Description #

Nginx does not have directory-level configuration file like Apache’s .htaccess file which is required for CompressX to work. All configuration on a Nginx server has to be done at the server level by an administrator.

In this tutorial, we are going to show you how to configure Nginx for CompressX to work.

How to Configure Nginx for CompressX to Work #

1. Connect to Your Server #

Establish an SSH connection to your website. You can do that using an SSH client like PuTTY.

2. Locate the Configuration File #

Find and open the configuration file used by your domain using command below:

/etc/nginx/sites-available/example.com

Remeber to replace example.com with your own domain.

3. Add Rewrite Rules for CompressX #

On the configuration file that opens, add the following rules and ensure these rules are placed within the server { ... } block and before other location { ... } directives and any include directives within the server { ... } block.:

# BEGIN CompressX
set $ext_avif ".avif";
if ($http_accept !~* "image/avif") {
  set $ext_avif "";
}

set $ext_webp ".webp";
if ($http_accept !~* "image/webp") {
  set $ext_webp "";
}

location ~ /wp-content/(?<path>.+)\.(?<ext>jpe?g|png|gif|webp)$ {
  add_header Vary Accept;
  add_header Cache-Control "private";
  expires 365d;
  try_files
    /wp-content/compressx-nextgen/$path.$ext$ext_avif
    /wp-content/compressx-nextgen/$path.$ext$ext_webp
  $uri = 404;
}
# END CompressX

4. Check and Remove Existing Image Rules #

On some Nginx server, the configuration file might already have similar rules for image formats. You can check for a location directive that includes extensions like .css, .js, and image formats.

Example of Existing Rules:

location ~* ^.+\.(css|js|jpg|jpeg|png|gif|webp|ico|eot|otf|woff|woff2|ttf)$ {
  expires max;
  ...
}

If you find similar rules, remove the following extensions from the location directive:

• jpg and jpeg (or jpe?g)
• png
• gif
• webp

5. Add Required MIME Types #

Check if WebP and AVIF MIME types are supported on the server.

To do that, edit the configuration file using command:

/etc/nginx/mime.types

and add the following lines within the types { ... } block if they are missing:

image/webp webp;
image/avif avif;

This ensures Nginx recognizes these image formats.

6. Restart Nginx #

Run this command to restart the Nginx server to take all changes effect:

systemctl restart nginx

Done. CompressX should now be able to function properly on your Nginx server.

If you have any issues or questions, please feel free to contact us.