How To Install Nginx on Ubuntu 24.04

Updated on September 11, 2025 • Tutorial

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Introduction

Nginx is one of the most popular web servers in the world, powering over 33% of all websites globally. It’s responsible for hosting some of the largest and highest-traffic sites on the internet, including Netflix, Pinterest, and Airbnb.

Nginx is a lightweight, high-performance choice that excels as both a web server and reverse proxy. In this guide, you’ll learn how to install and configure Nginx on Ubuntu 24.04.

Prerequisites

• Ubuntu 24.04 server with a regular, non-root user with sudo privileges
• UFW firewall configured
• Optional: A registered domain name pointed to your server

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Nginx is available in Ubuntu’s default repositories, making installation straightforward. First, update your package index:

sudo apt update
sudo apt upgrade -y

Now install Nginx:

sudo apt install nginx -y

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Before testing Nginx, you need to adjust the firewall to allow access to the service. Nginx registers itself as a service with ufw upon installation.

List the available application configurations:

sudo ufw app list

Output:

Available applications:
  Nginx Full
  Nginx HTTP
  Nginx HTTPS
  OpenSSH

For now, allow HTTP traffic:

sudo ufw allow 'Nginx HTTP'

Verify the change:

sudo ufw status

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Ubuntu 24.04 starts Nginx automatically after installation. Check the status:

sudo systemctl status nginx

You should see active (running) in the output. Access your server’s IP in a browser to see the default Nginx landing page:

http://your_server_ip

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Here are the essential commands for managing Nginx:

# Stop the web server
sudo systemctl stop nginx

# Start the web server
sudo systemctl start nginx

# Restart the web server
sudo systemctl restart nginx

# Reload config without dropping connections
sudo systemctl reload nginx

# Disable auto-start on boot
sudo systemctl disable nginx

# Enable auto-start on boot
sudo systemctl enable nginx

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Server blocks (similar to Apache virtual hosts) allow you to host multiple domains on one server. Create a directory for your domain:

sudo mkdir -p /var/www/your_domain/html
sudo chown -R $USER:$USER /var/www/your_domain/html
sudo chmod -R 755 /var/www/your_domain

Create a sample index page:

nano /var/www/your_domain/html/index.html

Create the server block configuration:

sudo nano /etc/nginx/sites-available/your_domain

Add this configuration:

server {
    listen 80;
    listen [::]:80;

    root /var/www/your_domain/html;
    index index.html index.htm index.nginx-debian.html;

    server_name your_domain www.your_domain;

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

Enable the site and test the configuration:

sudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/your_domain /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/
sudo nginx -t
sudo systemctl restart nginx

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Content

• /var/www/html – Default web content location

Server Configuration

• /etc/nginx – Nginx configuration directory
• /etc/nginx/nginx.conf – Main configuration file
• /etc/nginx/sites-available/ – Per-site server blocks
• /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/ – Enabled server blocks (symlinks)

Server Logs

• /var/log/nginx/access.log – Every request to your server
• /var/log/nginx/error.log – Nginx errors

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Conclusion

You now have Nginx installed and configured on your Ubuntu 24.04 server. You’re ready to serve content and can use Nginx as a foundation for many other technologies.

• ✓ Nginx installed and running
• ✓ Firewall configured for HTTP traffic
• ✓ Server blocks ready for multiple domains
• ✓ Essential management commands mastered