Nginx Static Site Config Generator

Generate an nginx.conf for serving a static site with try_files, SPA fallback, gzip, brotli, and aggressive cache headers

Static Site modepreset

Serve a built site (Next/Vite/Hugo/Jekyll) with caching headers and SPA fallback.

Switch mode:

Server

server_name

HTTP portEnable HTTPS listen

Static site

rootindexSPA fallback (try_files)Long-cache fingerprinted assets

Common

Gzip compressionSecurity headers (X-Content-Type, Frame-Options, Referrer-Policy)

access_logerror_log

Custom add_header lines

nginx.conf preview

Drop into /etc/nginx/conf.d/ or/etc/nginx/sites-available/.

server {
  listen 80;
  listen [::]:80;
  server_name example.com;

  # Recommended security headers
  add_header X-Content-Type-Options nosniff always;
  add_header X-Frame-Options SAMEORIGIN always;
  add_header Referrer-Policy strict-origin-when-cross-origin always;

  # Compression
  gzip            on;
  gzip_vary       on;
  gzip_min_length 1024;
  gzip_proxied    any;
  gzip_comp_level 5;
  gzip_types      text/plain text/css application/json application/javascript application/xml+rss application/atom+xml image/svg+xml;

  access_log /var/log/nginx/access.log;
  error_log  /var/log/nginx/error.log warn;

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

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

  # Long-cache fingerprinted assets, never cache HTML.
  location ~* \.(?:css|js|woff2?|ttf|eot|svg|png|jpg|jpeg|gif|webp|avif|ico)$ {
    expires 1y;
    add_header Cache-Control "public, max-age=31536000, immutable";
    access_log off;
  }

  location ~* \.html$ {
    add_header Cache-Control "no-cache, no-store, must-revalidate" always;
    expires 0;
  }
}

Validate before reloading

sudo nginx -t && sudo systemctl reload nginx

Heads up

Replace `example.com` with your real hostname before deploying.

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What is Nginx Static Site Config Generator

Written by Giorgos Kostas. Last reviewed: April 18, 2026

Nginx Static Site Config Generator emits the canonical static-host server block — `root`, `index`, and the right cache rules for fingerprinted versus non-fingerprinted assets.

Toggle SPA fallback on for Vite/Next/Astro client-routed apps; toggle it off for content sites where 404s should stay 404s.

Why use it

Stop serving HTML with `Cache-Control: max-age=31536000` by accident — the generator splits asset and HTML cache rules.
Get SPA fallback (`try_files $uri $uri/ /index.html`) without remembering the exact incantation.
Long-cache fingerprinted JS / CSS / images / fonts (1 year, `immutable`) automatically.
Bake gzip in for text payloads with sensible defaults.
Combine with TLS by switching to the SSL generator when you're ready.

Features

SPA fallback toggle (try_files configurable)
Asset vs HTML cache split (1y immutable vs no-cache)
gzip with text-friendly defaults
Optional security headers + custom add_header
Live preview, copy, and download .conf

How to use Nginx Static Site Config Generator

Set root + index. Point `root` at your build output (e.g. `dist/` or `out/`).
Toggle SPA fallback. On for client-routed apps, off for static content sites.
Enable asset caching. Long-cache fingerprinted assets while keeping HTML uncached.
Deploy. Copy the snippet, drop into Nginx, run `nginx -t`, reload.

Example (before/after)

Form input

server_name  = www.example.com
root         = /var/www/example.com
SPA fallback = on
Cache assets = on

Generated server block

server {
  listen 80;
  server_name www.example.com;
  root  /var/www/example.com;
  index index.html;
  location / { try_files $uri $uri/ /index.html; }
  location ~* \.(?:css|js|woff2|png|jpg|svg|ico)$ {
    expires 1y;
    add_header Cache-Control "public, max-age=31536000, immutable";
  }
  location ~* \.html$ {
    add_header Cache-Control "no-cache, no-store, must-revalidate" always;
  }
}

Common errors

Refresh on a deep route returns 404

SPA fallback is off, so Nginx looks for the literal file and finds nothing.

Fix: Enable 'SPA fallback' to send all unmatched routes to /index.html (or your build's HTML entry).

Old JS bundles served forever after deploy

`/index.html` was cached for a year, so the browser never fetches the new fingerprinted bundles.

Fix: Keep the asset/HTML split that the generator emits — HTML stays uncached.

Permission denied serving from /var/www/...

Nginx worker user (often `nginx` or `www-data`) can't read your build output.

Fix: Run `sudo chown -R nginx:nginx /var/www/example.com` (or set ACLs).

FAQ

Does it work for both SPA and content sites?

Yes — toggle SPA fallback on for Vite/Next/Astro/etc. Toggle it off for Hugo/Jekyll output where 404s should stay 404s.

Why is HTML excluded from long-caching?

HTML is the only file that links to the new fingerprinted assets — caching it forever pins users to old code. The generator emits an explicit `no-cache, no-store, must-revalidate` block for *.html.

What about Brotli compression?

Brotli requires the `ngx_brotli` module which isn't shipped with most distros' Nginx packages. Stick with gzip; ship Brotli at the CDN layer.

How do I host a Next.js export?

Run `next build && next export` and point `root` at the `out/` directory. Keep SPA fallback on — Next's static export still relies on it for dynamic routes.

Should I serve images here or from a CDN?

Either works — but a CDN in front of this Nginx is usually the right answer for scale. Long-cache headers in this config make CDNs cache forever automatically.

How do I add HTTPS?

Switch to the Nginx SSL Config Generator and re-enter the same fields. The static-site bits stay; SSL fields are layered on top.

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