MH

How to Add Nginx on a Server

Mudassar H.
9/8/2025
devopsnginxweblinux

In this article we’ll install Nginx, set up a basic site, and confirm it’s running.
This post also shows MDX features: code blocks, tables, lists, React components, and more.

Update System Packages

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

Install Nginx

sudo apt install nginx -y

After installation, check status:

systemctl status nginx

If it’s not active, start and enable:

sudo systemctl enable --now nginx

Basic Firewall (Optional)

sudo ufw allow 'Nginx Full'
sudo ufw status

Default Directory

The default root (on Ubuntu/Debian):

/var/www/html

Replace the index:

echo "<h1>Nginx Works!</h1>" | sudo tee /var/www/html/index.html

Open the server IP in a browser.

Simple Server Block

Create a new site:

sudo mkdir -p /var/www/example.com
sudo nano /etc/nginx/sites-available/example.com

Config (minimal):

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

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

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

Enable it:

sudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/example.com /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/
sudo nginx -t
sudo systemctl reload nginx

Quick Reference Table

Step Action Command / Info
1 Update packages apt update
2 Install nginx apt install nginx
3 Enable service systemctl enable --now nginx
4 Add server block edit config + reload

Common Pitfalls

  • Forgetting to reload after config change: sudo systemctl reload nginx
  • Wrong root path ownership: fix with sudo chown -R $USER:$USER /var/www/example.com
  • DNS not propagated yet: use raw IP temporarily.

Next Steps

  • Add SSL with Certbot
  • Set up reverse proxy for Node / Python app
  • Add caching and gzip/brotli

That’s it—your basic Nginx setup is live.

Set Up Nginx as a Reverse Proxy for a Node App

Overview

We’ll run a Node.js app on port 3000 and proxy public traffic through Nginx on port 80.

Sample Node App

mkdir node-proxy-app && cd node-proxy-app
npm init -y
npm i express

Create server.js:

import express from 'express';
const app = express();

app.get('/', (_req, res) => {
res.send('<h2>Hello from Node behind Nginx!</h2>');
});

app.listen(3000, () => console.log('Node app on :3000'));

Run it:

node server.js
sudo nano /etc/systemd/system/node-proxy.service

Service file:

[Unit]
Description=Node Proxy Example
After=network.target

[Service]
Type=simple
WorkingDirectory=/home/youruser/node-proxy-app
ExecStart=/usr/bin/node server.js
Restart=on-failure
User=youruser
Environment=NODE_ENV=production
# Hardening (optional)
NoNewPrivileges=true

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

Enable + start:

sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl enable --now node-proxy

Nginx Reverse Proxy Block

sudo nano /etc/nginx/sites-available/node-proxy.conf

Paste:

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

location / {
  proxy_pass http://127.0.0.1:3000;
  proxy_set_header Host $host;
  proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $remote_addr;
  proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto $scheme;
}

# Optional: health endpoint caching off
location /health {
  proxy_pass http://127.0.0.1:3000/health;
  add_header Cache-Control "no-store";
}
}

Enable + test:

sudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/node-proxy.conf /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/
sudo nginx -t
sudo systemctl reload nginx

Add a Health Route

In server.js:

app.get('/health', (_req, res) => {
res.json({ ok: true, uptime: process.uptime() });
});

Hardening Ideas

  • Use limit_req_zone for rate limiting
  • Add gzip or brotli
  • Put Node behind a socket (/run/node.sock) with proxy_pass http://unix:/run/node.sock:;
  • Enable HTTPS (Let’s Encrypt)

Quick Tag Table

Tag Why it matters
reverse-proxy Architectural pattern
node Backend runtime
nginx Front layer / static + proxy

Deploy Notes

Don’t forget firewall rules and to restart services after updating units or configs.

Wrap Up

You now have:

  • A managed Node process (systemd)
  • Nginx proxying traffic
  • A foundation for SSL + scaling
@ copyright . MH