Module ngx_http_proxy_module
Planning your ingress-nginx migration? Start here:
kubernetes.nginx.org
Module ngx_http_proxy_module
Example Configuration
Directives
proxy_allow_upstream
proxy_bind
proxy_bind_dynamic
proxy_buffer_size
proxy_buffering
proxy_buffers
proxy_busy_buffers_size
proxy_cache
proxy_cache_background_update
proxy_cache_bypass
proxy_cache_convert_head
proxy_cache_key
proxy_cache_lock
proxy_cache_lock_age
proxy_cache_lock_timeout
proxy_cache_max_range_offset
proxy_cache_methods
proxy_cache_min_uses
proxy_cache_path
proxy_cache_purge
proxy_cache_revalidate
proxy_cache_use_stale
proxy_cache_valid
proxy_connect_timeout
proxy_cookie_domain
proxy_cookie_flags
proxy_cookie_path
proxy_force_ranges
proxy_headers_hash_bucket_size
proxy_headers_hash_max_size
proxy_hide_header
proxy_http_version
proxy_ignore_client_abort
proxy_ignore_headers
proxy_intercept_errors
proxy_limit_rate
proxy_max_temp_file_size
proxy_method
proxy_next_upstream
proxy_next_upstream_timeout
proxy_next_upstream_tries
proxy_no_cache
proxy_pass
proxy_pass_header
proxy_pass_request_body
proxy_pass_request_headers
proxy_pass_trailers
proxy_read_timeout
proxy_redirect
proxy_request_buffering
proxy_request_dynamic
proxy_send_lowat
proxy_send_timeout
proxy_set_body
proxy_set_header
proxy_socket_keepalive
proxy_ssl_certificate
proxy_ssl_certificate_cache
proxy_ssl_certificate_key
proxy_ssl_ciphers
proxy_ssl_conf_command
proxy_ssl_crl
proxy_ssl_key_log
proxy_ssl_name
proxy_ssl_password_file
proxy_ssl_protocols
proxy_ssl_server_name
proxy_ssl_session_reuse
proxy_ssl_trusted_certificate
proxy_ssl_verify
proxy_ssl_verify_depth
proxy_store
proxy_store_access
proxy_temp_file_write_size
proxy_temp_path
Embedded Variables
The
ngx_http_proxy_module
module allows passing
requests to another server.
Example Configuration
location / {
proxy_pass http://localhost:8000;
proxy_set_header Host $host;
proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
Directives
Syntax:
proxy_allow_upstream
string
...;
Default:
Context:
http
server
location
This directive appeared in version 1.29.3.
Defines conditions under which access to a proxied server
is allowed or
denied
If all string parameters are not empty
and not equal to “0” then the access is allowed.
The conditions are evaluated each time
before a connection to a proxied server is established.
Parameter values can contain variables:
geo $upstream_last_addr $allow {
volatile;
10.10.0.0/24 1;

server {
listen 127.0.0.1:8080;

location / {
proxy_pass localhost:8000;
proxy_allow_upstream $allow;
...
This directive is available as part of our
commercial subscription
Syntax:
proxy_bind
address
transparent
] |
off
Default:
Context:
http
server
location
This directive appeared in version 0.8.22.
Makes outgoing connections to a proxied server originate
from the specified local IP address with an optional port (1.11.2).
Parameter value can contain variables (1.3.12).
The special value
off
(1.3.12) cancels the effect
of the
proxy_bind
directive
inherited from the previous configuration level, which allows the
system to auto-assign the local IP address and port.
The
transparent
parameter (1.11.0) allows
outgoing connections to a proxied server originate
from a non-local IP address,
for example, from a real IP address of a client:
proxy_bind $remote_addr transparent;
In order for this parameter to work,
it is usually necessary to run nginx worker processes with the
superuser
privileges.
On Linux it is not required (1.13.8) as if
the
transparent
parameter is specified, worker processes
inherit the
CAP_NET_RAW
capability from the master process.
It is also necessary to configure kernel routing table
to intercept network traffic from the proxied server.
Syntax:
proxy_bind_dynamic
on
off
Default:
proxy_bind_dynamic off;
Context:
http
server
location
This directive appeared in version 1.29.3.
When enabled, makes the
bind
operation
at each connection attempt.
This directive is available as part of our
commercial subscription
Syntax:
proxy_buffer_size
size
Default:
proxy_buffer_size 4k|8k;
Context:
http
server
location
Sets the
size
of the buffer used for reading the first part
of the response received from the proxied server.
This part usually contains a small response header;
if it exceeds the buffer size, the response is considered
invalid
By default, the buffer size is equal to one memory page.
This is either 4K or 8K, depending on a platform.
It can be made smaller, however.
Syntax:
proxy_buffering
on
off
Default:
proxy_buffering on;
Context:
http
server
location
Enables or disables buffering of responses from the proxied server.
When buffering is enabled, nginx receives a response from the proxied server
as soon as possible, saving it into the buffers set by the
proxy_buffer_size
and
proxy_buffers
directives.
If the whole response does not fit into memory, a part of it can be saved
to a
temporary file
on the disk.
Writing to temporary files is controlled by the
proxy_max_temp_file_size
and
proxy_temp_file_write_size
directives.
When buffering is disabled, the response is passed to a client synchronously,
immediately as it is received.
nginx will not try to read the whole response from the proxied server.
The maximum size of the data that nginx can receive from the server
at a time is set by the
proxy_buffer_size
directive.
Buffering can also be enabled or disabled by passing
yes
” or “
no
” in the
“X-Accel-Buffering” response header field.
This capability can be disabled using the
proxy_ignore_headers
directive.
Syntax:
proxy_buffers
number
size
Default:
proxy_buffers 8 4k|8k;
Context:
http
server
location
Sets the
number
and
size
of the
buffers used for reading a response from the proxied server,
for a single connection.
By default, the buffer size is equal to one memory page.
This is either 4K or 8K, depending on a platform.
