Wildcard and regex server names in Nginx - Cheat Sheet & Quick Revision

Recall & Review

beginner

What is a wildcard server name in nginx?

A wildcard server name uses an asterisk (*) to match multiple subdomains or domain patterns. For example, *.example.com matches app.example.com, blog.example.com, etc.

intermediate

How do you define a regex server name in nginx?

You define a regex server name by prefixing the server name with a tilde (~). For example, server_name ~^www\d+\.example\.com$; matches www1.example.com, www123.example.com, etc.

intermediate

What is the difference between a wildcard and a regex server name in nginx?

A wildcard uses simple patterns with an asterisk (*) to match subdomains, while regex uses full regular expressions for more flexible and complex matching.

advanced

How does nginx prioritize server names when multiple match?

Nginx prioritizes exact server names first, then wildcard names starting with an asterisk, then wildcard names ending with an asterisk, and finally regex server names.

advanced

Write an nginx server_name directive to match any subdomain of example.com except 'www'.

Use a regex to exclude 'www': <br>server_name ~^(?!www\.)[^.]+\.example\.com$;<br>This matches any subdomain except 'www.example.com'.

Which nginx server_name matches all subdomains of example.com?

A ~^www\d+\.example\.com$

B ~^example\.com$

C example.*

D *.example.com

The wildcard *.example.com matches all subdomains like app.example.com.

How do you indicate a regex server name in nginx?

A Prefix with a tilde (~)

B Use an asterisk (*)

C Use square brackets []

D Use curly braces {}

Regex server names start with a tilde (~) in nginx.

Which server_name has the highest priority in nginx?

A Wildcard server names starting with *

B Exact server names

C Regex server names

D Wildcard server names ending with *

Exact server names have the highest priority in nginx.

What does the server_name directive ~^www\d+\.example\.com$ match?

A www followed by one or more digits, like www1.example.com

B Any subdomain of example.com

C Only www.example.com

D All domains ending with example.com

This regex matches www followed by digits, e.g., www1.example.com.

Which of these is NOT a valid wildcard server_name in nginx?

A *.example.com

B www.*

C *example.com

D ~^.*\.example\.com$

Wildcard must be at the start or end with a dot, '*example.com' is invalid.

Explain how to use wildcard and regex server names in nginx and when to choose each.

Think about simple subdomain matching vs complex patterns.

Describe nginx server_name matching priority and why it matters.

Consider what happens if multiple server names match a request.