Nginx Read Php Files Outside Root
Understanding the Basics of Nginx
Nginx is an open source web server and HTTP proxy server originally developed by Igor Sysoev. It can be used to provide various functions, including web hosting, proxying, caching, and load balancing. Nginx is renowned for its speed, scalability, and stability. It is generally considered to be the best option for web hosting, and is preferred by many major web hosting providers. It has also been used to power some of the world’s busiest websites, such as Wikipedia, Reddit, and Netflix.
Nginx is written in C, and has the capability to natively serve PHP files. It is optimized to serve static files, however it can also execute dynamic content including scripts written in PHP. That makes it a powerful, yet flexible platform for web hosting.
Configuring Nginx to Read PHP Files Outside Root
By default, Nginx will serve files from the web root directory specified in its configuration file. This default directory can be changed, however, to allow Nginx to read PHP files that are located outside of the web root directory.
In order to do this, the location directive needs to be used. This directive allows Nginx to specify a different location for specific requests. In this case, the directive must be used to specify the location of the PHP files that the server needs to read.
For example, Nginx can be configured to serve all requests for URLs beginning with ‘/data/’ from the directory ‘data’. The configuration directive would look something like this:
location /data/ {
root /data/;
}
This configuration would cause Nginx to read any file within the directory ‘/data/’ that is requested via an HTTP request beginning with ‘/data/’. For example, if a user requested the URL ‘http://example.com/data/file.php’, Nginx would look for the file ‘/data/file.php’.
Benefits of Using the Location Directive
Using the location directive has several benefits. Most notably, it increases security. Since the PHP files are located outside of the web root directory, they cannot be accessed directly via a URL. This means that users will not be able to view or alter the contents of the files.
The location directive also allows multiple web sites to be hosted off of the same server. This is particularly useful for web hosting companies or other organizations that need to host multiple domains. For example, two domains could be hosted off of the same server, with one domain having its own root directory, while the other domain could reference a different directory. This would enable each domain to have its own set of PHP files without having to duplicate the files.
Using .htaccess to Rearrange File Mapping
In addition to using the location directive, Nginx can also be configured to rearrange the file mapping for PHP files. This can be done using the .htaccess file. The .htaccess file is a configuration file that is used by Apache and other web servers. It can be used to define various configuration settings, including the rewrite of URLs.
For example, if a user requested the URL ‘http://example.com/data/file.php’, the .htaccess file could be used to rewrite the URL to ‘http://example.com/file.php’. This would cause Nginx to look for the file ‘/data/file.php’ rather than ‘file.php’ in the web root directory.
Configuring Nginx to Use the .htaccess File
In order to configure Nginx to use the .htaccess file, the directive ‘include’ needs to be added to the server configuration file. This directive will tell Nginx to look for the .htaccessfile in the specified directory. For example:
include /data/.htaccess;
This directive must be added before any location directives in order for these directives to take effect.
Conclusion
Nginx can be easily configured to read PHP files that are located outside of the web root directory. This can be done using the location directive, or by using the .htaccess file. Configuring Nginx to read PHP files from outside of the web root directory has the benefit of increased security, as well as allowing multiple web sites to be hosted on the same server without having to duplicate files.
FAQs
Q. Why Should I Use Nginx to Read PHP Files Outside Root?
A. Nginx is an open source web server that is optimized to serve static files, however it can also execute dynamic content including scripts written in PHP. Using Nginx to read PHP files outside of the root directory has the benefit of increased security, as well as allowing multiple web sites to be hosted on the same server without having to duplicate files.
Q. How Does Nginx Treat .htaccess Files?
A. Nginx can be configured to read .htaccess files. In order for Nginx to read the .htaccess file, the directive ‘include’ needs to be added to the server configuration file. This directive will tell Nginx to look for the .htaccess file in the specified directory.
Q. Is Nginx Compatible With Other Web Servers?
A. Nginx is compatible with many other web servers such as Apache. It can be used to proxy requests from other web servers, and can also be used in conjunction with other web servers.
Thank you for reading this article. Please read other articles about Nginx and web hosting related topics.
