Rewrite directive in Nginx - Interactive Code Practice

Practice - 5 Tasks

1fill in blank

easy

Complete the code to rewrite all requests to /home.

Nginx

rewrite [1] /home;

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

A/$

B/home$

C/index.html

D^/.*$

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using a pattern that does not start with ^ or end with $

Using a literal string instead of a regex pattern

The rewrite directive uses a regular expression to match the request URI. ^/.*$ matches any URI starting with a slash.

2fill in blank

medium

Complete the code to redirect requests from /old to /new permanently.

Nginx

rewrite ^/old[1] /new permanent;

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

A$

B.*

C/

D+

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using .* which matches anything after /old

Forgetting the $ to anchor the pattern

The pattern ^/old$ matches exactly the URI /old for rewriting.

3fill in blank

hard

Fix the error in the rewrite directive to capture the path after /blog/ and redirect to /news/.

Nginx

rewrite ^/blog/[1] /news/$1 permanent;

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

A[a-z]+

B(.*)

C*

D+

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using * or + without parentheses which does not create a capture group

Using character classes like [a-z]+ which limits matching

The capture group (.*) captures any characters after /blog/ to use in the replacement.

4fill in blank

hard

Fill both blanks to rewrite requests ending with .php to .html internally.

Nginx

rewrite [1] [2] last;

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

A^(.*)\.php$

B\1.html

C\1.php

D^(.*)\.html$

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Not escaping the dot in .php

Using wrong replacement string without capture group

The pattern ^(.*)\.php$ matches URIs ending with .php and captures the part before it. The replacement \1.html rewrites to the same path but with .html extension.

5fill in blank

hard

Fill all three blanks to rewrite URLs with query parameters to a clean URL format.

Nginx

rewrite ^/product/[1]/details\?id=[2]$ /item/[3] last;

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

A([a-zA-Z0-9_-]+)

B([0-9]+)

C$2

D$1

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Not escaping the question mark in the pattern

Mixing up $1 and $2 in the replacement

The first capture group ([a-zA-Z0-9_-]+) captures the product name. The second ([0-9]+) captures the id query parameter. The replacement uses $2 to insert the id in the clean URL.

Practice

1. What is the main purpose of the rewrite directive in nginx?

easy

A. To limit the number of client connections

B. To change URLs based on patterns for redirection or rewriting

C. To configure SSL certificates for secure connections

D. To serve static files directly from the server

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand the role of rewrite directive

   The rewrite directive is used to modify URLs based on matching patterns.

2. Step 2: Identify its main use

   It helps redirect or rewrite URLs without changing the visible link to the user.

3. Final Answer:

   To change URLs based on patterns for redirection or rewriting -> Option B

4. Quick Check:

   Rewrite directive = URL modification [OK]

Hint: Rewrite changes URLs by pattern matching [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Confusing rewrite with serving static files
• Thinking rewrite manages SSL or security
• Assuming rewrite limits connections

2. Which of the following is the correct syntax for a rewrite directive in nginx?

easy

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

B. rewrite /oldpath/(.*) /newpath/$1 redirect

C. rewrite ^/oldpath/(.*)$ /newpath/$1 301

D. rewrite /oldpath/(.*)$ /newpath/$1 permanent

Solution

1. Step 1: Check the rewrite syntax format

   The correct syntax is: rewrite <pattern> <replacement> <flag>;

2. Step 2: Identify the correct flag and semicolon usage

   The flag must be a recognized keyword like 'permanent' and the line must end with a semicolon.

3. Final Answer:

   rewrite ^/oldpath/(.*)$ /newpath/$1 permanent; -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   Correct syntax = rewrite + pattern + replacement + flag + semicolon [OK]

Hint: Rewrite ends with semicolon and uses flags like permanent [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Omitting the semicolon at the end
• Using numeric flags instead of keywords
• Missing caret (^) in regex pattern

3. Given this nginx config snippet:

rewrite ^/blog/(.*)$ /newblog/$1 last;

What happens when a user visits /blog/article1?

medium

A. The user is redirected to /newblog/article1 with a 301 status

B. The URL changes to /newblog/article1 and nginx restarts processing

C. The URL stays /blog/article1 but content from /newblog/article1 is served

D. An error occurs because 'last' is an invalid flag

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand the 'last' flag in rewrite

   The 'last' flag performs an internal rewrite: nginx changes the URI internally and restarts location processing with the new URI. The browser URL remains unchanged.

2. Step 2: Apply to the example URL

   Visiting /blog/article1 matches the pattern, rewrites internally to /newblog/article1, and serves content from there without changing the visible URL.

3. Final Answer:

   The URL stays /blog/article1 but content from /newblog/article1 is served -> Option C

4. Quick Check:

   'last' flag = internal rewrite, URL unchanged [OK]

Hint: 'last' flag restarts processing with new URL [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Confusing 'last' with external redirect
• Thinking URL visible to user changes
• Assuming 'last' flag causes error

4. Identify the error in this nginx rewrite directive:

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

medium

A. Missing semicolon at the end of the directive

B. Incorrect regex pattern syntax

C. Invalid flag 'permanent' used

D. Rewrite directive cannot use variables like $1

Solution

1. Step 1: Check syntax completeness

   Every nginx directive must end with a semicolon (;). This line is missing it.

2. Step 2: Validate other parts

   The regex pattern and flag 'permanent' are correct, and $1 is valid for capturing groups.

3. Final Answer:

   Missing semicolon at the end of the directive -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   Missing semicolon = syntax error [OK]

Hint: Always end rewrite lines with a semicolon [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Forgetting semicolon at line end
• Misunderstanding regex syntax
• Thinking $1 is invalid in rewrite

5. You want to redirect all requests from /shop/ to /store/ permanently, but only if the URL ends exactly with /shop/ (no extra path after). Which rewrite directive achieves this?

hard

A. rewrite ^/shop/(.*)$ /store/$1 permanent;

B. rewrite ^/shop$ /store/ permanent;

C. rewrite /shop/ /store/ permanent;

D. rewrite ^/shop/$ /store/ permanent;

Solution

1. Step 1: Match only exact /shop/ URL

   The regex ^/shop/$ matches exactly '/shop/' with nothing after it.

2. Step 2: Redirect permanently to /store/

   The replacement is /store/ with the 'permanent' flag for 301 redirect.

3. Final Answer:

   rewrite ^/shop/$ /store/ permanent; -> Option D

4. Quick Check:

   Exact match with ^/shop/$ and permanent redirect [OK]

Hint: Use ^ and $ to match exact URL in rewrite [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Using (.*) which matches extra paths
• Omitting anchors ^ and $
• Incorrect regex without end anchor