Nextcloud 12 Server Administration Manual

Nginx Configuration¶

This page covers example Nginx configurations to use with running an Nextcloud server. This page is community-maintained. (Thank you, contributors!)

You need to insert the following code into your Nginx configuration file.
Adjust server_name, root, ssl_certificate and ssl_certificate_key to suit your needs.
Make sure your SSL certificates are readable by the server (see nginx HTTP SSL Module documentation).
add_header statements are only taken from the current level and are not cascaded from or to a different level. All necessary add_header statements must be defined in each level needed. For better readability it is possible to move common add header statements into a separate file and include that file wherever necessary. However, each add_header statement must be written in a single line to prevent connection problems with sync clients.
Be careful about line breaks if you copy the examples, as long lines may be broken for page formatting.
Some environments might need a cgi.fix_pathinfo set to 1 in their php.ini.

Thanks to @josh4trunks for providing / creating these configuration examples.

Nextcloud in the webroot of nginx¶

The following configuration should be used when Nextcloud is placed in the webroot of your nginx installation. In this example it is /var/www/nextcloud and it is accessed via http(s)://cloud.example.com

upstream php-handler {
    server 127.0.0.1:9000;
    #server unix:/var/run/php/php7.0-fpm.sock;
}

server {
    listen 80;
    listen [::]:80;
    server_name cloud.example.com;
    # enforce https
    return 301 https://$server_name$request_uri;
}

server {
    listen 443 ssl http2;
    listen [::]:443 ssl http2;
    server_name cloud.example.com;

    ssl_certificate /etc/ssl/nginx/cloud.example.com.crt;
    ssl_certificate_key /etc/ssl/nginx/cloud.example.com.key;

    # Add headers to serve security related headers
    # Before enabling Strict-Transport-Security headers please read into this
    # topic first.
    # add_header Strict-Transport-Security "max-age=15768000;
    # includeSubDomains; preload;";
    #
    # WARNING: Only add the preload option once you read about
    # the consequences in https://hstspreload.org/. This option
    # will add the domain to a hardcoded list that is shipped
    # in all major browsers and getting removed from this list
    # could take several months.
    add_header X-Content-Type-Options nosniff;
    add_header X-XSS-Protection "1; mode=block";
    add_header X-Robots-Tag none;
    add_header X-Download-Options noopen;
    add_header X-Permitted-Cross-Domain-Policies none;

    # Path to the root of your installation
    root /var/www/nextcloud/;

    location = /robots.txt {
        allow all;
        log_not_found off;
        access_log off;
    }

    # The following 2 rules are only needed for the user_webfinger app.
    # Uncomment it if you're planning to use this app.
    #rewrite ^/.well-known/host-meta /public.php?service=host-meta last;
    #rewrite ^/.well-known/host-meta.json /public.php?service=host-meta-json
    # last;

    location = /.well-known/carddav {
      return 301 $scheme://$host/remote.php/dav;
    }
    location = /.well-known/caldav {
      return 301 $scheme://$host/remote.php/dav;
    }

    # set max upload size
    client_max_body_size 512M;
    fastcgi_buffers 64 4K;

    # Enable gzip but do not remove ETag headers
    gzip on;
    gzip_vary on;
    gzip_comp_level 4;
    gzip_min_length 256;
    gzip_proxied expired no-cache no-store private no_last_modified no_etag auth;
    gzip_types application/atom+xml application/javascript application/json application/ld+json application/manifest+json application/rss+xml application/vnd.geo+json application/vnd.ms-fontobject application/x-font-ttf application/x-web-app-manifest+json application/xhtml+xml application/xml font/opentype image/bmp image/svg+xml image/x-icon text/cache-manifest text/css text/plain text/vcard text/vnd.rim.location.xloc text/vtt text/x-component text/x-cross-domain-policy;

