Nginx Config Generator
Generate production-ready Nginx server configurations for static sites, reverse proxies, PHP-FPM (Laravel), load balancers, and WebSocket proxies. Includes SSL, gzip, rate limiting, and security headers.
How Does the Nginx Config Generator Work?
The Nginx Config Generator is a free browser-based tool that creates production-ready Nginx server block configurations without requiring you to memorize Nginx syntax or dig through documentation. Simply select your server type, enter your domain name and upstream port, choose your SSL and feature preferences, and the tool instantly produces a complete, commented configuration file ready to paste into your server.
Nginx is the most widely used web server and reverse proxy in the world, powering over 30% of all websites. It excels at serving static content, load balancing, reverse proxying application servers, and handling SSL termination. However, writing correct Nginx configuration files from scratch is error-prone. A missing semicolon, incorrect directive placement, or forgotten security header can lead to downtime, security vulnerabilities, or poor performance. This tool eliminates those risks by generating validated configurations based on proven patterns.
Supported Server Types
The generator supports five common deployment patterns. Static Site configurations serve HTML, CSS, and JavaScript files directly from disk with proper try_files directives for clean URLs. Reverse Proxy configurations forward requests to backend application servers like NestJS, Node.js, or Laravel APIs running on a specific port, including proper proxy headers for WebSocket support and real client IP forwarding. PHP-FPM (Laravel) configurations connect Nginx to PHP-FPM via Unix socket, with Laravel-specific routing rules and hidden dotfile protection. Load Balancer configurations distribute traffic across multiple backend servers using round-robin with health checks. WebSocket Proxy configurations handle persistent WebSocket connections with proper upgrade headers and timeout settings.
SSL and Security Features
When you enable SSL, the generator produces a complete HTTPS configuration with automatic HTTP-to-HTTPS redirect, modern TLS protocols (TLSv1.2 and TLSv1.3), and strong cipher suites. You can choose Let's Encrypt certificate paths or custom certificate paths. Additional security features include gzip compression for faster page loads, rate limiting to protect against brute-force attacks and abuse, and security headers like X-Frame-Options, X-Content-Type-Options, Referrer-Policy, and Content-Security-Policy to defend against common web vulnerabilities.
Every directive in the generated configuration includes inline comments explaining what it does and why it matters. This makes the output educational as well as practical — you learn Nginx best practices while getting a working config. All processing happens entirely in your browser with no data sent to any server, making it safe to use with production domain names and internal infrastructure details.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is an Nginx server block?
An Nginx server block (sometimes called a virtual host) is a configuration section that defines how Nginx handles requests for a specific domain or IP address. Each server block can specify the listening port, server name, document root, proxy settings, SSL certificates, and other directives. You typically create one server block per domain in a file under /etc/nginx/sites-available/ and symlink it to /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/.
How do I install the generated Nginx config on my server?
Copy the generated configuration and save it to a file like /etc/nginx/sites-available/yourdomain.com. Then create a symlink with "sudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/yourdomain.com /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/". Test the configuration with "sudo nginx -t" and if there are no errors, reload Nginx with "sudo systemctl reload nginx".
Should I use reverse proxy or PHP-FPM for Laravel?
For traditional Laravel applications that render Blade templates, use the PHP-FPM configuration — it connects Nginx directly to PHP via FastCGI for optimal performance. For Laravel applications that serve only an API (with a separate frontend like React or Vue), you can use the reverse proxy configuration if you are running "php artisan serve" or Laravel Octane, which runs as a standalone HTTP server.
What SSL certificate paths does the generator use?
For Let's Encrypt, the generator uses the standard Certbot paths: /etc/letsencrypt/live/yourdomain.com/fullchain.pem for the certificate and /etc/letsencrypt/live/yourdomain.com/privkey.pem for the private key. For custom certificates, it uses /etc/ssl/certs/yourdomain.com.crt and /etc/ssl/private/yourdomain.com.key. You can modify these paths after generating the config.
Is my data sent to any server when generating the config?
No. This tool runs entirely in your browser using JavaScript. Your domain name, port numbers, and all configuration choices stay on your device and are never transmitted to any server. This makes it safe to use with production domains, internal hostnames, and private infrastructure details.