Location blocks in Nginx - Cheat Sheet & Quick Revision

Recall & Review

beginner

What is a location block in nginx?

A location block defines how nginx should respond to requests for specific URLs or URL patterns.

beginner

How do you write a simple location block to match the URL /images/?

Use location /images/ { ... } to match all requests starting with /images/.

intermediate

What is the difference between location = /path and location /path?

location = /path matches the exact URL /path only, while location /path matches any URL starting with /path.

intermediate

What does the ^~ modifier do in a location block?

The ^~ modifier tells nginx to stop searching if this prefix match is found and use this block immediately.

advanced

How does nginx choose which location block to use when multiple match?

Nginx first looks for exact matches, then prefix matches with ^~, then regex matches, and finally the longest prefix match.

Which location block matches only the exact URL /about?

A location /about { ... }

B location = /about { ... }

C location ^~ /about { ... }

D location ~ /about { ... }

The '=' modifier matches the exact URL only.

What does the ^~ modifier do in a location block?

A Matches regex patterns

B Ignores this location block

C Matches exact URL only

D Stops searching on prefix match

The '^~' modifier tells nginx to stop searching if this prefix matches.

Which location block matches URLs starting with /api/?

A location = /api/ { ... }

B location ~ /api/ { ... }

C location /api/ { ... }

D location ^~ /api/ { ... }

A prefix match without modifiers matches URLs starting with the given path.

If multiple location blocks match, which one does nginx prefer first?

A Exact match

B Regex match

C Longest prefix match

D First defined block

Nginx prefers exact matches before other types.

How do you define a location block that matches URLs using a regex?

A location ~ /pattern/ { ... }

B location /regex/ { ... }

C location = /regex/ { ... }

D location ^~ /pattern/ { ... }

The '~' modifier defines a regex match in location blocks.

Explain how nginx chooses which location block to use when multiple blocks match a request URL.

Think about the order nginx checks location blocks.

Describe the difference between prefix matches and regex matches in nginx location blocks.

Consider how nginx processes URL patterns.