nginx redirect generator

How the nginx redirect generator works

Enter your domain, decide whether HTTP should be redirected to HTTPS, pick a preferred host (don't change, without www or with www) and add single page redirects as old-path new-path-or-URL, one per line. The status code you choose (301, 302, 307 or 308) is used for the page redirects. The generator writes complete server blocks you can adapt to your configuration.

For example.com with HTTPS, without www and one page redirect, the output is:

# Generated with https://redirect-tester.com/nginx-redirect-generator/

# HTTP to HTTPS and example.com in one redirect
server {
    listen 80;
    listen [::]:80;
    server_name example.com www.example.com;
    return 301 https://example.com$request_uri;
}

# www.example.com to example.com
server {
    listen 443 ssl;
    listen [::]:443 ssl;
    server_name www.example.com;
    # ssl_certificate and ssl_certificate_key must cover this host too
    return 301 https://example.com$request_uri;
}

server {
    listen 443 ssl;
    listen [::]:443 ssl;
    server_name example.com;
    # ... your existing configuration ...

    # Page redirects (301)
    location = /old-page {
        return 301 /new-page;
    }
}

What the server blocks do

• Port 80: every HTTP request, with or without www, is sent directly to https://example.com. $request_uri keeps the path and query string.
• Port 443 for the non-preferred host: https://www.example.com/ is redirected to the preferred host. Together, both blocks make sure every variant reaches the final URL in one hop, without a redirect chain.
• location = /old-page matches exactly this path and belongs in your main server block. return does not append the query string to a target like /new-page. If you need it, use return 301 /new-page$is_args$args;.

return is faster and easier to read than rewrite, and nginx recommends it for simple redirects. The difference between permanent and temporary codes is explained in 301 vs. 302.

Certificates for both hosts

Before nginx can send a redirect on port 443, the TLS handshake has to succeed. The certificate must therefore cover both example.com and www.example.com, otherwise visitors of the non-preferred host see a certificate warning instead of the redirect. With Let's Encrypt, request both names in one certificate, e.g. certbot --nginx -d example.com -d www.example.com, and add the ssl_certificate lines to both 443 blocks.

Test, reload, check

Add the blocks to your site configuration, usually under /etc/nginx/sites-available/ or /etc/nginx/conf.d/, and merge the last block with your existing server block. Then run:

sudo nginx -t
sudo systemctl reload nginx

nginx -t checks the syntax. Only reload if it reports success, because a broken configuration will not be loaded. Afterwards, test the HTTP, www and old page URLs with the redirect checker. Background and more examples are in the nginx redirect guide and the nginx documentation on return.