Syntax:
proxy_busy_buffers_size
size
Default:
proxy_busy_buffers_size 8k|16k;
Context:
http
server
location
When
buffering
of responses from the proxied
server is enabled, limits the total
size
of buffers that
can be busy sending a response to the client while the response is not
yet fully read.
In the meantime, the rest of the buffers can be used for reading the response
and, if needed, buffering part of the response to a temporary file.
By default,
size
is limited by the size of two buffers set by the
proxy_buffer_size
and
proxy_buffers
directives.
Syntax:
proxy_cache
zone
off
Default:
proxy_cache off;
Context:
http
server
location
Defines a shared memory zone used for caching.
The same zone can be used in several places.
Parameter value can contain variables (1.7.9).
The
off
parameter disables caching inherited
from the previous configuration level.
Syntax:
proxy_cache_background_update
on
off
Default:
proxy_cache_background_update off;
Context:
http
server
location
This directive appeared in version 1.11.10.
Allows starting a background subrequest
to update an expired cache item,
while a stale cached response is returned to the client.
Note that it is necessary to
allow
the usage of a stale cached response when it is being updated.
Syntax:
proxy_cache_bypass
string
...;
Default:
Context:
http
server
location
Defines conditions under which the response will not be taken from a cache.
If at least one value of the string parameters is not empty and is not
equal to “0” then the response will not be taken from the cache:
proxy_cache_bypass $cookie_nocache $arg_nocache$arg_comment;
proxy_cache_bypass $http_pragma $http_authorization;
Can be used along with the
proxy_no_cache
directive.
Syntax:
proxy_cache_convert_head
on
off
Default:
proxy_cache_convert_head on;
Context:
http
server
location
This directive appeared in version 1.9.7.
Enables or disables the conversion of the “
HEAD
” method
to “
GET
” for caching.
When the conversion is disabled, the
cache key
should be configured
to include the
$request_method
Syntax:
proxy_cache_key
string
Default:
proxy_cache_key $scheme$proxy_host$request_uri;
Context:
http
server
location
Defines a key for caching, for example
proxy_cache_key "$host$request_uri $cookie_user";
By default, the directive’s value is close to the string
proxy_cache_key $scheme$proxy_host$uri$is_args$args;
Syntax:
proxy_cache_lock
on
off
Default:
proxy_cache_lock off;
Context:
http
server
location
This directive appeared in version 1.1.12.
When enabled, only one request at a time will be allowed to populate
a new cache element identified according to the
proxy_cache_key
directive by passing a request to a proxied server.
Other requests of the same cache element will either wait
for a response to appear in the cache or the cache lock for
this element to be released, up to the time set by the
proxy_cache_lock_timeout
directive.
Syntax:
proxy_cache_lock_age
time
Default:
proxy_cache_lock_age 5s;
Context:
http
server
location
This directive appeared in version 1.7.8.
If the last request passed to the proxied server
for populating a new cache element
has not completed for the specified
time
one more request may be passed to the proxied server.
Syntax:
proxy_cache_lock_timeout
time
Default:
proxy_cache_lock_timeout 5s;
Context:
http
server
location
This directive appeared in version 1.1.12.
Sets a timeout for
proxy_cache_lock
When the
time
expires,
the request will be passed to the proxied server,
however, the response will not be cached.
Before 1.7.8, the response could be cached.
Syntax:
proxy_cache_max_range_offset
number
Default:
Context:
http
server
location
This directive appeared in version 1.11.6.
Sets an offset in bytes for byte-range requests.
If the range is beyond the offset,
the range request will be passed to the proxied server
and the response will not be cached.
Syntax:
proxy_cache_methods
GET
HEAD
POST
...;
Default:
proxy_cache_methods GET HEAD;
Context:
http
server
location
This directive appeared in version 0.7.59.
If the client request method is listed in this directive then
the response will be cached.
GET
” and “
HEAD
” methods are always
added to the list, though it is recommended to specify them explicitly.
See also the
proxy_no_cache
directive.
Syntax:
proxy_cache_min_uses
number
Default:
proxy_cache_min_uses 1;
Context:
http
server
location
Sets the
number
of requests after which the response
will be cached.
Syntax:
proxy_cache_path
path
levels
levels
use_temp_path
on
off
keys_zone
name
size
inactive
time
max_size
size
min_free
size
manager_files
number
manager_sleep
time
manager_threshold
time
loader_files
number
loader_sleep
time
loader_threshold
time
purger
on
off
purger_files
number
purger_sleep
time
purger_threshold
time
];
Default:
Context:
http
Sets the path and other parameters of a cache.
Cache data are stored in files.
The file name in a cache is a result of
applying the MD5 function to the
cache key
The
levels
parameter defines hierarchy levels of a cache:
from 1 to 3, each level accepts values 1 or 2.
For example, in the following configuration
proxy_cache_path /data/nginx/cache levels=1:2 keys_zone=one:10m;
file names in a cache will look like this:
/data/nginx/cache/
29
/b7f54b2df7773722d382f4809d650
29c
A cached response is first written to a temporary file,
and then the file is renamed.
Starting from version 0.8.9, temporary files and the cache can be put on
different file systems.
However, be aware that in this case a file is copied
across two file systems instead of the cheap renaming operation.
It is thus recommended that for any given location both cache and a directory
holding temporary files
are put on the same file system.
The directory for temporary files is set based on
the
use_temp_path
parameter (1.7.10).
If this parameter is omitted or set to the value
on
the directory set by the
proxy_temp_path
directive
for the given location will be used.
If the value is set to
off
temporary files will be put directly in the cache directory.
In addition, all active keys and information about data are stored
in a shared memory zone, whose
name
and
size
are configured by the
keys_zone
parameter.
One megabyte zone can store about 8 thousand keys.
As part of
commercial subscription
the shared memory zone also stores extended
cache
information
thus, it is required to specify a larger zone size for the same number of keys.
For example,
one megabyte zone can store about 4 thousand keys.
Cached data that are not accessed during the time specified by the
inactive
parameter get removed from the cache
regardless of their freshness.
By default,
inactive
is set to 10 minutes.
