based on available CPU cores.

📈

Proxy Buffer Optimization

Improves reverse proxy efficiency and throughput.

🔒

Security Hardening

Hardened configurations to reduce attack surfaces.

💾

Automated Backups

Protect websites and applications with scheduled backups.

🔍

Continuous Monitoring

Proactive monitoring and issue detection.

Nginx Troubleshooting Commands

sudo nginx -t
sudo systemctl status nginx
sudo journalctl -u nginx -f
sudo netstat -tulpn | grep :80
sudo netstat -tulpn | grep :443
sudo ss -tulpn
curl -I https://example.com
curl -v https://example.com

Why Businesses Choose CloudRevol

⭐ Trusted By Businesses Worldwide

Why Businesses Choose CloudRevol

CloudRevol delivers enterprise-grade hosting backed by expert engineers, AcceleronX optimization, security hardening, proactive monitoring and exceptional support.

🚀

AcceleronX Performance

Optimized stack for maximum website speed.

🔄

Free Migration

Seamless migration without additional costs.

💰

No Management Fees

Technical management included at no extra charge.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Nginx?

Nginx is a high-performance web server, reverse proxy, load balancer and caching solution.

How do I restart Nginx?

Use: sudo systemctl restart nginx

How do I test Nginx configuration?

Use: sudo nginx -t

Where are Nginx logs stored?

Usually in /var/log/nginx/access.log and /var/log/nginx/error.log

What is a reverse proxy?

A reverse proxy sits between visitors and backend applications, improving performance and security.

Need Help Optimizing Nginx?

CloudRevol provides managed cloud hosting, Nginx optimization, performance tuning, free migration, security monitoring, automated backups and expert support.

Talk To Our TeamExplore Hosting