    # Uncomment if your server is build with the ngx_pagespeed module
    # This module is currently not supported.
    #pagespeed off;

    location / {
        rewrite ^ /index.php$request_uri;
    }

    location ~ ^/(?:build|tests|config|lib|3rdparty|templates|data)/ {
        deny all;
    }
    location ~ ^/(?:\.|autotest|occ|issue|indie|db_|console) {
        deny all;
    }

    location ~ ^/(?:index|remote|public|cron|core/ajax/update|status|ocs/v[12]|updater/.+|ocs-provider/.+)\.php(?:$|/) {
        fastcgi_split_path_info ^(.+?\.php)(/.*)$;
        include fastcgi_params;
        fastcgi_param SCRIPT_FILENAME $document_root$fastcgi_script_name;
        fastcgi_param PATH_INFO $fastcgi_path_info;
        fastcgi_param HTTPS on;
        #Avoid sending the security headers twice
        fastcgi_param modHeadersAvailable true;
        fastcgi_param front_controller_active true;
        fastcgi_pass php-handler;
        fastcgi_intercept_errors on;
        fastcgi_request_buffering off;
    }

    location ~ ^/(?:updater|ocs-provider)(?:$|/) {
        try_files $uri/ =404;
        index index.php;
    }

    # Adding the cache control header for js and css files
    # Make sure it is BELOW the PHP block
    location ~ \.(?:css|js|woff|svg|gif)$ {
        try_files $uri /index.php$request_uri;
        add_header Cache-Control "public, max-age=15778463";
        # Add headers to serve security related headers (It is intended to
        # have those duplicated to the ones above)
        # Before enabling Strict-Transport-Security headers please read into
        # this topic first.
        # add_header Strict-Transport-Security "max-age=15768000; includeSubDomains; preload;";
        #
        # WARNING: Only add the preload option once you read about
        # the consequences in https://hstspreload.org/. This option
        # will add the domain to a hardcoded list that is shipped
        # in all major browsers and getting removed from this list
        # could take several months.
        add_header X-Content-Type-Options nosniff;
        add_header X-XSS-Protection "1; mode=block";
        add_header X-Robots-Tag none;
        add_header X-Download-Options noopen;
        add_header X-Permitted-Cross-Domain-Policies none;
        # Optional: Don't log access to assets
        access_log off;
    }

    location ~ \.(?:png|html|ttf|ico|jpg|jpeg)$ {
        try_files $uri /index.php$request_uri;
        # Optional: Don't log access to other assets
        access_log off;
    }
}

Nextcloud in a subdir of nginx¶

The following config should be used when Nextcloud is placed within a subdir of your nginx installation.

upstream php-handler {
    server 127.0.0.1:9000;
    #server unix:/var/run/php/php7.0-fpm.sock;
}

server {
    listen 80;
    listen [::]:80;
    server_name cloud.example.com;
    # enforce https
    return 301 https://$server_name$request_uri;
}

server {
    listen 443 ssl http2;
    listen [::]:443 ssl http2;
    server_name cloud.example.com;

    ssl_certificate /etc/ssl/nginx/cloud.example.com.crt;
    ssl_certificate_key /etc/ssl/nginx/cloud.example.com.key;

    # Add headers to serve security related headers
    # Before enabling Strict-Transport-Security headers please read into this
    # topic first.
    #add_header Strict-Transport-Security "max-age=15768000; includeSubDomains; preload;";
    add_header X-Content-Type-Options nosniff;
    add_header X-XSS-Protection "1; mode=block";
    add_header X-Robots-Tag none;
    add_header X-Download-Options noopen;
    add_header X-Permitted-Cross-Domain-Policies none;

    # Path to the root of your installation
    root /var/www/;

    location = /robots.txt {
        allow all;
        log_not_found off;
        access_log off;
    }