The special “cache manager” process monitors the maximum cache size set
by the
max_size
parameter,
and the minimum amount of free space set
by the
min_free
(1.19.1) parameter
on the file system with cache.
When the size is exceeded or there is not enough free space,
it removes the least recently used data.
The data is removed in iterations configured by
manager_files
manager_threshold
, and
manager_sleep
parameters (1.11.5).
During one iteration no more than
manager_files
items
are deleted (by default, 100).
The duration of one iteration is limited by the
manager_threshold
parameter (by default, 200 milliseconds).
Between iterations, a pause configured by the
manager_sleep
parameter (by default, 50 milliseconds) is made.
A minute after the start the special “cache loader” process is activated.
It loads information about previously cached data stored on file system
into a cache zone.
The loading is also done in iterations.
During one iteration no more than
loader_files
items
are loaded (by default, 100).
Besides, the duration of one iteration is limited by the
loader_threshold
parameter (by default, 200 milliseconds).
Between iterations, a pause configured by the
loader_sleep
parameter (by default, 50 milliseconds) is made.
Additionally,
the following parameters are available as part of our
commercial subscription
purger
on
off
Instructs whether cache entries that match a
wildcard key
will be removed from the disk by the cache purger (1.7.12).
Setting the parameter to
on
(default is
off
will activate the “cache purger” process that
permanently iterates through all cache entries
and deletes the entries that match the wildcard key.
purger_files
number
Sets the number of items that will be scanned during one iteration (1.7.12).
By default,
purger_files
is set to 10.
purger_threshold
number
Sets the duration of one iteration (1.7.12).
By default,
purger_threshold
is set to 50 milliseconds.
purger_sleep
number
Sets a pause between iterations (1.7.12).
By default,
purger_sleep
is set to 50 milliseconds.
In versions 1.7.3, 1.7.7, and 1.11.10 cache header format has been changed.
Previously cached responses will be considered invalid
after upgrading to a newer nginx version.
Syntax:
proxy_cache_purge
string ...;
Default:
Context:
http
server
location
This directive appeared in version 1.5.7.
Defines conditions under which the request will be considered a cache
purge request.
If at least one value of the string parameters is not empty and is not equal
to “0” then the cache entry with a corresponding
cache key
is removed.
The result of successful operation is indicated by returning
the 204 (No Content) response.
If the
cache key
of a purge request ends
with an asterisk (“
”), all cache entries matching the
wildcard key will be removed from the cache.
However, these entries will remain on the disk until they are deleted
for either
inactivity
or processed by the
cache purger
(1.7.12),
or a client attempts to access them.
Example configuration:
proxy_cache_path /data/nginx/cache keys_zone=cache_zone:10m;

map $request_method $purge_method {
PURGE 1;
default 0;

server {
...
location / {
proxy_pass http://backend;
proxy_cache cache_zone;
proxy_cache_key $uri;
proxy_cache_purge $purge_method;
This functionality is available as part of our
commercial subscription
Syntax:
proxy_cache_revalidate
on
off
Default:
proxy_cache_revalidate off;
Context:
http
server
location
This directive appeared in version 1.5.7.
Enables revalidation of expired cache items using conditional requests with
the “If-Modified-Since” and “If-None-Match”
header fields.
Syntax:
proxy_cache_use_stale
error
timeout
invalid_header
updating
http_500
http_502
http_503
http_504
http_403
http_404
http_429
off
...;
Default:
proxy_cache_use_stale off;
Context:
http
server
location
Determines in which cases a stale cached response can be used
during communication with the proxied server.
The directive’s parameters match the parameters of the
proxy_next_upstream
directive.
The
error
parameter also permits
using a stale cached response if a proxied server to process a request
cannot be selected.
Additionally, the
updating
parameter permits
using a stale cached response if it is currently being updated.
This allows minimizing the number of accesses to proxied servers
when updating cached data.
Using a stale cached response
can also be enabled directly in the response header
for a specified number of seconds after the response became stale (1.11.10).
This has lower priority than using the directive parameters.
The
stale-while-revalidate
extension of the “Cache-Control” header field permits
using a stale cached response if it is currently being updated.
The
stale-if-error
extension of the “Cache-Control” header field permits
using a stale cached response in case of an error.
To minimize the number of accesses to proxied servers when
populating a new cache element, the
proxy_cache_lock
directive can be used.
Syntax:
proxy_cache_valid
code
...]
time
Default:
Context:
http
server
location
Sets caching time for different response codes.
For example, the following directives
proxy_cache_valid 200 302 10m;
proxy_cache_valid 404 1m;
set 10 minutes of caching for responses with codes 200 and 302
and 1 minute for responses with code 404.
If only caching
time
is specified
proxy_cache_valid 5m;
then only 200, 301, and 302 responses are cached.
In addition, the
any
parameter can be specified
to cache any responses:
proxy_cache_valid 200 302 10m;
proxy_cache_valid 301 1h;
proxy_cache_valid any 1m;
Parameters of caching can also be set directly
in the response header.
This has higher priority than setting of caching time using the directive.
The “X-Accel-Expires” header field sets caching time of a
response in seconds.
The zero value disables caching for a response.
If the value starts with the
prefix, it sets an absolute
time in seconds since Epoch, up to which the response may be cached.
If the header does not include the “X-Accel-Expires” field,
parameters of caching may be set in the header fields
“Expires” or “Cache-Control”.
If the header includes the “Set-Cookie” field, such a
response will not be cached.
If the header includes the “Vary” field
with the special value “
”, such a
response will not be cached (1.7.7).
If the header includes the “Vary” field
with another value, such a response will be cached
taking into account the corresponding request header fields (1.7.7).
Processing of one or more of these response header fields can be disabled
using the
proxy_ignore_headers
directive.
Syntax:
proxy_connect_timeout
time
Default:
proxy_connect_timeout 60s;
Context:
http
server
location
Defines a timeout for establishing a connection with a proxied server.
It should be noted that this timeout cannot usually exceed 75 seconds.
Syntax:
proxy_cookie_domain
off
proxy_cookie_domain
domain
replacement
Default:
proxy_cookie_domain off;
Context:
http
server
location
This directive appeared in version 1.1.15.
