How to install Nginx on Ubuntu 24
To install Nginx on Ubuntu you need one apt command: the package is in Ubuntu’s own repository and starts right away. This guide is for Ubuntu Server 24.04 and 22.04. It also covers the firewall, a first site of your own and the newer Nginx builds from nginx.org.
Install Nginx from the Ubuntu repository
Log in to the server over SSH as a user who can run sudo, then refresh the package list and install Nginx. The service starts on its own and comes back after a reboot.
sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y nginx
nginx -vThe last command prints the installed version, for example nginx version: nginx/1.24.0 (Ubuntu) on Ubuntu 24.04. Open http://<server address> in a browser: the default page says “Welcome to nginx!”.
Open ports 80 and 443 in the firewall
Ubuntu’s firewall, UFW, is off on a fresh system. Check it:
sudo ufw statusIf it says Status: active, allow Nginx: the Nginx Full profile opens both HTTP (80) and HTTPS (443).
sudo ufw allow 'Nginx Full'
sudo ufw statusBefore you turn UFW on over SSH, allow SSH first, or the firewall cuts off your own connection: sudo ufw allow OpenSSH
Set up your first site
On Ubuntu, each site has its own file in /etc/nginx/sites-available/, and Nginx reads the ones linked from /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/. Create a folder for the site’s files and a config file. Replace example.com with your domain.
sudo mkdir -p /var/www/example.com
echo '<h1>It works</h1>' | sudo tee /var/www/example.com/index.html
sudo nano /etc/nginx/sites-available/example.comPaste this into the file, save it with Control-O and exit with Control-X:
server {
listen 80;
listen [::]:80;
server_name example.com www.example.com;
root /var/www/example.com;
index index.html;
location / {
try_files $uri $uri/ =404;
}
}Turn the site on, check the configuration and reload Nginx:
sudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/example.com /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/
sudo nginx -t
sudo systemctl reload nginxThe check must end with syntax is ok and test is successful. If it shows an error, it names the file and the line. When the domain points to the server, add HTTPS with a free certificate: how to get a Let’s Encrypt certificate with Certbot.
Install the latest Nginx from nginx.org
Ubuntu’s package gets security fixes but stays on one version for the life of the release. For a newer Nginx, use the official repository from nginx.org. These are the commands from its installation page: they add the nginx.org signing key and the “stable” repository, then install Nginx from there.
sudo apt install -y curl gnupg2 ca-certificates lsb-release ubuntu-keyring
curl https://nginx.org/keys/nginx_signing.key | gpg --dearmor | sudo tee /usr/share/keyrings/nginx-archive-keyring.gpg >/dev/null
echo "deb [signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/nginx-archive-keyring.gpg] https://nginx.org/packages/ubuntu $(lsb_release -cs) nginx" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/nginx.list
echo -e "Package: *\nPin: origin nginx.org\nPin: release o=nginx\nPin-Priority: 900\n" | sudo tee /etc/apt/preferences.d/99nginx
sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y nginx
sudo systemctl enable --now nginx
nginx -vThe nginx.org package brings its own /etc/nginx/nginx.conf, which reads only /etc/nginx/conf.d/*.conf. Installed over Ubuntu’s Nginx, it stops serving the sites in sites-enabled and leaves the service stopped, hence the last two commands. Move each site to /etc/nginx/conf.d/<name>.conf, then check the configuration and reload Nginx with the last two commands of the first site.
Where Nginx keeps its files
/etc/nginx/nginx.conf: the main configuration (workers, logs, gzip)./etc/nginx/sites-available/and/etc/nginx/sites-enabled/: your sites, one file each (Ubuntu’s package)./var/log/nginx/access.logand/var/log/nginx/error.log: requests and errors./var/www/html/: the default page.- Check the configuration:
sudo nginx -t - Apply it without dropping connections:
sudo systemctl reload nginx
If Nginx doesn’t start
bind() to 0.0.0.0:80 failed (98: Address already in use): another web server holds port 80, usually Apache. See who holds it:sudo ss -tlnp | grep ':80'If it is Apache, stop it:sudo systemctl disable --now apache2- The site shows “Welcome to nginx!” instead of your page: the domain falls into the default site. Check
server_namein your file, or remove the default site:sudo rm /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/defaultThen reload Nginx. - The page doesn’t open from outside: check the firewall:
sudo ufw statusOn a cloud server, also check the provider’s security group or firewall for ports 80 and 443. - For any other error, read the last lines of the service log:
sudo journalctl -u nginx -n 50Then those of the error log:sudo tail -n 50 /var/log/nginx/error.log
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Questions and answers
How do I install Nginx on Ubuntu?
Refresh the package list: sudo apt update Then install Nginx: sudo apt install nginx It starts at once and serves its welcome page on port 80.
What is the difference between reload and restart?
reload reads the new configuration and keeps open connections. restart stops and starts the service. Use reload after editing a site, restart only if reload doesn’t help.
Which Nginx version should I use?
Ubuntu’s package is enough for most sites and gets security updates with the system. Take the nginx.org repository when you need a feature from a newer release.