Nginx Config Builder

NGINX Config Builder

Generate production-ready NGINX configuration files for various web server scenarios.

Output Requirements

File Output: nginx.conf, default.conf, site.conf Format: Valid NGINX configuration syntax Location: Typically /etc/nginx/ or /etc/nginx/conf.d/

When Invoked

Immediately generate a complete, valid NGINX configuration. Include security headers, optimization settings, and logging by default.

Configuration Templates

Basic Static Website

# /etc/nginx/conf.d/static-site.conf

server {
    listen 80;
    listen [::]:80;
    server_name example.com www.example.com;

    # Redirect HTTP to HTTPS
    return 301 https://$server_name$request_uri;
}

server {
    listen 443 ssl http2;
    listen [::]:443 ssl http2;
    server_name example.com www.example.com;

    # SSL Configuration
    ssl_certificate /etc/letsencrypt/live/example.com/fullchain.pem;
    ssl_certificate_key /etc/letsencrypt/live/example.com/privkey.pem;
    ssl_session_timeout 1d;
    ssl_session_cache shared:SSL:50m;
    ssl_session_tickets off;

    # Modern SSL configuration
    ssl_protocols TLSv1.2 TLSv1.3;
    ssl_ciphers ECDHE-ECDSA-AES128-GCM-SHA256:ECDHE-RSA-AES128-GCM-SHA256:ECDHE-ECDSA-AES256-GCM-SHA384:ECDHE-RSA-AES256-GCM-SHA384;
    ssl_prefer_server_ciphers off;

    # HSTS
    add_header Strict-Transport-Security "max-age=63072000" always;

    # Document root
    root /var/www/example.com/public;
    index index.html index.htm;

    # Logging
    access_log /var/log/nginx/example.com.access.log;
    error_log /var/log/nginx/example.com.error.log;

    # Security headers
    add_header X-Frame-Options "SAMEORIGIN" always;
    add_header X-Content-Type-Options "nosniff" always;
    add_header X-XSS-Protection "1; mode=block" always;
    add_header Referrer-Policy "strict-origin-when-cross-origin" always;

    # Gzip compression
    gzip on;
    gzip_vary on;
    gzip_proxied any;
    gzip_comp_level 6;
    gzip_types text/plain text/css text/xml application/json application/javascript application/rss+xml application/atom+xml image/svg+xml;

    # Static file caching
    location ~* \.(jpg|jpeg|png|gif|ico|css|js|pdf|woff|woff2)$ {
        expires 30d;
        add_header Cache-Control "public, immutable";
    }

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

    # Deny access to hidden files
    location ~ /\. {
        deny all;
    }
}

Reverse Proxy (Node.js/Express)

# /etc/nginx/conf.d/app.conf

upstream nodejs_backend {
    server 127.0.0.1:3000;
    keepalive 64;
}

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

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

    # SSL Configuration
    ssl_certificate /etc/letsencrypt/live/api.example.com/fullchain.pem;
    ssl_certificate_key /etc/letsencrypt/live/api.example.com/privkey.pem;
    ssl_protocols TLSv1.2 TLSv1.3;

    # Logging
    access_log /var/log/nginx/api.example.com.access.log;
    error_log /var/log/nginx/api.example.com.error.log;

    # Security headers
    add_header X-Frame-Options "DENY" always;
    add_header X-Content-Type-Options "nosniff" always;
    add_header X-XSS-Protection "1; mode=block" always;

    # Client body size (for file uploads)
    client_max_body_size 10M;

    # Proxy settings
    location / {
        proxy_pass http://nodejs_backend;
        proxy_http_version 1.1;

        # Headers
        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;

        # WebSocket support
        proxy_set_header Upgrade $http_upgrade;
        proxy_set_header Connection "upgrade";

        # Timeouts
        proxy_connect_timeout 60s;
        proxy_send_timeout 60s;
        proxy_read_timeout 60s;

        # Buffering
        proxy_buffering on;
        proxy_buffer_size 4k;
        proxy_buffers 8 4k;
    }

    # Health check endpoint (no logging)
    location /health {
        access_log off;
        proxy_pass http://nodejs_backend;
    }
}

Load Balancer

# /etc/nginx/conf.d/loadbalancer.conf

upstream app_servers {
    # Load balancing method (round-robin is default)
    # Options: least_conn, ip_hash, hash
    least_conn;

    # Backend servers
    server 10.0.0.1:8080 weight=5;
    server 10.0.0.2:8080 weight=3;
    server 10.0.0.3:8080 weight=2;

    # Backup server
    server 10.0.0.4:8080 backup;

    # Health checks
    keepalive 32;
}

server {
    listen 80;
    server_name app.example.com;

    location / {
        proxy_pass http://app_servers;
        proxy_http_version 1.1;
        proxy_set_header Connection "";
        proxy_set_header Host $host;
        proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;

        # Sticky sessions (if needed)
        # proxy_set_header X-Session-ID $cookie_sessionid;

        # Retry on failure
        proxy_next_upstream error timeout http_500 http_502 http_503;
        proxy_next_upstream_tries 3;
    }
}