Sets a text that should be changed in the
domain
attribute of the “Set-Cookie” header fields of a
proxied server response.
Suppose a proxied server returned the “Set-Cookie”
header field with the attribute
domain=localhost
”.
The directive
proxy_cookie_domain localhost example.org;
will rewrite this attribute to
domain=example.org
”.
A dot at the beginning of the
domain
and
replacement
strings and the
domain
attribute is ignored.
Matching is case-insensitive.
The
domain
and
replacement
strings
can contain variables:
proxy_cookie_domain www.$host $host;
The directive can also be specified using regular expressions.
In this case,
domain
should start from
the “
” symbol.
A regular expression can contain named and positional captures,
and
replacement
can reference them:
proxy_cookie_domain ~\.(?P[-0-9a-z]+\.[a-z]+)$ $sl_domain;
Several
proxy_cookie_domain
directives
can be specified on the same level:
proxy_cookie_domain localhost example.org;
proxy_cookie_domain ~\.([a-z]+\.[a-z]+)$ $1;
If several directives can be applied to the cookie,
the first matching directive will be chosen.
The
off
parameter cancels the effect
of the
proxy_cookie_domain
directives
inherited from the previous configuration level.
Syntax:
proxy_cookie_flags
off
flag
...];
Default:
proxy_cookie_flags off;
Context:
http
server
location
This directive appeared in version 1.19.3.
Sets one or more flags for the cookie.
The
can contain text, variables, and their combinations.
The
flag
can contain text, variables, and their combinations (1.19.8).
The
secure
httponly
samesite=strict
samesite=lax
samesite=none
parameters add the corresponding flags.
The
nosecure
nohttponly
nosamesite
parameters remove the corresponding flags.
The cookie can also be specified using regular expressions.
In this case,
should start from
the “
” symbol.
Several
proxy_cookie_flags
directives
can be specified on the same configuration level:
proxy_cookie_flags one httponly;
proxy_cookie_flags ~ nosecure samesite=strict;
If several directives can be applied to the cookie,
the first matching directive will be chosen.
In the example, the
httponly
flag
is added to the cookie
one
for all other cookies
the
samesite=strict
flag is added and
the
secure
flag is deleted.
The
off
parameter cancels the effect
of the
proxy_cookie_flags
directives
inherited from the previous configuration level.
Syntax:
proxy_cookie_path
off
proxy_cookie_path
path
replacement
Default:
proxy_cookie_path off;
Context:
http
server
location
This directive appeared in version 1.1.15.
Sets a text that should be changed in the
path
attribute of the “Set-Cookie” header fields of a
proxied server response.
Suppose a proxied server returned the “Set-Cookie”
header field with the attribute
path=/two/some/uri/
”.
The directive
proxy_cookie_path /two/ /;
will rewrite this attribute to
path=/some/uri/
”.
The
path
and
replacement
strings
can contain variables:
proxy_cookie_path $uri /some$uri;
The directive can also be specified using regular expressions.
In this case,
path
should either start from
the “
” symbol for a case-sensitive matching,
or from the “
~*
” symbols for case-insensitive
matching.
The regular expression can contain named and positional captures,
and
replacement
can reference them:
proxy_cookie_path ~*^/user/([^/]+) /u/$1;
Several
proxy_cookie_path
directives
can be specified on the same level:
proxy_cookie_path /one/ /;
proxy_cookie_path / /two/;
If several directives can be applied to the cookie,
the first matching directive will be chosen.
The
off
parameter cancels the effect
of the
proxy_cookie_path
directives
inherited from the previous configuration level.
Syntax:
proxy_force_ranges
on
off
Default:
proxy_force_ranges off;
Context:
http
server
location
This directive appeared in version 1.7.7.
Enables byte-range support
for both cached and uncached responses from the proxied server
regardless of the “Accept-Ranges” field in these responses.
Syntax:
proxy_headers_hash_bucket_size
size
Default:
proxy_headers_hash_bucket_size 64;
Context:
http
server
location
Sets the bucket
size
for hash tables
used by the
proxy_hide_header
and
proxy_set_header
directives.
The details of setting up hash tables are provided in a separate
document
Syntax:
proxy_headers_hash_max_size
size
Default:
proxy_headers_hash_max_size 512;
Context:
http
server
location
Sets the maximum
size
of hash tables
used by the
proxy_hide_header
and
proxy_set_header
directives.
The details of setting up hash tables are provided in a separate
document
Syntax:
proxy_hide_header
field
Default:
Context:
http
server
location
By default,
nginx does not pass the header fields “Date”,
“Server”, “X-Pad”, and
“X-Accel-...” from the response of a proxied
server to a client.
The
proxy_hide_header
directive sets additional fields
that will not be passed.
If, on the contrary, the passing of fields needs to be permitted,
the
proxy_pass_header
directive can be used.
Syntax:
proxy_http_version
1.0
1.1
Default:
proxy_http_version 1.1;
Context:
http
server
location
This directive appeared in version 1.1.4.
Sets the HTTP protocol version for proxying.
Since 1.29.7, version 1.1 is used by default.
Before 1.29.7, version 1.0 was used by default.
Version 1.1 or 2 (1.29.4) is recommended for use with
keepalive
connections and
NTLM authentication
Version 2 requires the
ngx_http_v2_module
module.
Syntax:
proxy_ignore_client_abort
on
off
Default:
proxy_ignore_client_abort off;
Context:
http
server
location
Determines whether the connection with a proxied server should be
closed when a client closes the connection without waiting
for a response.
Syntax:
proxy_ignore_headers
field
...;
Default:
Context:
http
server
location
Disables processing of certain response header fields from the proxied server.
The following fields can be ignored: “X-Accel-Redirect”,
“X-Accel-Expires”, “X-Accel-Limit-Rate” (1.1.6),
“X-Accel-Buffering” (1.1.6),
“X-Accel-Charset” (1.1.6), “Expires”,
“Cache-Control”, “Set-Cookie” (0.8.44),
and “Vary” (1.7.7).
