nginx_help.md

nginx_help.md

Ubuntu Server Management Guide

Website Management System

This guide explains how to manage websites on your Ubuntu server using the custom management system.

Directory Structure

~/dev/
├── help.md           # This help file
└── www/             # Web root directory
    ├── default/     # Default website
    ├── manage.sh    # Management script
    └── example.com/ # Domain-specific website

Quick Start

1. Create a new website:

~/dev/www/manage.sh create mydomain.com

2. Remove a website:

~/dev/www/manage.sh remove mydomain.com

3. List all websites:

~/dev/www/manage.sh list

Detailed Usage

Creating a New Website

When you create a new website:

• A new directory is created at ~/dev/www/mydomain.com
• Nginx configuration is set up automatically
• A default index.html is created
• The site is enabled and Nginx is reloaded

Removing a Website

When removing a website:

• The Nginx configuration is removed
• The website files remain intact
• Nginx is reloaded automatically

File Locations

• Website Content: ~/dev/www/<domain>/
• Nginx Configs: /etc/nginx/sites-available/
• Active Configs: /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/

Common Tasks

Editing Website Content

# Edit main page
nano ~/dev/www/mydomain.com/index.html

# Add new files
cp myfile.html ~/dev/www/mydomain.com/

Managing Nginx

# Test configuration
sudo nginx -t

# Reload configuration
sudo systemctl reload nginx

# Restart Nginx
sudo systemctl restart nginx

# Check status
sudo systemctl status nginx

Viewing Logs

# Access log
sudo tail -f /var/log/nginx/access.log

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

Best Practices

1. Always test Nginx configuration after changes:

sudo nginx -t

2. Use relative paths in your HTML:

<img src="/images/logo.png">  <!-- Good -->
<img src="images/logo.png">   <!-- Might break -->

3. Set proper permissions:

chmod -R 755 ~/dev/www/<domain>

4. Backup before major changes:

cp -r ~/dev/www/<domain> ~/dev/www/<domain>.backup

Troubleshooting

1. If Nginx fails to start:

   • Check error logs: sudo tail -f /var/log/nginx/error.log
   • Verify config: sudo nginx -t
   • Check permissions: ls -la ~/dev/www/

2. If website is not accessible:

   • Verify domain DNS points to your server
   • Check Nginx config exists in sites-enabled
   • Ensure no firewall blocking port 80/443

3. If changes don't appear:

   • Clear browser cache
   • Verify file permissions
   • Check Nginx worker processes

Getting Help

• View this guide: cat ~/dev/help.md
• View script help: ~/dev/www/manage.sh help
• Check Nginx docs: https://nginx.org/en/docs/
• Check logs: sudo tail -f /var/log/nginx/error.log