Nginx is a free and open source web server that runs on Linux and Unix-like systems. This page explains various Linux commands to restart the Nginx web server running on Linux operating systems.
Linux Restart Nginx Webserver
To restart the nginx web server use any one of the following command as a root user as per your Linux distro. Open a terminal or login to the remote server using ssh. For instance:
ssh vivek@server1.cyberciti.biz
sudo systemctl nginx [command]
Debian/Ubuntu/RHEL/CentOS Linux
Linux restart Nginx webserver, run:
# /etc/init.d/nginx restart
OR
# /etc/init.d/nginx reload
One can use the service command for sysv init based systems:
# service nginx restart
OR
# service nginx reload
If you are using systemd based Linux distro:
$ sudo systemctl restart nginx
OR
$ sudo systemctl reload nginx
To view status:
# service nginx status
OR
$ sudo systemctl status nginx
Sample outputs:
Using nginx command
Nginx has in built option to send signal to a master process. This should work with any Linux distributions or Unix-like operating systems. The syntax is as follows:
nginx - s signal
Reload Nginx Webserver
# nginx -s reload
OR
# /path/to/full/nginx -s reload
Stop Nginx Webserver
# nginx -s stop
OR
# /path/to/full/nginx -s stop
Exit or Quit Nginx Webserver
# nginx -s quit
OR
# /path/to/full/nginx -s quit
If nginx compiled and installed from the source code
If nginx binary is installed at /usr/local/nginx/sbin/nginx, enter:
# /usr/local/nginx/sbin/nginx -s reload
How to Start, Stop, or Restart Nginx Server
Here is the summary of all commands that you can pass either to the systemctl command OR service command
| Option | Description | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| start | Start the Nginx web server | sudo systemctl start nginx sudo service nginx start |
| stop | Stop the Nginx on Linux | sudo systemctl stop nginx sudo service nginx stop |
| restart | Stops and then starts the Nginx web server service | sudo systemctl restart nginx sudo service nginx restart |
| reload | Gracefully restarts the Nginx service after config changes | sudo systemctl reload nginx sudo service nginx reload |
| status | Get the service or server status in Linux | sudo systemctl status nginx sudo service nginx status |
How to check nginx server config errors
You need to pass the -t to the nginx command to test configuration and exit. For example:
nginx -t
Pass the -T to test configuration, dump it on screen and exit, run:
nginx -T
How to send signal to a Nginx
The syntax is as follows for Linux and Unix users:
nginx -s signal
Signal can be stop, quit, reopen and reload. For instance, we can send reload signal as follows as the root user:
# nginx -t
# nginx -s reload
See nginx docs here for more info.
Conclusion
In this tutorial, you learned how to start, stop, and restart the Nginx web server on Linux systems using command line options.
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3 comment
The method used is largely determined by whether NGINX was installed via package manager or compiled from source, correct?
I guess so. If compiled from source use /path/to/nginx -s reload else use service nginx reload or service nginx restart
Thanks for you,
I always use “service nginx restart” after config nginx