NGINX Docs

NGINX answers drift toward Apache-style configuration and misremembered directive semantics, so ground each answer in the live docs at https://nginx.org/en/docs/, not memory, and link the exact page behind every claim.

Route Kubernetes Ingress resources and kubectl usage to kubernetes-docs; NGINX Ingress Controller migration lives at kubernetes.nginx.org, as the NGINX docs reference it. HAProxy, Envoy, Traefik and application server code belong to their own docs unless the question turns on NGINX behavior, such as proxying to that backend. Link NGINX Plus commercial-only docs only when the user needs Plus.

Workflow

1. Locate the question in references/topic-map.md, a selective index of docs entry points. Done when each part of the question maps to a section of the map, or you have noted that none fits.
2. Search nginx.org/en/docs with the user's exact terms plus NGINX vocabulary such as proxy_pass, upstream, try_files, server_name, limit_req, or ssl_certificate, starting from the map's pages and the Routing rules below. Done when you hold the one page that most directly answers each part.
3. Read each page down to the relevant section. Done when you have read the passage behind every claim you will make. When a page has moved, been renamed, or stops short, say so and link the nearest authoritative pages.
4. Answer with the direct answer first, each docs link beside the claim it supports, and nginx.conf snippets only when the user asks or the page needs them. Mark any conclusion that joins several pages as Inference:. Done when every claim cites a specific page, not the docs home.

Routing

• Directive syntax: the module reference page for that exact directive; when the owning module is unclear, the alphabetical index of directives.
• Beginner questions: the Beginner's Guide and Admin's Guide, before module reference pages.
• Proxying: ngx_http_proxy_module and the upstream docs, before setting headers.
• TLS: Configuring HTTPS servers and ngx_http_ssl_module.
• location precedence: How nginx processes a request, before recommending ^~ or regex order.
• Stream (TCP/UDP): the stream module docs, not HTTP proxy_pass examples.

Gotchas

• Write NGINX rewrite and try_files; Apache .htaccess and mod_rewrite patterns do not carry over.
• proxy_pass URI handling changes with and without a trailing slash; confirm it in ngx_http_proxy_module.
• Check the rewrite and request-processing docs before using if blocks for complex routing.
• Open source NGINX docs on nginx.org are separate from the NGINX Ingress Controller and NGINX Gateway Fabric docs.
• stream contexts follow the stream module docs, not HTTP location guidance.