Related

Restart Nginx

nginx

Restart the Nginx service to apply configuration changes or recover from issues.

Start Nginx

nginx

Start the Nginx web server using systemd or SysV.

Stop Nginx

nginx

Stop the running Nginx web server service.

nginx/reload

Reload Nginx Configuration

Reload the Nginx service configuration without interrupting connections.

nginx
service
configuration
reload

Command

sudo systemctl reload nginx

Explanation

Reloading Nginx triggers a smooth transition: the master process re-reads configuration files, spawns new worker processes with the new settings, and gracefully stops the old ones after current requests complete. This ensures uninterrupted service during configuration updates.

Common Use Cases

  • •Apply new site configuration without downtime
  • •Change SSL certificates or security settings live
  • •Update upstream server definitions seamlessly

Best Practices

  • ✓Always validate configuration first with `sudo nginx -t`
  • ✓Use reload instead of restart for configuration updates
  • ✓Monitor logs for errors after reload

Common Mistakes to Avoid

  • ⚠Reloading with syntax errors in config files
  • ⚠Assuming reload applies to binary upgrades (requires restart)

Troubleshooting

Problem: Reload fails silently

Solution: Run `sudo nginx -t` to verify configuration and check `journalctl -xe` for details.

Problem: Changes not applied

Solution: Ensure edited files are included via `include` directive in nginx.conf.

Examples

Reload configuration using systemd

sudo systemctl reload nginx

Reload configuration using Nginx CLI

sudo nginx -s reload

More

Check Nginx Status

nginx

Display the current running status of the Nginx service.

Test Nginx Configuration

nginx

Test the Nginx configuration for syntax errors

Reload Apache

apache

Reload Apache configuration