Readable Nginx configs

A recent project announcement on the subredit /r/selfhosted reminded me to post about a simple trick I've started using to make the configuration of the webserver Nginx a little more ergonomic.

Nginx allows you to include files inline in your configs to make re-using code simple. An example would be all your ssl proxy settings as per generated using the Mozilla ssl-config generator.

simply add this config to a file like /etc/nginx/include.d/include.ssl_sec with your cert paths modified and include it in your config:

upstream example_service {
  server 127.0.0.1:8080;
  keepalive 32;
}

server {
  server_name example.tld;

  #Mozilla modern tls config
  include /etc/nginx/include.d/include.ssl_sec;

  location / {
    #Common Proxy settings
    include /etc/nginx/include.d/include.proxy_settings;

    proxy_pass http://example_service/;
  }
}

Now you have a nice easy config file that can be easily used as a template for new services. Adding additional configurations to files really makes it quick and easy to deploy new services without needing complicated projects like Nginx Proxy Manager