SPA (React/Vue/Angular) with API Proxy

# /etc/nginx/conf.d/spa.conf

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

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

    ssl_certificate /etc/letsencrypt/live/app.example.com/fullchain.pem;
    ssl_certificate_key /etc/letsencrypt/live/app.example.com/privkey.pem;

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

    # Gzip
    gzip on;
    gzip_types text/plain text/css application/json application/javascript text/xml application/xml application/xml+rss text/javascript;

    # Static assets with long cache
    location /assets/ {
        expires 1y;
        add_header Cache-Control "public, immutable";
    }

    # API proxy
    location /api/ {
        proxy_pass http://127.0.0.1:3000/;
        proxy_http_version 1.1;
        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;
    }

    # WebSocket proxy
    location /ws/ {
        proxy_pass http://127.0.0.1:3000/ws/;
        proxy_http_version 1.1;
        proxy_set_header Upgrade $http_upgrade;
        proxy_set_header Connection "upgrade";
        proxy_set_header Host $host;
    }

    # SPA fallback - serve index.html for all routes
    location / {
        try_files $uri $uri/ /index.html;

        # Don't cache index.html
        add_header Cache-Control "no-store, no-cache, must-revalidate";
    }
}

PHP-FPM (WordPress/Laravel)

# /etc/nginx/conf.d/php-app.conf

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

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

    ssl_certificate /etc/letsencrypt/live/example.com/fullchain.pem;
    ssl_certificate_key /etc/letsencrypt/live/example.com/privkey.pem;

    root /var/www/example.com/public;
    index index.php index.html;

    access_log /var/log/nginx/example.com.access.log;
    error_log /var/log/nginx/example.com.error.log;

    # Security
    add_header X-Frame-Options "SAMEORIGIN" always;
    add_header X-Content-Type-Options "nosniff" always;

    # File upload size
    client_max_body_size 64M;

    # Gzip
    gzip on;
    gzip_types text/plain text/css application/json application/javascript text/xml application/xml;

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

    # PHP handling
    location ~ \.php$ {
        try_files $uri =404;
        fastcgi_split_path_info ^(.+\.php)(/.+)$;
        fastcgi_pass unix:/var/run/php/php8.2-fpm.sock;
        fastcgi_index index.php;
        fastcgi_param SCRIPT_FILENAME $document_root$fastcgi_script_name;
        include fastcgi_params;

        # Timeouts
        fastcgi_connect_timeout 60;
        fastcgi_send_timeout 180;
        fastcgi_read_timeout 180;
        fastcgi_buffer_size 128k;
        fastcgi_buffers 4 256k;
    }

    # Static file caching
    location ~* \.(jpg|jpeg|png|gif|ico|css|js|pdf|woff|woff2)$ {
        expires 30d;
        add_header Cache-Control "public";
    }

    # Deny access to sensitive files
    location ~ /\.(ht|git|env) {
        deny all;
    }

    location ~ ^/(vendor|storage)/ {
        deny all;
    }
}

Rate Limiting & Security

# /etc/nginx/conf.d/security.conf

# Rate limiting zones
limit_req_zone $binary_remote_addr zone=general:10m rate=10r/s;
limit_req_zone $binary_remote_addr zone=login:10m rate=1r/s;
limit_req_zone $binary_remote_addr zone=api:10m rate=100r/s;

# Connection limiting
limit_conn_zone $binary_remote_addr zone=conn_limit:10m;

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

    # Connection limit
    limit_conn conn_limit 20;

    # General rate limiting
    location / {
        limit_req zone=general burst=20 nodelay;
        # ... proxy or other config
    }

    # Strict rate limiting for login
    location /auth/login {
        limit_req zone=login burst=5 nodelay;
        # ... proxy config
    }

    # Higher limit for API
    location /api/ {
        limit_req zone=api burst=200 nodelay;
        # ... proxy config
    }

    # Block common attacks
    location ~* "(eval\(|base64_|javascript:|vbscript:|<script)" {
        deny all;
    }

    # Block SQL injection attempts
    location ~* "(union.*select|select.*from|insert.*into)" {
        deny all;
    }
}

Common Patterns

CORS Headers

location /api/ {
    add_header Access-Control-Allow-Origin $http_origin always;
    add_header Access-Control-Allow-Methods "GET, POST, PUT, DELETE, OPTIONS" always;
    add_header Access-Control-Allow-Headers "Authorization, Content-Type" always;
    add_header Access-Control-Allow-Credentials true always;

    if ($request_method = OPTIONS) {
        return 204;
    }
}

Basic Auth

location /admin/ {
    auth_basic "Admin Area";
    auth_basic_user_file /etc/nginx/.htpasswd;
}

Validation Checklist

Before outputting, verify:

• All server blocks have listen directive
• SSL configs include certificate paths
• Upstream blocks define at least one server
• root directive points to valid path
• Security headers included
• Proper logging configured
• Syntax is valid (testable with nginx -t)

Example Invocations

Prompt: "Create nginx config for React app with Node.js API backend" Output: Complete nginx.conf with SPA handling, API proxy, SSL.

Prompt: "Generate nginx reverse proxy for 3 backend servers" Output: Complete nginx.conf with upstream load balancing, health checks.

Prompt: "NGINX configuration for WordPress with caching" Output: Complete nginx.conf with PHP-FPM, fastcgi cache, security.