If not disabled, processing of these header fields has the following
effect:
“X-Accel-Expires”, “Expires”,
“Cache-Control”, “Set-Cookie”,
and “Vary”
set the parameters of response
caching
“X-Accel-Redirect” performs an
internal
redirect
to the specified URI;
“X-Accel-Limit-Rate” sets the
rate
limit
for transmission of a response to a client;
“X-Accel-Buffering” enables or disables
buffering
of a response;
“X-Accel-Charset” sets the desired
charset
of a response.
Syntax:
proxy_intercept_errors
on
off
Default:
proxy_intercept_errors off;
Context:
http
server
location
Determines whether proxied responses with codes greater than or equal
to 300 should be passed to a client
or be intercepted and redirected to nginx for processing
with the
error_page
directive.
Syntax:
proxy_limit_rate
rate
Default:
proxy_limit_rate 0;
Context:
http
server
location
This directive appeared in version 1.7.7.
Limits the speed of reading the response from the proxied server.
The
rate
is specified in bytes per second.
The zero value disables rate limiting.
The limit is set per a request, and so if nginx simultaneously opens
two connections to the proxied server,
the overall rate will be twice as much as the specified limit.
The limitation works only if
buffering
of responses from the proxied
server is enabled.
Parameter value can contain variables (1.27.0).
Syntax:
proxy_max_temp_file_size
size
Default:
proxy_max_temp_file_size 1024m;
Context:
http
server
location
When
buffering
of responses from the proxied
server is enabled, and the whole response does not fit into the buffers
set by the
proxy_buffer_size
and
proxy_buffers
directives, a part of the response can be saved to a temporary file.
This directive sets the maximum
size
of the temporary file.
The size of data written to the temporary file at a time is set
by the
proxy_temp_file_write_size
directive.
The zero value disables buffering of responses to temporary files.
This restriction does not apply to responses
that will be
cached
or
stored
on disk.
Syntax:
proxy_method
method
Default:
Context:
http
server
location
Specifies the HTTP
method
to use in requests forwarded
to the proxied server instead of the method from the client request.
Parameter value can contain variables (1.11.6).
Syntax:
proxy_next_upstream
error
timeout
denied
invalid_header
http_500
http_502
http_503
http_504
http_403
http_404
http_429
non_idempotent
off
...;
Default:
proxy_next_upstream error timeout;
Context:
http
server
location
Specifies in which cases a request should be passed to the next server:
error
an error occurred while establishing a connection with the
server, passing a request to it, or reading the response header;
timeout
a timeout has occurred while establishing a connection with the
server, passing a request to it, or reading the response header;
denied
the server
denied
the connection (1.29.3);
This parameter is available as part of our
commercial subscription
invalid_header
a server returned an empty or invalid response;
http_500
a server returned a response with the code 500;
http_502
a server returned a response with the code 502;
http_503
a server returned a response with the code 503;
http_504
a server returned a response with the code 504;
http_403
a server returned a response with the code 403;
http_404
a server returned a response with the code 404;
http_429
a server returned a response with the code 429 (1.11.13);
non_idempotent
normally, requests with a
non-idempotent
method
POST
LOCK
PATCH
are not passed to the next server
if a request has been sent to an upstream server (1.9.13);
enabling this option explicitly allows retrying such requests;
off
disables passing a request to the next server.
One should bear in mind that passing a request to the next server is
only possible if nothing has been sent to a client yet.
That is, if an error or timeout occurs in the middle of the
transferring of a response, fixing this is impossible.
The directive also defines what is considered an
unsuccessful
attempt
of communication with a server.
The cases of
error
timeout
denied
and
invalid_header
are always considered unsuccessful attempts,
even if they are not specified in the directive.
The cases of
http_500
http_502
http_503
http_504
and
http_429
are
considered unsuccessful attempts only if they are specified in the directive.
The cases of
http_403
and
http_404
are never considered unsuccessful attempts.
Passing a request to the next server can be limited by
the number of tries
and by
time
Syntax:
proxy_next_upstream_timeout
time
Default:
proxy_next_upstream_timeout 0;
Context:
http
server
location
This directive appeared in version 1.7.5.
Limits the time during which a request can be passed to the
next server
The
value turns off this limitation.
Syntax:
proxy_next_upstream_tries
number
Default:
proxy_next_upstream_tries 0;
Context:
http
server
location
This directive appeared in version 1.7.5.
Limits the number of possible tries for passing a request to the
next server
The
value turns off this limitation.
Syntax:
proxy_no_cache
string
...;
Default:
Context:
http
server
location
Defines conditions under which the response will not be saved to a cache.
If at least one value of the string parameters is not empty and is not
equal to “0” then the response will not be saved:
proxy_no_cache $cookie_nocache $arg_nocache$arg_comment;
proxy_no_cache $http_pragma $http_authorization;
Can be used along with the
proxy_cache_bypass
directive.
Syntax:
proxy_pass
URL
Default:
Context:
location
if in location
limit_except
Sets the protocol and address of a proxied server and an optional URI
to which a location should be mapped.
As a protocol, “
http
” or “
https
can be specified.
The address can be specified as a domain name or IP address,
and an optional port:
proxy_pass http://localhost:8000/uri/;
or as a UNIX-domain socket path specified after the word
unix
” and enclosed in colons:
proxy_pass http://unix:/tmp/backend.socket:/uri/;
If a domain name resolves to several addresses, all of them will be
used in a round-robin fashion.
In addition, an address can be specified as a
server group
Parameter value can contain variables.
In this case, if an address is specified as a domain name,
the name is searched among the described server groups,
and, if not found, is determined using a
resolver
A request URI is passed to the server as follows:
If the
proxy_pass
directive is specified with a URI,
then when a request is passed to the server, the part of a
normalized
request URI matching the location is replaced by a URI
specified in the directive:
location /name/ {
proxy_pass http://127.0.0.1/remote/;
If
proxy_pass
is specified without a URI,
the request URI is passed to the server in the same form
as sent by a client when the original request is processed,
or the full normalized request URI is passed
when processing the changed URI:
location /some/path/ {
proxy_pass http://127.0.0.1;
Before version 1.1.12,
if
proxy_pass
is specified without a URI,
the original request URI might be passed
instead of the changed URI in some cases.