    # The following 2 rules are only needed for the user_webfinger app.
    # Uncomment it if you're planning to use this app.
    # rewrite ^/.well-known/host-meta /nextcloud/public.php?service=host-meta
    # last;
    #rewrite ^/.well-known/host-meta.json
    # /nextcloud/public.php?service=host-meta-json last;

    location = /.well-known/carddav {
      return 301 $scheme://$host/nextcloud/remote.php/dav;
    }
    location = /.well-known/caldav {
      return 301 $scheme://$host/nextcloud/remote.php/dav;
    }

    location /.well-known/acme-challenge { }

    location ^~ /nextcloud {

        # set max upload size
        client_max_body_size 512M;
        fastcgi_buffers 64 4K;

        # Enable gzip but do not remove ETag headers
        gzip on;
        gzip_vary on;
        gzip_comp_level 4;
        gzip_min_length 256;
        gzip_proxied expired no-cache no-store private no_last_modified no_etag auth;
        gzip_types application/atom+xml application/javascript application/json application/ld+json application/manifest+json application/rss+xml application/vnd.geo+json application/vnd.ms-fontobject application/x-font-ttf application/x-web-app-manifest+json application/xhtml+xml application/xml font/opentype image/bmp image/svg+xml image/x-icon text/cache-manifest text/css text/plain text/vcard text/vnd.rim.location.xloc text/vtt text/x-component text/x-cross-domain-policy;

        # Uncomment if your server is build with the ngx_pagespeed module
        # This module is currently not supported.
        #pagespeed off;

        location /nextcloud {
            rewrite ^ /nextcloud/index.php$request_uri;
        }

        location ~ ^/nextcloud/(?:build|tests|config|lib|3rdparty|templates|data)/ {
            deny all;
        }
        location ~ ^/nextcloud/(?:\.|autotest|occ|issue|indie|db_|console) {
            deny all;
        }

        location ~ ^/nextcloud/(?:index|remote|public|cron|core/ajax/update|status|ocs/v[12]|updater/.+|ocs-provider/.+)\.php(?:$|/) {
            fastcgi_split_path_info ^(.+?\.php)(/.*)$;
            include fastcgi_params;
            fastcgi_param SCRIPT_FILENAME $document_root$fastcgi_script_name;
            fastcgi_param PATH_INFO $fastcgi_path_info;
            fastcgi_param HTTPS on;
            #Avoid sending the security headers twice
            fastcgi_param modHeadersAvailable true;
            fastcgi_param front_controller_active true;
            fastcgi_pass php-handler;
            fastcgi_intercept_errors on;
            fastcgi_request_buffering off;
        }

        location ~ ^/nextcloud/(?:updater|ocs-provider)(?:$|/) {
            try_files $uri/ =404;
            index index.php;
        }

        # Adding the cache control header for js and css files
        # Make sure it is BELOW the PHP block
        location ~ \.(?:css|js|woff|svg|gif)$ {
            try_files $uri /nextcloud/index.php$request_uri;
            add_header Cache-Control "public, max-age=15778463";
            # Add headers to serve security related headers  (It is intended
            # to have those duplicated to the ones above)
            # Before enabling Strict-Transport-Security headers please read
            # into this topic first.
            # add_header Strict-Transport-Security "max-age=15768000;
            # includeSubDomains; preload;";
            add_header X-Content-Type-Options nosniff;
            add_header X-XSS-Protection "1; mode=block";
            add_header X-Robots-Tag none;
            add_header X-Download-Options noopen;
            add_header X-Permitted-Cross-Domain-Policies none;
            # Optional: Don't log access to assets
            access_log off;
        }

        location ~ \.(?:png|html|ttf|ico|jpg|jpeg)$ {
            try_files $uri /nextcloud/index.php$request_uri;
            # Optional: Don't log access to other assets
            access_log off;
        }
    }
}

Tips and Tricks¶

Suppressing Log Messages¶

If you’re seeing meaningless messages in your logfile, for example client denied by server configuration: /var/www/data/htaccesstest.txt, add this section to your nginx configuration to suppress them:

location = /data/htaccesstest.txt {
  allow all;
  log_not_found off;
  access_log off;
}

JavaScript (.js) or CSS (.css) files not served properly¶

A common issue with custom nginx configs is that JavaScript (.js) or CSS (.css) files are not served properly leading to a 404 (File not found) error on those files and a broken webinterface.

This could be caused by the:

location ~* \.(?:css|js)$ {

block shown above not located below the:

location ~ \.php(?:$|/) {

block. Other custom configurations like caching JavaScript (.js) or CSS (.css) files via gzip could also cause such issues.