Rewrite directive in Nginx - Cheat Sheet & Quick Revision

Recall & Review

beginner

What is the purpose of the rewrite directive in nginx?

The rewrite directive changes the requested URL before nginx processes it further. It helps redirect or modify URLs based on patterns.

beginner

How do you write a basic rewrite rule to redirect /old to /new?

Use rewrite ^/old$ /new permanent; to redirect requests from /old to /new with a permanent redirect.

intermediate

What does the last flag do in a rewrite rule?

The last flag stops processing current rewrite rules and restarts location search with the new rewritten URL.

intermediate

Explain the difference between permanent and redirect flags in rewrite.

permanent sends a 301 status (permanent redirect), while redirect sends a 302 status (temporary redirect).

intermediate

What happens if you omit flags in a rewrite directive?

If no flag is given, nginx uses last by default, rewriting the URL and restarting location search.

Which flag in the nginx rewrite directive causes a permanent redirect?

A break

B last

C permanent

D redirect

The permanent flag sends a 301 status code indicating a permanent redirect.

What does the rewrite ^/old$ /new last; directive do?

A Redirects /old to /new with a 302 temporary redirect

B Returns a 404 error for /old

C Stops processing rewrite rules without redirect

D Redirects /old to /new and restarts location search

The last flag restarts location search after rewriting the URL.

If you want to temporarily redirect a URL in nginx, which flag should you use?

A permanent

B redirect

C last

D break

The redirect flag sends a 302 temporary redirect.

What is the default behavior if no flag is specified in a rewrite directive?

A It uses the last flag

B It uses the break flag

C It uses the redirect flag

D It causes an error

By default, nginx uses the last flag if no flag is given.

Which directive is used to modify URLs before nginx processes them?

A rewrite

B proxy_pass

C return

D include

The rewrite directive changes URLs before further processing.

Describe how the nginx rewrite directive works and when you would use it.

Think about changing URLs before nginx serves content.

Explain the difference between the 'last' and 'break' flags in nginx rewrite rules.

Consider how nginx continues or stops processing after rewriting.