Minimal Webserver Setup with Nginx and PHP on Linux

Let’s do a Quick and Dirty Nginx Installation on Ubuntu Linux for personal Development Purpose with minimum effort.

It’s not always necessary to install the full blown Webserver + PHP + SQL Environment – Sometimes you only need a Webserver running PHP for doing some Development Tasks.

And here we are – This Tutorial doesn’t care about Security or anything special – it’s just about a fast Installation of Nginx and PHP.

Requirements

Ubuntu Linux minimal installation
System Permission to install Software
Shell Access

Preparations

sudo apt-get update 
sudo apt-get upgrade 
sudo apt-get install nano

Nginx and PHP Installation

Install Nginx and php by typing:

sudo apt-get install nginx
sudo apt-get install php-fpm

Check the running PHP Version from the Socket File “phpX.X-fpm.sock” by typing:

sudo ls -l /var/run/php/*.sock

# Result:
# /var/run/php/php8.1-fpm.sock

You may have a different Version of PHP running. – Please note this for the upcoming Configuration.

Nginx Configuration

Edit the default Configuration to enable PHP Support:

sudo nano -w /etc/nginx/sites-available/default

Add “index.php” to the Index Block:

      # Add index.php to the list if you are using PHP
        index index.html index.htm index.nginx-debian.html index.php;

Remove the Dash (#) from the following Lines inside the PHP Block as shown in the example – Important: Change the Filenaming if necessary to your Version of “phpX.X-fpm.sock”

       # pass PHP scripts to FastCGI server
        #
        location ~ \.php$ {
                include snippets/fastcgi-php.conf;
        #
        #       # With php-fpm (or other unix sockets):
                fastcgi_pass unix:/run/php/php8.1-fpm.sock;
        #       # With php-cgi (or other tcp sockets):
        #       fastcgi_pass 127.0.0.1:9000;
        }

Press [CTRL]+[X] and [Y] to save the Changes.

Reload Nginx to enable PHP:

sudo systemctl reload nginx

Finish Line

At this Point you are already done – Your Webserver should be up and running – You can reach it by entering your Servers IP from any Browser in your local network.

http://server-ip

Optional: PHP Testing

Create a phpinfo.php File to check if everything is working as expected:

sudo nano -w /var/www/html/phpinfo.php

Add the following Content into the Editor:

<?php
phpinfo();
?>

Finally open your Browser pointing to the new created PHP File – You should see the PHP Info Page now:

http://server-ip/phpinfo.php

Hint – If you get an Error “502 Bad Gateway” – Check the File Naming / Version of “phpX.X-fpm.sock” and related entries in “/etc/nginx/sites-available/default”

Optional: Running PHP Code inside HTML Files

By default – PHP will not run in HTML Files on Nginx and PHP-FPM. To enable it – edit the nginx Config File:

sudo nano -w /etc/nginx/sites-available/default

Change the PHP Location Entry from: location ~ \.php$ {

to:

location ~ \.(php|html)$ {

Edit the php-fpm “www.conf” – Please change the Version Number depending on your Installation:

sudo nano -w /etc/php/8.1/fpm/pool.d/www.conf

Enable the block (remove the ” ; “and add the .html Extension (You’ll find it at the end of the Config):

security.limit_extensions = .php .php3 .php4 .php5 .php7 .htm .html

Save your changes and reload nginx and php-fpm Services:

sudo systemctl reload nginx
sudo systemctl reload php8.1-fpm

Again: Change the PHP-Version Number depending on your Installation at the php reload command.

You should now be able to serve php inside .html Files.