docs/nginx

What is Nginx?

Nginx (pronounced "engine-x") is an open source reverse proxy server for HTTP, HTTPS, SMTP, POP3, and IMAP protocols, as well as a load balancer, HTTP cache, and a web server (origin server). The nginx project started with a strong focus on high concurrency, high performance and low memory usage. It is licensed under the 2-clause BSD-like license and it runs on Linux, BSD variants, Mac OS X, Solaris, AIX, HP-UX, as well as on other *nix flavors. It also has a proof of concept port for Microsoft Windows.

wikipedia.org/wiki/Nginx

How to use this image

hosting some simple static content

docker run --name some-nginx -v /some/content:/usr/local/nginx/html:ro -d nginx

Alternatively, a simple Dockerfile can be used to generate a new image that includes the necessary content (which is a much cleaner solution than the bind mount above):

FROM nginx
ADD static-html-directory /usr/local/nginx/html

Place this file in the same directory as your directory of content ("static-html-directory"), run docker build -t some-content-nginx ., then start your container:

docker run --name some-nginx -d some-content-nginx

exposing the port

docker run --name some-nginx -d -p 8080:80 some-content-nginx

Then you can hit http://localhost:8080 or http://host-ip:8080 in your browser.

complex configuration

docker run --name some-nginx -v /some/nginx.conf:/etc/nginx.conf:ro -d nginx

For information on the syntax of the Nginx configuration files, see the official documentation (specifically the Beginner's Guide).

Be sure to include daemon off; in your custom configuration to ensure that Nginx stays in the foreground so that Docker can track the process properly (otherwise your container will stop immediately after starting)!

If you wish to adapt the default configuration, use something like the following to copy it from a running Nginx container:

docker cp some-nginx:/etc/nginx.conf /some/nginx.conf

As above, this can also be accomplished more cleanly using a simple Dockerfile:

FROM nginx
ADD nginx.conf /etc/nginx.conf

Then, build with docker build -t some-custom-nginx . and run:

docker run --name some-nginx -d some-custom-nginx

Issues and Contributing

We are always thrilled to receive pull requests, and do our best to process them as fast as possible. Not sure if that typo is worth a pull request? Do it! We will appreciate it.

If your pull request is not accepted on the first try, don't be discouraged! If there's a problem with the implementation, hopefully you received feedback on what to improve.

We recommend discussing your plans through a GitHub issue before starting to code - especially for more ambitious contributions. This gives other contributors a chance to point you in the right direction, give feedback on your design, and maybe point out if someone else is working on the same thing.

Any significant improvement should be documented as a GitHub issue before anybody starts working on it. Please take a moment to check that an issue doesn't already exist documenting your bug report or improvement proposal. If it does, it never hurts to add a quick "+1" or "I have this problem too". This will help prioritize the most common problems and requests.

Conventions

Fork the repository and make changes on your fork in a feature branch.

Update this documentation when creating or modifying features. Test your documentation changes for clarity, concision, and correctness.

Pull requests descriptions should be as clear as possible and include a reference to all the issues that they address.

Commit messages should start with a capitalized and short summary (max. 50 chars) written in the imperative, followed by an optional, more detailed explanatory text which is separated from the summary by an empty line.

Code review comments may be added to your pull request. Discuss, then make the suggested modifications and force push amended commits to your feature branch. Be sure to post a comment after pushing. The changed commits will show up in the pull request automatically, but the reviewers will not be notified unless you comment.

Before the pull request is merged, make sure that you squash your commits into logical units of work using git rebase -i and git push -f. Include documentation changes in the same commit so that a revert would remove all traces of the feature or fix.

Commits that fix or close an issue should include a reference like Closes #XXXX or Fixes #XXXX, which will automatically close the issue when merged.