Nginx. Quick start

Nginx is a high-performance HTTP server. It accepts incoming requests, serves static files, and proxies dynamic ones to the application. In the BeAdmin panel Nginx is managed through the module of the same name: install the module, create a virtual host — and the site is reachable on its domain. This article is for those who have just deployed BeAdmin and want to bring up their first site in as few clicks as possible. A walkthrough of the virtual host form fields is in Nginx. Working with virtual hosts.

Installing the module

In the side menu open Web servers → Nginx and click Install. Nginx installs in one click: BeAdmin deploys the module with a standard configuration, no extra questions asked. The installation takes a few minutes — you can watch the logs while it runs. If installation fails, try running it again.

Once installed, the module page lets you create virtual hosts and manage the Nginx service. Start, stop, reload configuration, update, and uninstall are covered in a separate article, Nginx. Managing the module.

⚠️ If Apache is already installed on the server

The panel warns about a possible port conflict between Nginx and Apache. If you already have sites in Apache, set up the combo after installing Nginx — see the "Nginx and Apache combo" section in Nginx. Working with virtual hosts.

Creating your first site

Once the module is installed, you can create your first virtual host on the Nginx page — the configuration of a single site.

1. Click Create virtual host.
2. In the Domain name field, enter the site's domain — for example, example.com. A domain name or an IP address can be specified.
3. In the Files directory field, specify an existing directory where the site files are (or will be) located. The directory can be picked in the panel's file manager.
4. Leave the Use HTTPS (port 443) toggle on — BeAdmin will issue a Let's Encrypt certificate and renew it automatically afterwards.
5. Click Create.

The site appears in the side list and opens at https://<domain>. If an index.html file is already in the chosen directory, it will be served at the root without any further configuration.

💡 DNS must point to this server

For Let's Encrypt to issue a certificate, the domain needs an A record pointing to the server running BeAdmin. If the record is not in place yet, create the host over HTTP, wait for DNS to propagate, and switch to HTTPS later. If issuance fails, the host comes up with a temporary self-signed certificate — what to do next is described in Resolving ACME errors when issuing an SSL certificate.

The remaining form fields (index file names, request handling rules) can be left untouched in this scenario — their defaults are sensible. If you later want to enable PHP or set up proxying, see Nginx. Configuring rules (location) for a virtual host; if you need non-standard directives — see Nginx. Virtual hosts in expert mode.

See also

• Nginx. Working with virtual hosts — full walkthrough of the create and edit form fields.
• Nginx. Configuring rules (location) for a virtual host — rule templates, proxying, shared parameters.
• Nginx. Virtual hosts in expert mode — direct control over the config when the form is not enough.
• Resolving ACME errors when issuing an SSL certificate — what to do if Let's Encrypt did not issue a certificate.
• Nginx. Managing the module — start, stop, reload configuration, update, and uninstall the module.
• Official Nginx documentation