Rewrite directive in Nginx - Practice Problems & Coding Challenges

Challenge - 5 Problems

💻 Command Output

intermediate

What is the output status code after applying this rewrite?

Given the following nginx rewrite directive inside a server block:

rewrite ^/oldpath/(.*)$ /newpath/$1 permanent;

What HTTP status code will the client receive when requesting /oldpath/page1?

Nginx

rewrite ^/oldpath/(.*)$ /newpath/$1 permanent;

A 301 Moved Permanently

B 302 Found

C 404 Not Found

D 500 Internal Server Error

💡 Hint

The keyword 'permanent' in rewrite directive sets a specific HTTP status code.

The 'permanent' flag in nginx rewrite sends a 301 Moved Permanently status code to the client, indicating the resource has moved permanently to the new URL.

❓ Configuration

intermediate

Which rewrite rule correctly redirects /blog to /news preserving the rest of the path?

You want to redirect all requests starting with /blog to /news, keeping the rest of the URL path intact. Which rewrite directive achieves this?

A rewrite ^/blog$ /news permanent;

B rewrite /blog /news permanent;

C rewrite ^/blog/(.*)$ /news/$1 permanent;

D rewrite ^/blog/(.*)$ /news permanent;

💡 Hint

Use a regex to capture the rest of the path and reuse it in the target.

Option C uses a regex to capture everything after /blog/ and appends it to /news/, preserving the path. The 'permanent' flag sends a 301 redirect.

❓ Troubleshoot

advanced

Why does this rewrite not redirect as expected?

Given this nginx config snippet:

location /test/ {
  rewrite ^/test/(.*)$ /prod/$1;
}

Requests to /test/page do not redirect to /prod/page. Why?

A Missing redirect flag causes internal rewrite, not client redirect

B Regex pattern is incorrect and does not match the URL

C Rewrite directive must be outside location blocks

D The target URL must be absolute including domain

💡 Hint

Rewrite without flags performs internal rewrite, not external redirect.

Without a redirect flag like 'permanent' or 'redirect', nginx rewrites the URI internally without telling the client to change URL, so the browser URL stays the same.

🔀 Workflow

advanced

Order the steps to apply a rewrite rule and test it successfully

Arrange these steps in the correct order to add and verify a rewrite rule in nginx:

A 2,1,3,4

B 1,2,3,4

C 1,3,2,4

D 3,1,2,4

💡 Hint

Always test config before reload, then verify with a request.

First add the rewrite, then test syntax, reload nginx to apply, finally test with a request.

✅ Best Practice

expert

Which rewrite directive is best to permanently redirect and avoid redirect loops?

You want to permanently redirect /old to /new only if the request is exactly /old. Which rewrite directive is best to avoid redirect loops and unnecessary redirects?

A rewrite /old /new permanent;

B rewrite ^/old/(.*)$ /new/$1 permanent;

C rewrite ^/old /new permanent;

D rewrite ^/old$ /new permanent;

💡 Hint

Match exact path to prevent redirect loops.

Option D matches exactly '/old' and redirects to '/new' with a 301 status. Other options either match more paths or are invalid, risking loops or wrong redirects.