Rewrite flags (last, break, redirect, permanent) in Nginx - Practice Problems & Coding Challenges

Challenge - 5 Problems

💻 Command Output

intermediate

What happens when using the 'last' rewrite flag?

Given this nginx rewrite rule:

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

What is the effect of the 'last' flag in this context?

Nginx

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

A Sends a 301 permanent redirect to the client with the rewritten URI.

B Stops processing current rewrite directives and restarts location search with the new URI.

C Stops processing rewrite directives and serves the rewritten URI immediately without further processing.

D Sends a 302 temporary redirect to the client with the rewritten URI.

💡 Hint

Think about how nginx handles URI rewriting and location matching after the rewrite.

The 'last' flag tells nginx to stop processing the current rewrite directives and restart the location search with the new URI. This means nginx will try to find a new location block matching the rewritten URI.

💻 Command Output

intermediate

What does the 'break' rewrite flag do in nginx?

Consider this rewrite rule:

rewrite ^/temp/(.*)$ /final/$1 break;

What is the behavior of the 'break' flag here?

Nginx

rewrite ^/temp/(.*)$ /final/$1 break;

A Sends a 301 redirect to the client with the rewritten URI.

B Restarts location search with the rewritten URI.

C Sends a 302 redirect to the client with the rewritten URI.

D Stops processing rewrite directives and continues processing the request within the current location using the rewritten URI.

💡 Hint

Think about whether nginx changes location blocks after this rewrite.

The 'break' flag stops processing further rewrite directives and continues handling the request in the current location block using the rewritten URI. It does not restart location matching.

💻 Command Output

advanced

What is the HTTP response when using the 'redirect' rewrite flag?

Given this rewrite rule:

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

What HTTP status code does nginx send to the client?

Nginx

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

A 302 Found (Temporary Redirect)

B 301 Moved Permanently

C 307 Temporary Redirect

D 200 OK with rewritten URI internally

💡 Hint

The 'redirect' flag sends a temporary redirect status code.

The 'redirect' flag sends a 302 Found status code to the client, instructing it to temporarily redirect to the new URI.

💻 Command Output

advanced

What HTTP status code does the 'permanent' rewrite flag send?

Analyze this rewrite rule:

rewrite ^/site/(.*)$ /website/$1 permanent;

What status code will nginx send to the client?

Nginx

rewrite ^/site/(.*)$ /website/$1 permanent;

A 303 See Other

B 302 Found

C 301 Moved Permanently

D 200 OK with internal rewrite

💡 Hint

The 'permanent' flag sends a permanent redirect status code.

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

❓ Troubleshoot

expert

Why does a rewrite with 'last' flag cause a redirect loop?

You have this nginx config snippet:

location /app/ {
  rewrite ^/app/(.*)$ /app/$1 last;
}

Requests to /app/page cause a redirect loop. What is the most likely reason?

Nginx

location /app/ {
  rewrite ^/app/(.*)$ /app/$1 last;
}

A The rewrite rewrites the URI to the same URI, causing nginx to restart location search endlessly.

B The 'last' flag is invalid here and causes nginx to crash.

C The rewrite rule syntax is incorrect and nginx ignores it.

D The 'break' flag should be used instead to avoid loops.

💡 Hint

Consider what happens when the rewritten URI matches the original location again.

The rewrite rule rewrites /app/page to /app/page again, and with the 'last' flag nginx restarts location matching. This causes an infinite loop of rewriting the same URI.