NGINX Cheat Sheet

Here’s a cheat sheet for working with Nginx, a popular web server and reverse proxy server:

Basic Configuration

• Install Nginx:
  • Ubuntu: sudo apt-get install nginx
  • CentOS: sudo yum install nginx
• Start/Stop/Restart Nginx:
  • Start: sudo service nginx start
  • Stop: sudo service nginx stop
  • Restart: sudo service nginx restart
• Nginx Configuration File:
  • Default location: /etc/nginx/nginx.conf
• Test Configuration:
  • Check for syntax errors: nginx -t

Server Blocks (Virtual Hosts)

Basic Server Block:

server {
    listen 80;
    server_name example.com www.example.com;
    location / {
        # Configurations for the root location
    }
}

Multiple Server Blocks:

server {
    listen 80;
    server_name example.com;
    # Configurations for example.com
}

server {
    listen 80;
    server_name www.example.com;
    # Configurations for www.example.com
}

Location Blocks

Basic Location Block:

location / {
    # Configurations for the root location
}

Proxy Pass:

location /app {
    proxy_pass http://backend_server;
    # Additional proxy configurations
}

SSL/TLS Configuration

SSL Certificate Configuration:

server {
    listen 443 ssl;
    server_name example.com;
    ssl_certificate /path/to/certificate.crt;
    ssl_certificate_key /path/to/private_key.key;
    # Other SSL configurations
}

Here is a dedicated SSL Cheat Sheet.

Reverse Proxy

Basic Reverse Proxy:

location / {
    proxy_pass http://backend_server;
    # Additional proxy configurations
}

Load Balancing

Load Balancing:

upstream backend {
    server backend1.example.com;
    server backend2.example.com;
    # Additional backend servers
}

server {
    location / {
        proxy_pass http://backend;
        # Load balancing configurations
    }
}

Basic Security

Basic Authentication:

location / {
    auth_basic "Restricted";
    auth_basic_user_file /etc/nginx/.htpasswd;
    # Other configurations
}

Limit Access by IP:

location / {
    allow 192.168.1.1;
    deny all;
    # Other configurations
}

Logging

Access Log:

http {
    log_format main '$remote_addr - $remote_user [$time_local] "$request" '
                      '$status $body_bytes_sent "$http_referer" '
                      '"$http_user_agent" "$http_x_forwarded_for"';

    access_log /var/log/nginx/access.log main;
    # Other configurations
}

Error Log:

http {
    error_log /var/log/nginx/error.log;
    # Other configurations
}

Additional Tips

• Regularly check and update Nginx configurations.
• Utilize Nginx modules for additional functionalities.
• Explore Nginx documentation for advanced configurations.

This cheat sheet covers some basic Nginx configurations. Adjust the examples based on your specific use case and requirements.