CODEWITHSUNDEEP
nginxsubdomain
madhead
madhead

Reputation: 33511

How to test nginx subdomains on localhost

I want to test nginx subdomains before uploading config to the server. Can i test it on localhost? I try

server {
    listen       80;
    server_name  localhost;

    location / {
        proxy_pass http://localhost:8080;
    }
}

server {
    listen       80;
    server_name  sub.localhost;

    location / {
        proxy_pass http://localhost:8080/sub;
    }
}

And it does not work. Shoulld i change my hosts file in order to make it work? Also, after uploading site to the server should i change DNS records and add sub.mydomain.com?

Upvotes: 47

Views: 51778

Answers (4)

Nagev
Nagev

Reputation: 13295

With an Nginx configuration like shown by the OP, all that is needed is to configure the local DNS resolution. I run Linux containers on a VM with a local DHCP IP but test them on Windows 10 browsers.

The DNS configuration can be done by editing "C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\hosts" as Administrator.

192.168.100.50  sub.example.local
192.168.100.50  example.local

Of course, use 127.0.0.1 or other appropriate IP as needed.

Upvotes: 2

rplaurindo
rplaurindo

Reputation: 1404

In Linux based OS just to edit as sudo /etc/hosts file and change 127.0.0.1 localhost to 127.0.0.1 *.localhost.

So at /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/<environment>/<your_project_name> edit server_name key as <subdomain>.localhost.

Reload nginx and networking service.

$ sudo service nginx reload
$ sudo service networking reload

And then try http://<subdomain>.localhost at url bar.

It works for me.

UPDATE

In my opinion, a better solution is creating a virtual server that only responds if subdomain doesn’t exist, at /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/development/default, as default server (remember that you can define only one server as default).

server {
  listen 80 default_server;
  root /var/www/html/errors/404;
  server_name *.localhost *.<host-name>;

  location / {
    index subdomain.html;
  }

}

Make sure that in nginx.conf (generally at /etc/nginx/nginx.conf) contain include /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/**/*; to this virtual server work. If not, put it and then run $ sudo service nginx reload.

In this case isn't necessary put *.localhost in /etc/hosts, but only localhost.

Upvotes: 10

troseman
troseman

Reputation: 1878

Yes, add '127.0.0.1 sub.localhost' to your hosts file. That sub has to be resolved somehow. That should work.

Then once you're ready to go to the net, yes, add an a or cname record for the subdomain sub.

When I use proxy_pass I also include the proxy.conf from nginx. http://wiki.nginx.org/HttpProxyModule

Upvotes: 38

Shantanu Bhadoria
Shantanu Bhadoria

Reputation: 14530

For your public webserver with its own domain name, you just need to add a Canonical name using a CNAME record in your DNS configuration:

CNAME    *    example.com.

Once this is done, set your nginx setting

server_name  *.example.com example.com;

In your local setup you can keep the same configuration for nginx but unless you have a local DNS setup, you will have to edit your /etc/hosts file and add each subdomain manually. wildcards don't work in the /etc/hosts file. 

127.0.0.1  abc.example.com def.example.com ghi.example.com

It is generally recommended to use .local as the namespace for your local domains.

Upvotes: 8

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