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I've always used Apache but I really want to use nginx for my next project (it's a Node/express app). How should I start? It'll be running on my Ubuntu VPS. Any

I've always used Apache but I really want to use nginx for my next project (it's a Node/express app). How should I start? It'll be running on my Ubuntu VPS. Any tips, suggestions, common pitfalls?

Osiris 13y ago
The only pitfall that I've run into is converting Apache rewrite rules (htaccess) files and getting that into the nginx configuration file. For sure, the configuration file format is different, but it's not terribly complicated.
- ceejayoz 13y ago
  Once you get used to it, it's a lot nicer to work with, too.
  - drazion 13y ago
    I whole heartedly agree - htaccess and virtual host rules were such a pain in Apache, I've really come to appreciate how easy it was to get nginx setup in comparison.
lgbr 13y ago
There's really not that much to it. Use nginx that comes from APT and use a unix socket to communicate between node and nginx. I use this code to open a unix socket in production at tmp/socket : https://gist.github.com/lgbr/5453355 https://gist.github.com/lgbr/5453355 And use a configuration like this for nginx (replace /etc/nginx/sites-available/default with this): https://gist.github.com/lgbr/5453375 https://gist.github.com/lgbr/5453375
mixmastamyk 13y ago
sudo apt-get install nginx $BROWSER http://wiki.nginx.org/Configuration $EDITOR /etc/nginx/nginx.conf man nginx man upstart sudo start nginx $BROWSER http://localhost:$PORT/
- spindritf 13y ago
  > sudo apt-get install nginx If you want the newest version, nginx has their own deb repository[1]. It seems to get security updates faster, too. [1] http://wiki.nginx.org/Install#Official_Debian.2FUbuntu_packages http://wiki.nginx.org/Install#Official_Debian.2FUbuntu_packa... EDIT: Not the PPA because it's "maintained by volunteers and is not distributed by nginx.org." Their repository: deb http://nginx.org/packages/ubuntu/ http://nginx.org/packages/ubuntu/ yourOScodename nginx
  - mixmastamyk 13y ago
    I was using a ppa at one point, but reverted when the distro packaged a new enough version.
olouv 13y ago
This was really helpful to me: https://github.com/h5bp/server-configs/tree/master/nginx https://github.com/h5bp/server-configs/tree/master/nginx

I've always used Apache but I really want to use nginx for my next project (it's a Node/express app). How should I start? It'll be running on my Ubuntu VPS. Any tips, suggestions, common pitfalls?

Osiris 13y ago

The only pitfall that I've run into is converting Apache rewrite rules (htaccess) files and getting that into the nginx configuration file. For sure, the configuration file format is different, but it's not terribly complicated.

ceejayoz 13y ago
Once you get used to it, it's a lot nicer to work with, too.
- drazion 13y ago
  I whole heartedly agree - htaccess and virtual host rules were such a pain in Apache, I've really come to appreciate how easy it was to get nginx setup in comparison.

lgbr 13y ago

There's really not that much to it. Use nginx that comes from APT and use a unix socket to communicate between node and nginx. I use this code to open a unix socket in production at tmp/socket : https://gist.github.com/lgbr/5453355 https://gist.github.com/lgbr/5453355 And use a configuration like this for nginx (replace /etc/nginx/sites-available/default with this): https://gist.github.com/lgbr/5453375 https://gist.github.com/lgbr/5453375

mixmastamyk 13y ago

sudo apt-get install nginx $BROWSER http://wiki.nginx.org/Configuration $EDITOR /etc/nginx/nginx.conf man nginx man upstart sudo start nginx $BROWSER http://localhost:$PORT/

spindritf 13y ago
> sudo apt-get install nginx If you want the newest version, nginx has their own deb repository[1]. It seems to get security updates faster, too. [1] http://wiki.nginx.org/Install#Official_Debian.2FUbuntu_packages http://wiki.nginx.org/Install#Official_Debian.2FUbuntu_packa... EDIT: Not the PPA because it's "maintained by volunteers and is not distributed by nginx.org." Their repository: deb http://nginx.org/packages/ubuntu/ http://nginx.org/packages/ubuntu/ yourOScodename nginx
- mixmastamyk 13y ago
  I was using a ppa at one point, but reverted when the distro packaged a new enough version.

olouv 13y ago

This was really helpful to me: https://github.com/h5bp/server-configs/tree/master/nginx https://github.com/h5bp/server-configs/tree/master/nginx