Sure, here's a more detailed readme for Nginx:

Nginx: The Ultimate Web Server

Nginx is a powerful and flexible web server that is widely used for serving static and dynamic content, as well as for load balancing and reverse proxying. It is known for its high performance, low resource usage, and stability.

Installation

To install Nginx, you can follow the instructions for your operating system on the official Nginx website. The installation process typically involves downloading the Nginx source code, compiling it with your desired configuration options, and then installing it to your system.

Configuration

Nginx uses a configuration file to define how it should behave. The configuration file is typically located at /etc/nginx/nginx.conf. You can customize the configuration file to suit your needs.

Nginx configuration is based on directives, which are commands that are used to configure various aspects of Nginx's behavior. Directives are grouped into blocks, which are used to define different types of Nginx behavior. The most common blocks are:

  • server: Defines a server block, which contains directives for a specific server.
  • location: Defines a location block, which contains directives for a specific URL path.

Here are some examples of directives that you can use in your Nginx configuration:

  • server: Defines a server block, which contains directives for a specific server.
server {
  listen 80;
  server_name example.com;
  root /var/www/example.com;
  index index.html;

  location / {
    try_files $uri $uri/ /index.html;
  }
}
  • location: Defines a location block, which contains directives for a specific URL path.
location /api {
  proxy_pass http://backend.example.com;
  proxy_set_header Host $host;
  proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
  proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
}

Directives

Nginx uses directives to configure various aspects of its behavior. Some common directives include:

  • server: Defines a server block, which contains directives for a specific server.
  • listen: Specifies the port number that the server should listen on.
  • server_name: Specifies the hostname or IP address that the server should listen for requests on.
  • root: Specifies the root directory for the server.
  • index: Specifies the default index document for the server.
  • location: Defines a location block, which contains directives for a specific URL path.

Here are some examples of directives that you can use in your Nginx configuration:

  • server: Defines a server block, which contains directives for a specific server.
server {
  listen 80;
  server_name example.com;
  root /var/www/example.com;
  index index.html;

  location / {
    try_files $uri $uri/ /index.html;
  }
}
  • location: Defines a location block, which contains directives for a specific URL path.
location /api {
  proxy_pass http://backend.example.com;
  proxy_set_header Host $host;
  proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
  proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
}

Modules

Nginx has a number of modules that can be used to extend its functionality. Some popular modules include:

  • http_ssl_module: Allows Nginx to serve HTTPS content.
  • http_security_module: Provides additional security features for HTTP requests.
  • http_cache_module: Allows Nginx to cache HTTP responses.
  • http_upgrade_module: Allows Nginx to handle WebSocket connections.

To use a module, you need to enable it in your Nginx configuration file and then load it into memory when you start Nginx.

Examples

Here are some examples of Nginx configuration files that you can use as a starting point:

Resources

Here are some resources that you can use to learn more about Nginx:

Contributing

If you would like to contribute to the Nginx project, you can follow the instructions on the official Nginx website.

License

Nginx is released under the Apache 2.0 license.