Related Posts:
- Available Application Apache And Nginx Available Application Apache And Nginx What is Apache? Apache is a web server software that allows users to store and deliver web content quickly and efficiently. Apache was created in…
- Install Webuzo Without Conlicting Nginx Centos 7 Install Webuzo Without Conlicting Nginx Centos 7 What is Nginx? Nginx is an open-source web server that was created and released in 2004. It is known for its speed, stability,…
- How To See Error Log In Nginx How To See Error Log In Nginx Introduction to Nginx Nginx is an open-source HTTP server, reverse proxy, and mail proxy software that was created by Igor Sysoev in 2004.…
- Nginx What's Folder Dev Mapper Centos-Root Nginx What's Folder Dev Mapper Centos-Root What Is Nginx? Nginx is an open source web server created in 2004 by Igor Sysoev. It is a high-performance web server with a…
- Http 1.1 Gzip Nginx HTTP 1.1 Gzip Nginx What is Gzip? Gzip is an open source software program for file compression. It is a very popular and efficient method for compressing files. It is…
- How To Install Nginx With Varnish Webuzo How To Install Nginx With Varnish Webuzo What is Nginx? Nginx is an open source web server created by Igor Sysoev in 2004. It is a light-weight, robust, high performance…
- How Use Nginx Mysql Ubuntu How to Use Nginx, MySQL and Ubuntu What is Nginx? Nginx is an open source web server and reverse proxy software written by Igor Sysoev. It is a popular choice…
- Nginx Check Default Client_Max_Body_Size Nginx Check Default Client_Max_Body_Size What is Nginx? Nginx is an open source web server, written in C programming language, created by Russian programmer Igor Sysoev. It’s a fast web server…
- Failed To Restart Nginx.Service: Unit Nginx.Service… Failed To Restart Nginx.Service: Unit Nginx.Service Not Found What is Nginx? Nginx (Engine X) is a web server originally created by Igor Sysoev in 1996. It is now one of…
- Nginx Php Fpm 7.2 Nginx Php Fpm 7.2 Introduction to Nginx and PHP-FPM Nginx is an open-source web server, reverse proxy server, and load balancer. It is known for being lightweight and fast, and…
- Nginx Proxy To Apacher Https Nginx Proxy To Apacher Https What is Nginx? Nginx is a web server software developed by Igor Sysoev and released in 2004. It is written in C and is one…
- Laravel Nginx Default Multiple Site Laravel Nginx Default Multiple Site What is Nginx? Nginx is a popular open source web server used for hosting websites on the internet. It is designed for high-traffic websites and…
- Vestacp Following Packages Are Already Installed… Vestacp Following Packages Are Already Installed Vesta Nginx Httpd What is VestaCP? Vesta Control Panel is an open-source hosting control panel, also referred to as VestaCP. It is mostly used…
- Wordpress Permalink Http 404 On Nginx Here We Go. WordPress Permalink Http 404 On Nginx What is WordPress Permalink? WordPress Permalinks, also known as permanent links, are URLs (Uniform Resource Locators) that are used to access…
- How To Set Nginx Droplet How To Set Up an Nginx Droplet What is a Droplet? A droplet, also known as a virtual private server (VPS), is a virtual machine running in the cloud. Droplets…
- Vestacp Nginx And Apache Inactive After Migrate Ip Vestacp Nginx and Apache Inactive After Migrate IP What is Vestacp? Vesta Control Panel or VestaCP is an open-source hosting control panel. It can be freely used to manage websites,…
- Nginx How To Override Nginx.Conf Conf.D Nginx How To Override Nginx.Conf Conf.D What is Nginx? Nginx is a high-performance web server that is commonly used for web hosting and reverse proxies. It has become increasingly popular…
- Forward Nginx To Another Subdomain Forward Nginx To Another Subdomain What is Nginx? Nginx is an open-source, high-performance web server originally developed by Igor Sysoev. Since its initial release in 2004, Nginx has become one…
- Ubuntu Nginx Php-Fpm Short Cut Ubuntu Nginx Php-Fpm Short Cut What Is Nginx? Nginx is a web server software package developed by Igor Sysoev for use with the Linux operating system. It is open source…
- How To Disable Directory Listing In Nginx How To Disable Directory Listing In Nginx What is Directory Listing? Directory listing allows a web server or an FTP server to display a list of all the files or…
- Nginx Emerg Http Directive Is Not Allowed Here Nginx Emerg Http Directive Is Not Allowed Here Introduction to Nginx Nginx is an open source web server software originally developed by Igor Sysoev. It is best known for its…
- Nginx Conf Serve Static Files Nginx Conf Serve Static Files What is Nginx? Nginx is an open source web server created in 2004 by Igor Sysoev. It’s fast and reliable, making it an ideal web…
- Nginx Forward To Another Url Nginx Forward To Another Url Introduction to Nginx Nginx is a web server similar to Apache. It is the backbone of web servers that power modern websites around the world.…
- Nginx Vs Apache Performance 2019 Nginx Vs Apache Performance 2019 What is Nginx? Nginx (pronounced engine-x) is a free, open-source, high-performance HTTP server and reverse proxy. It is much faster than Apache and has been…
- Web Root Not Found In Nginx Web Root Not Found In Nginx What is Nginx? Nginx is an open-source Web server. It is written in C and can be used for a variety of purposes, from…
- Nginx Proxy Cache Css And Js Nginx Proxy Cache Css And Js What is Nginx? Nginx (engine-x) is an open-source web server software that is commonly used for the hosting of websites and web applications. It…
- Laradock Nginx Exit Duplicate Default Server For… Laradock Nginx Exit Duplicate Default Server For 0.0.0.0:80 In What is Nginx Derived From? Nginx is derived from an open-source and high-performance HTTP server developed by Russian developer Igor Sysoev.…
- Compare Webproxy Nginx And Apache Compare webproxy Nginx and Apache What is Nginx? Nginx (pronounced “engine-x”) is a web server that is used for web-hosting purposes. It is open source software that is available for…
- Centos 6 Nginx Phpmyadmin Forbideen Centos 6 Nginx Phpmyadmin Forbidden Introduction CentOS 6, an open-source Linux operating system, is one of the most popular web server operating systems. It is considered to be a reliable…
- Upload Max Size Nginx Phpmyadmin Upload Max Size Nginx Phpmyadmin What is Nginx? Nginx is an open source web server and reverse proxy created for high performance and scalability. It is used to serve web…