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NGINX server

In NGINX, the server directive defines a virtual server (virtual host). It tells NGINX how to handle requests for a specific domain, IP, or port.

It must be placed inside the http block.

Basic Structure

http {
    server {
        listen 80;
        server_name example.com www.example.com;

        root /var/www/html;
        index index.html;

        location / {
            try_files $uri $uri/ =404;
        }
    }
}

Key server Directive Parameters

1️⃣ listen

Defines the IP address and port the server listens on.

listen 80;
listen 443 ssl;
listen 127.0.0.1:8080;
listen [::]:80;  # IPv6

Options:

  • ssl
  • http2
  • default_server

Example:

listen 80 default_server;

2️⃣ server_name

Specifies the domain names this server responds to.

server_name example.com www.example.com;

Supports:

  • Exact names
  • Wildcards (*.example.com)
  • Regex
server_name *.example.com;
server_name ~^api\d+\.example\.com$;

3️⃣ root

Sets the document root.

root /var/www/app;

4️⃣ index

Defines default file when directory is requested.

index index.html index.htm index.php;

5️⃣ location

Handles specific request paths inside a server block.

location /api/ {
    proxy_pass http://backend;
}

6️⃣ SSL Example Server Block

server {
    listen 443 ssl http2;
    server_name example.com;

    ssl_certificate /etc/nginx/ssl/cert.pem;
    ssl_certificate_key /etc/nginx/ssl/key.pem;

    location / {
        proxy_pass http://localhost:3000;
    }
}

Multiple Server Blocks (Virtual Hosts)

server {
    listen 80;
    server_name site1.com;
    root /var/www/site1;
}

server {
    listen 80;
    server_name site2.com;
    root /var/www/site2;
}

NGINX selects the server block based on:

  1. listen match
  2. server_name match
  3. default_server if no match

Where It Lives

Usually in:

/etc/nginx/nginx.conf

or

/etc/nginx/conf.d/*.conf
/etc/nginx/sites-available/*