URL Rewriting Configuration in NGINX

You read about what is URL Rewriting and what its advantages were before this page. On this page, we give some configuration steps for URL Rewriting in NGINX. Basic URL Rewriting, Redirecting to HTTPS, Rewriting Query Parameters, Removing File Extensions, Adding or Removing Trailing Slashes. These are some URL Rewriting methods in NGINX

To perform URL rewriting in Nginx, you can follow these general steps. These steps assume you have a basic understanding of Nginx configuration and have the necessary permissions to edit the configuration files

1. Backup Your Nginx Configuration

Before making any changes, it's a good practice to create a backup of your current Nginx configuration. This ensures that you can revert to the previous state if any issues arise.

bash

sudo cp /etc/nginx/nginx.conf /etc/nginx/nginx.conf.bak

2. Edit Nginx Configuration File

Open the Nginx configuration file using a text editor. The main configuration file is often located at `/etc/nginx/nginx.conf `or `/etc/nginx/sites-available/default`, depending on your setup.

bash

sudo nano /etc/nginx/nginx.conf

3. Types of URL rewriting

Below are some examples of URL rewriting in Nginx

1. Basic URL Rewriting
In this example, any request to `/old-path/*` will be permanently redirected to `/new-path/*`. The permanent flag indicates a 301 (permanent) redirect.

nginx

server {
    listen 80;
    server_name example.com;

    location /old-path {
      rewrite ^/old-path/(.*)$ /new-path/$1 permanent;
    }

    # Other server configurations...
}

`location` : This location block specifies that the following directives apply to requests that have a URI starting with /old-path.

`rewrite ` : This rewrite directive is used to modify the requested URI.

2. Removing File Extensions

nginx

server {
    listen 80;
    server_name example.com;

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

    # Other server configurations...
}

This example removes file extensions from URLs. For instance, if there is a file named `example.html`, a request for `/example` will serve that file. The `try_files` directive checks for the existence of different variations of the requested URL.

3. Redirecting to HTTPS

nginx

server {
    listen 80;
    server_name example.com;

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

server {
    listen 443 ssl;
    server_name example.com;

    # SSL configurations...

    # Other server configurations...

}

This example redirects all HTTP traffic to HTTPS. The return 301 statement issues a permanent redirect.

4. Adding or Removing Trailing Slashes

nginx

server {
    listen 80;
    server_name example.com;

    location /add-trailing-slash {
      rewrite ^(/add-trailing-slash[^/]+)$ $1/ permanent;
    }

    location /remove-trailing-slash/ {
      rewrite ^(/remove-trailing-slash)/$ $1 permanent;
    }

    # Other server configurations...
}

In the first location block, a trailing slash is added to URLs under `/add-trailing-slash`. In the second location block, a trailing slash is removed from URLs under `/remove-trailing-slash/`.

5. Adding or Removing Trailing Slashes

nginx

server {
    listen 80;
    server_name example.com;

    location /rewrite-query {
      rewrite ^/rewrite-query/(.*)$ /script.php?q=$1 last;
}

    # Other server configurations...
}

In this example, URLs like /rewrite-query/value are rewritten to /script.php?q=value.

4. Test and Reload Nginx

Before applying the changes, check the syntax of your Nginx configuration to ensure there are no errors. If there are no syntax errors, you'll see a message indicating that the configuration is okay.Apply the changes by reloading the Nginx configuration. This ensures that the new URL rewriting rules take effect.

bash

sudo nginx -t
sudo systemctl reload nginx

If you're not using systemd, you might use `service nginx reload `or `/etc/init.d/nginx reload` instead.

5. Monitor Nginx Logs

Monitor the Nginx error logs (`/var/log/nginx/error.log`) for any issues related to the URL rewriting configuration. This can help you identify and troubleshoot problems.

bash

sudo tail -f /var/log/nginx/error.log

6. Test the Rewritten URLs

Use a web browser or a tool like `curl` to test the rewritten URLs and ensure that the desired redirection or modifications are taking place.Verify that the response includes the expected redirection status code (e.g., `301 Moved Permanently`).

bash

curl -I http://example.com/old-path/some-page

Remember to adjust the configuration according to your specific use case, and test thoroughly to ensure that the URL rewriting rules behave as expected. Always be cautious when making changes to production configurations.

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