Nginx Management

CtrlOps provides a comprehensive interface for managing Nginx web servers. It eliminates the need for manual symbolic linking and direct file editing via the terminal by providing a visual "Sites" manager and a built-in configuration editor.

Features Overview

• Status Monitoring: Real-time view of the Nginx service status (Active/Inactive).
• Site Management: Toggle sites between "Available" (sites-available) and "Enabled" (sites-enabled).
• Safe Editing: Integrated editor with configuration testing (nginx -t) before reloading.
• Service Control: Reload or Restart Nginx directly after applying changes.

Site Workflow

Nginx sites in CtrlOps follow the standard Debian/Ubuntu directory pattern.

1. Listing & Discovery

CtrlOps scans the following directories to populate the site list:

• /etc/nginx/sites-available/
• /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/

Sites appearing in both are marked as Enabled (Green). Sites only in available are marked as Disabled (Gray).

2. Enabling a Site

When you click "Enable", CtrlOps executes a symbolic link command:

ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/your-site /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/

3. Disabling a Site

When you click "Disable", the symbolic link is removed:

rm /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/your-site

Configuration Editor

The built-in editor provides a safe environment for modifying your site configs.

Recommended Configuration Template

For modern web applications, we recommend the following base configuration:

server {
    listen 80;
    server_name yourdomain.com;

    location / {
        proxy_pass http://localhost:3000;
        proxy_http_version 1.1;
        proxy_set_header Upgrade $http_upgrade;
        proxy_set_header Connection 'upgrade';
        proxy_set_header Host $host;
        proxy_cache_bypass $http_upgrade;
        proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
    }

    # Standard logging
    access_log /var/log/nginx/yourdomain.com.access.log;
    error_log /var/log/nginx/yourdomain.com.error.log;
}

Troubleshooting Nginx

Common checks:

• Port 80/443: Ensure they are open in your cloud provider's firewall.
• Syntax Errors: Always use the "Test Config" button if you manually edit lines.
• Logs: Check journalctl -u nginx for detailed service logs.