Nginx Explained: From Basic Config Files to HTTPS for Beginners

Nginx uses a central nginx.conf file as its entry point, with all other configuration files needing to be explicitly included from it. The config is structured into blocks such as events{} and http{}, which control how worker processes handle connections and serve web content. Worker processes run under a dedicated low-privilege user like www-data for security, while the master process starts as root to bind to standard ports 80 and 443. The http{} block manages MIME types, keep-alive timeouts, and references to additional config files typically containing server{} blocks for individual sites. Each server{} block defines settings like the listening port, domain name, root directory, and request-handling rules for a specific website or application.