In some cases, the part of a request URI to be replaced cannot be determined:
When location is specified using a regular expression,
and also inside named locations.
In these cases,
proxy_pass
should be specified without a URI.
When the URI is changed inside a proxied location using the
rewrite
directive,
and this same configuration will be used to process a request
break
):
location /name/ {
rewrite /name/([^/]+) /users?name=$1 break;
proxy_pass http://127.0.0.1;
In this case, the URI specified in the directive is ignored and
the full changed request URI is passed to the server.
When variables are used in
proxy_pass
location /name/ {
proxy_pass http://127.0.0.1$request_uri;
In this case, if URI is specified in the directive,
it is passed to the server as is,
replacing the original request URI.
WebSocket
proxying requires special
configuration and is supported since version 1.3.13.
Syntax:
proxy_pass_header
field
Default:
Context:
http
server
location
Permits passing
otherwise disabled
header
fields from a proxied server to a client.
Syntax:
proxy_pass_request_body
on
off
Default:
proxy_pass_request_body on;
Context:
http
server
location
Indicates whether the original request body is passed
to the proxied server.
location /x-accel-redirect-here/ {
proxy_method GET;
proxy_pass_request_body off;
proxy_set_header Content-Length "";

proxy_pass ...
See also the
proxy_set_header
and
proxy_pass_request_headers
directives.
Syntax:
proxy_pass_request_headers
on
off
Default:
proxy_pass_request_headers on;
Context:
http
server
location
Indicates whether the header fields of the original request are passed
to the proxied server.
location /x-accel-redirect-here/ {
proxy_method GET;
proxy_pass_request_headers off;
proxy_pass_request_body off;

proxy_pass ...
See also the
proxy_set_header
and
proxy_pass_request_body
directives.
Syntax:
proxy_pass_trailers
on
off
Default:
proxy_pass_trailers off;
Context:
http
server
location
This directive appeared in version 1.27.2.
Permits passing trailer fields from a proxied server to a client.
A trailer section should be
explicitly enabled
location / {
# proxy_http_version 1.1; #for versions before 1.29.7
proxy_set_header Connection "te";
proxy_set_header TE "trailers";
proxy_pass_trailers on;

proxy_pass ...
Syntax:
proxy_read_timeout
time
Default:
proxy_read_timeout 60s;
Context:
http
server
location
Defines a timeout for reading a response from the proxied server.
The timeout is set only between two successive read operations,
not for the transmission of the whole response.
If the proxied server does not transmit anything within this time,
the connection is closed.
Syntax:
proxy_redirect
default
proxy_redirect
off
proxy_redirect
redirect
replacement
Default:
proxy_redirect default;
Context:
http
server
location
Sets the text that should be changed in the “Location”
and “Refresh” header fields of a proxied server response.
Suppose a proxied server returned the header field
Location: http://localhost:8000/two/some/uri/
”.
The directive
proxy_redirect http://localhost:8000/two/ http://frontend/one/;
will rewrite this string to
Location: http://frontend/one/some/uri/
”.
A server name may be omitted in the
replacement
string:
proxy_redirect http://localhost:8000/two/ /;
then the primary server’s name and port, if different from 80,
will be inserted.
The default replacement specified by the
default
parameter
uses the parameters of the
location
and
proxy_pass
directives.
Hence, the two configurations below are equivalent:
location /one/ {
proxy_pass http://upstream:port/two/;
proxy_redirect default;
location /one/ {
proxy_pass http://upstream:port/two/;
proxy_redirect http://upstream:port/two/ /one/;
The
default
parameter is not permitted if
proxy_pass
is specified using variables.
replacement
string can contain variables:
proxy_redirect http://localhost:8000/ http://$host:$server_port/;
redirect
can also contain (1.1.11) variables:
proxy_redirect http://$proxy_host:8000/ /;
The directive can be specified (1.1.11) using regular expressions.
In this case,
redirect
should either start with
the “
” symbol for a case-sensitive matching,
or with the “
~*
” symbols for case-insensitive
matching.
The regular expression can contain named and positional captures,
and
replacement
can reference them:
proxy_redirect ~^(http://[^:]+):\d+(/.+)$ $1$2;
proxy_redirect ~*/user/([^/]+)/(.+)$ http://$1.example.com/$2;
Several
proxy_redirect
directives
can be specified on the same level:
proxy_redirect default;
proxy_redirect http://localhost:8000/ /;
proxy_redirect http://www.example.com/ /;
If several directives can be applied to
the header fields of a proxied server response,
the first matching directive will be chosen.
The
off
parameter cancels the effect
of the
proxy_redirect
directives
inherited from the previous configuration level.
Using this directive, it is also possible to add host names to relative
redirects issued by a proxied server:
proxy_redirect / /;
Syntax:
proxy_request_buffering
on
off
Default:
proxy_request_buffering on;
Context:
http
server
location
This directive appeared in version 1.7.11.
Enables or disables buffering of a client request body.
When buffering is enabled, the entire request body is
read
from the client before sending the request to a proxied server.
When buffering is disabled, the request body is sent to the proxied server
immediately as it is received.
In this case, the request cannot be passed to the
next server
if nginx already started sending the request body.
When HTTP/1.1 chunked transfer encoding is used
to send the original request body,
the request body will be buffered regardless of the directive value unless
HTTP/1.1 or HTTP/2 is
enabled
for proxying.
Syntax:
proxy_request_dynamic
on
off
Default:
proxy_request_dynamic off;
Context:
http
server
location
This directive appeared in version 1.29.3.
Enables or disables creation of a separate request instance
for each proxied server.
By default, a single request is used for all proxied servers.
If enabled, a separate request instance is created,
allowing per-server request customization.
