Configuring Nginx for serving static files efficiently is a common use case. Below are steps and directives to optimize Nginx for serving static content:
1. Create a Server Block:
Create or edit an Nginx configuration file, typically located in /etc/nginx/conf.d/ or /etc/nginx/sites-available/.
sudo nano /etc/nginx/conf.d/static_example.conf
2. Define a server block:
Inside the configuration file, define a server block to handle the static content. Specify the listen port, server_name, and root directory.
server {
listen 80;
server_name static.example.com;
root /path/to/static/files;
index index.html;
# Additional server block configurations
}
3. Configure location blocks:
Use location blocks to define how Nginx should handle requests for specific URI patterns. For static content, typically, a location block for serving files directly and another for handling fallback (e.g., index.html).
server {
listen 80;
server_name static.example.com;
root /path/to/static/files;
index index.html;
location / {
# Serve static files directly
try_files $uri $uri/ =404;
}
location = /index.html {
# Fallback to index.html if the requested file is not found
try_files $uri /index.html;
}
}The try_files directive in Nginx is used to instruct the server on how to attempt to serve a request. It checks for the existence of files or directories and responds accordingly. In the context of serving static files, it's commonly used to handle various scenarios:
- Try to serve the requested file directly ($uri).
- If that doesn't exist, try to serve the requested directory ($uri/).
- If neither the file nor the directory is found, respond with a 404 error.
4. Optimize Sendfile and TCP_nopush:
Enabling sendfile allows Nginx to efficiently transfer files from disk to clients.
tcp_nopush ensures that small files are sent in a single packet.
server {
listen 80;
server_name static.example.com;
root /path/to/static/files;
index index.html;
location / {
# Serve static files directly
try_files $uri $uri/ =404;
sendfile on;
tcp_nopush on;
}
location = /index.html {
# Fallback to index.html if the requested file is not found
try_files $uri /index.html;
sendfile on;
tcp_nopush on;
}
}
5. Set expires header for caching:
Use the expires directive to set caching headers, improving performance by instructing browsers to cache static files.
server {
listen 80;
server_name static.example.com;
root /path/to/static/files;
index index.html;
location / {
# Serve static files directly
try_files $uri $uri/ =404;
sendfile on;
tcp_nopush on;
expires 7d; # Set expiration to 7 days
}
location = /index.html {
# Fallback to index.html if the requested file is not found
try_files $uri /index.html;
sendfile on;
tcp_nopush on;
expires 7d;
}
}
6. Gzip Compression:
Enable gzip compression to reduce the size of transferred files.
server {
listen 80;
server_name static.example.com;
root /path/to/static/files;
index index.html;
location / {
# Serve static files directly
try_files $uri $uri/ =404;
sendfile on;
tcp_nopush on;
expires 7d;
gzip on;
gzip_min_length 1000;
gzip_types text/plain text/css application/json application/javascript application/x-javascript text/xml application/xml application/xml+rss text/javascript;
}
location = /index.html {
# Fallback to index.html if the requested file is not found
try_files $uri /index.html;
sendfile on;
tcp_nopush on;
expires 7d;
gzip on;
gzip_min_length 1000;
gzip_types text/plain text/css application/json application/javascript application/x-javascript text/xml application/xml application/xml+rss text/javascript;
}
}
7. Test and Reload Nginx:
Check the Nginx configuration for syntax errors:
sudo nginx -t
If the test is successful, reload Nginx to apply the changes:
sudo systemctl reload nginx
Notes:
- Adjust the values in the configuration based on your specific requirements and server setup.
- Ensure that the specified root directory (/path/to/static/files in this example) has the correct permissions for Nginx to read the files.
- Always monitor the Nginx error logs (/var/log/nginx/error.log) for any issues or warnings.