For example, the server-specific “Host” request header field
can be set:
proxy_request_dynamic on;
proxy_set_header Host $upstream_last_server_name;
This directive is available as part of our
commercial subscription
Syntax:
proxy_send_lowat
size
Default:
proxy_send_lowat 0;
Context:
http
server
location
If the directive is set to a non-zero value, nginx will try to
minimize the number
of send operations on outgoing connections to a proxied server by using either
NOTE_LOWAT
flag of the
kqueue
method,
or the
SO_SNDLOWAT
socket option,
with the specified
size
This directive is ignored on Linux, Solaris, and Windows.
Syntax:
proxy_send_timeout
time
Default:
proxy_send_timeout 60s;
Context:
http
server
location
Sets a timeout for transmitting a request to the proxied server.
The timeout is set only between two successive write operations,
not for the transmission of the whole request.
If the proxied server does not receive anything within this time,
the connection is closed.
Syntax:
proxy_set_body
value
Default:
Context:
http
server
location
Allows redefining the request body passed to the proxied server.
The
value
can contain text, variables, and their combination.
Syntax:
proxy_set_header
field
value
Default:
proxy_set_header Host $proxy_host;
proxy_set_header Connection close;
Context:
http
server
location
Allows redefining or appending fields to the request header
passed
to the proxied server.
The
value
can contain text, variables, and their combinations.
These directives are inherited from the previous configuration level
if and only if there are no
proxy_set_header
directives
defined on the current level.
By default, the header fields
“Host”
and
“Connection”
from the original request are not passed to the proxied server.
If HTTP/1.0 or HTTP/1.1 is
enabled
for proxying,
these fields are redefined:
proxy_set_header Host $proxy_host;
proxy_set_header Connection close;
For HTTP/2, the
“:authority”
pseudo-header field with the
$proxy_host
value is sent by default,
unless it is replaced with an explicit “Host” header field.
If caching is enabled, the header fields
“If-Modified-Since”,
“If-Unmodified-Since”,
“If-None-Match”,
“If-Match”,
“Range”,
and
“If-Range”
from the original request are not passed to the proxied server.
An unchanged “Host” request header field can be passed like this:
proxy_set_header Host $http_host;
However, if this field is not present in a client request header then
nothing will be passed.
In such a case it is better to use the
$host
variable - its
value equals the server name in the “Host” request header
field or the primary server name if this field is not present:
proxy_set_header Host $host;
In addition, the server name can be passed together with the port of the
proxied server:
proxy_set_header Host $host:$proxy_port;
If the value of a header field is an empty string then this
field will not be passed to a proxied server:
proxy_set_header Accept-Encoding "";
Syntax:
proxy_socket_keepalive
on
off
Default:
proxy_socket_keepalive off;
Context:
http
server
location
This directive appeared in version 1.15.6.
Configures the “TCP keepalive” behavior
for outgoing connections to a proxied server.
By default, the operating system’s settings are in effect for the socket.
If the directive is set to the value “
on
”, the
SO_KEEPALIVE
socket option is turned on for the socket.
Syntax:
proxy_ssl_certificate
file
Default:
Context:
http
server
location
This directive appeared in version 1.7.8.
Specifies a
file
with the certificate in the PEM format
used for authentication to a proxied HTTPS server.
Since version 1.21.0, variables can be used in the
file
name.
Syntax:
proxy_ssl_certificate_cache
off
proxy_ssl_certificate_cache
max
inactive
time
valid
time
];
Default:
proxy_ssl_certificate_cache off;
Context:
http
server
location
This directive appeared in version 1.27.4.
Defines a cache that stores
SSL certificates
and
secret keys
specified with
variables
The directive has the following parameters:
max
sets the maximum number of elements in the cache;
on cache overflow the least recently used (LRU) elements are removed;
inactive
defines a time after which an element is removed from the cache
if it has not been accessed during this time;
by default, it is 10 seconds;
valid
defines a time during which
an element in the cache is considered valid
and can be reused;
by default, it is 60 seconds.
Certificates that exceed this time will be reloaded or revalidated;
off
disables the cache.
Example:
proxy_ssl_certificate $proxy_ssl_server_name.crt;
proxy_ssl_certificate_key $proxy_ssl_server_name.key;
proxy_ssl_certificate_cache max=1000 inactive=20s valid=1m;
Syntax:
proxy_ssl_certificate_key
file
Default:
Context:
http
server
location
This directive appeared in version 1.7.8.
Specifies a
file
with the secret key in the PEM format
used for authentication to a proxied HTTPS server.
The value
engine
name
id
can be specified instead of the
file
(1.7.9),
which loads a secret key with a specified
id
from the OpenSSL engine
name
The value
store
scheme
id
can be specified instead of the
file
(1.29.0),
which is used to load a secret key with a specified
id
and OpenSSL provider registered URI
scheme
, such as
pkcs11
Since version 1.21.0, variables can be used in the
file
name.
Syntax:
proxy_ssl_ciphers
ciphers
Default:
proxy_ssl_ciphers DEFAULT;
Context:
http
server
location
This directive appeared in version 1.5.6.
Specifies the enabled ciphers for requests to a proxied HTTPS server.
The ciphers are specified in the format understood by the OpenSSL library.
The full list can be viewed using the
openssl ciphers
” command.
Syntax:
proxy_ssl_conf_command
name
value
Default:
Context:
http
server
location
This directive appeared in version 1.19.4.
Sets arbitrary OpenSSL configuration
commands
when establishing a connection with the proxied HTTPS server.
The directive is supported when using OpenSSL 1.0.2 or higher.
Several
proxy_ssl_conf_command
directives
can be specified on the same level.
These directives are inherited from the previous configuration level
if and only if there are
no
proxy_ssl_conf_command
directives
defined on the current level.
Note that configuring OpenSSL directly
might result in unexpected behavior.
Syntax:
proxy_ssl_crl
file
Default:
Context:
http
server
location
This directive appeared in version 1.7.0.
Specifies a
file
with revoked certificates (CRL)
in the PEM format used to
verify
the certificate of the proxied HTTPS server.
When using intermediate certificates, their CRLs should be
specified in the same file.
Syntax:
proxy_ssl_key_log
path;
Default:
Context:
http
server
location
This directive appeared in version 1.27.2.
Enables logging of proxied HTTPS server connection SSL keys
and specifies the path to the key log file.
Keys are logged in the
SSLKEYLOGFILE
format compatible with Wireshark.
This directive is available as part of our
commercial subscription
Syntax:
proxy_ssl_name
name
Default:
proxy_ssl_name $proxy_host;
Context:
http
server
location
This directive appeared in version 1.7.0.
Allows overriding the server name used to
verify
the certificate of the proxied HTTPS server and to be
passed through SNI
when establishing a connection with the proxied HTTPS server.
By default, the host part of the
proxy_pass
URL is used.
Syntax:
proxy_ssl_password_file
file
Default:
Context:
http
server
location
This directive appeared in version 1.7.8.
Specifies a
file
with passphrases for
secret keys
where each passphrase is specified on a separate line.
Passphrases are tried in turn when loading the key.
Syntax:
proxy_ssl_protocols
SSLv2
SSLv3
TLSv1
TLSv1.1
TLSv1.2
TLSv1.3
];
Default:
proxy_ssl_protocols TLSv1.2 TLSv1.3;
Context:
http
server
location
This directive appeared in version 1.5.6.
Enables the specified protocols for requests to a proxied HTTPS server.
The
TLSv1.3
parameter is used by default
since 1.23.4.
Syntax:
proxy_ssl_server_name
on
off
Default:
proxy_ssl_server_name off;
Context:
http
server
location
This directive appeared in version 1.7.0.
Enables or disables passing of the server name through
TLS
Server Name Indication extension
(SNI, RFC 6066)
when establishing a connection with the proxied HTTPS server.
Syntax:
proxy_ssl_session_reuse
on
off
Default:
proxy_ssl_session_reuse on;
Context:
http
server
location
Determines whether SSL sessions can be reused when working with
the proxied server.
If the errors
digest check failed
appear in the logs, try disabling session reuse.
Syntax:
proxy_ssl_trusted_certificate
file
Default:
Context:
http
server
location
This directive appeared in version 1.7.0.
Specifies a
file
with trusted CA certificates in the PEM format
used to
verify
the certificate of the proxied HTTPS server.
Syntax:
proxy_ssl_verify
on
off
Default:
proxy_ssl_verify off;
Context:
http
server
location
This directive appeared in version 1.7.0.
Enables or disables verification of the proxied HTTPS server certificate.
Syntax:
proxy_ssl_verify_depth
number
Default:
proxy_ssl_verify_depth 1;
Context:
http
server
location
This directive appeared in version 1.7.0.
Sets the verification depth in the proxied HTTPS server certificates chain.
Syntax:
proxy_store
on
off
string
Default:
proxy_store off;
Context:
http
server
location
Enables saving of files to a disk.
The
on
parameter saves files with paths
corresponding to the directives
alias
or
root
The
off
parameter disables saving of files.
In addition, the file name can be set explicitly using the
string
with variables:
proxy_store /data/www$original_uri;
The modification time of files is set according to the received
“Last-Modified” response header field.
The response is first written to a temporary file,
and then the file is renamed.
Starting from version 0.8.9, temporary files and the persistent store
can be put on different file systems.
However, be aware that in this case a file is copied
across two file systems instead of the cheap renaming operation.
It is thus recommended that for any given location both saved files and a
directory holding temporary files, set by the
proxy_temp_path
directive, are put on the same file system.
This directive can be used to create local copies of static unchangeable
files, e.g.:
location /images/ {
root /data/www;
error_page 404 = /fetch$uri;

location /fetch/ {
internal;

proxy_pass http://backend/;
proxy_store on;
proxy_store_access user:rw group:rw all:r;
proxy_temp_path /data/temp;

alias /data/www/;
or like this:
location /images/ {
root /data/www;
error_page 404 = @fetch;

location @fetch {
internal;

proxy_pass http://backend;
proxy_store on;
proxy_store_access user:rw group:rw all:r;
proxy_temp_path /data/temp;

root /data/www;
Syntax:
proxy_store_access
users
permissions
...;
Default:
proxy_store_access user:rw;
Context:
http
server
location
Sets access permissions for newly created files and directories, e.g.:
proxy_store_access user:rw group:rw all:r;
If any
group
or
all
access permissions
are specified then
user
permissions may be omitted:
proxy_store_access group:rw all:r;
Syntax:
proxy_temp_file_write_size
size
Default:
proxy_temp_file_write_size 8k|16k;
Context:
http
server
location
Limits the
size
of data written to a temporary file
at a time, when buffering of responses from the proxied server
to temporary files is enabled.
By default,
size
is limited by two buffers set by the
proxy_buffer_size
and
proxy_buffers
directives.
The maximum size of a temporary file is set by the
proxy_max_temp_file_size
directive.
Syntax:
proxy_temp_path
path
level1
level2
level3
]]];
Default:
proxy_temp_path proxy_temp;
Context:
http
server
location
Defines a directory for storing temporary files
with data received from proxied servers.
Up to three-level subdirectory hierarchy can be used underneath the specified
directory.
For example, in the following configuration
proxy_temp_path /spool/nginx/proxy_temp 1 2;
a temporary file might look like this:
/spool/nginx/proxy_temp/
45
/00000123
457
See also the
use_temp_path
parameter of the
proxy_cache_path
directive.
Embedded Variables
The
ngx_http_proxy_module
module supports embedded variables
that can be used to compose headers using the
proxy_set_header
directive:
$proxy_host
name and port of a proxied server as specified in the
proxy_pass
directive;
$proxy_port
port of a proxied server as specified in the
proxy_pass
directive, or the protocol’s default port;
$proxy_add_x_forwarded_for
the “X-Forwarded-For” client request header field
with the
$remote_addr
variable appended to it, separated by a comma.
If the “X-Forwarded-For” field is not present in the client
request header, the
$proxy_add_x_forwarded_for
variable is equal
to the
$remote_addr
variable.