Installation

You can install NGINX Unit in four alternative ways:

Choose from our official binary packages for a few popular systems. They’re as easy to use as any other packaged software and suit most purposes straight out of the box.
If your preferred OS or language version is missing from the official package list, try third-party repositories. Be warned, though: we don’t maintain them.
Run our Docker official images, prepackaged with varied language combinations.
To fine-tune Unit to your goals, download the sources, install the toolchain, and build a custom binary from scratch; just make sure you know what you’re doing.

Note:
The commands in this document starting with a hash (#) must be run as root or with superuser privileges.

Prerequisites

Unit compiles and runs on various Unix-like operating systems, including:

FreeBSD 10 or later
Linux 2.6 or later
macOS 10.6 or later
Solaris 11

It also supports most modern instruction set architectures, such as:

ARM
IA-32
PowerPC
MIPS
S390X
x86-64

App languages and platforms that Unit can run (including several versions of the same language):

Go 1.6 or later
Java 8 or later
Node.js 8.11 or later
PHP 5, 7, 8
Perl 5.12 or later
Python 2.6, 2.7, 3
Ruby 2.0 or later
WebAssembly Components WASI 0.2

Optional dependencies:

OpenSSL 1.0.1 or later for TLS support
PCRE (8.0 or later) or PCRE2 (10.23 or later) for regular expression matching
The njs scripting language
Wasmtime for WebAssembly Support

Official packages

Installing an official precompiled Unit binary package is best on most occasions; they’re available for:

Amazon Linux AMI, Amazon Linux 2, Amazon Linux 2023
Debian 9, 10, 11, 12
Fedora 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38
RHEL 6, 7, 8, 9
Ubuntu 16.04, 18.04, 19.10, 20.04, 20.10, 21.04, 21.10, 22.04, 22.10, 23.04

The packages include core executables, developer files,and support for individual languages. We also maintain a Homebrew tap for macOS users and a module for Node.js at the npm registry.

Note:
For details of packaging custom modules that install alongside the official Unit, see here.

Repository installation script

Repo installation script

We provide a script that adds our official repos on the systems we support:

wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nginx/unit/master/tools/setup-unit && chmod +x setup-unit

Run the following command as root:

./setup-unit repo-config

Use it at your discretion; explicit steps are provided below for each distribution.

Amazon Linux

Supported architecture: x86-64.

To configure Unit’s repository, create the following file named /etc/yum.repos.d/unit.repo:

[unit]
name=unit repo
baseurl=https://packages.nginx.org/unit/amzn/2023/$basearch/
gpgkey=https://unit.nginx.org/keys/nginx-keyring.gpg
gpgcheck=1
enabled=1

Install the core package and other packages you need:

# yum install unit

```console
# yum install `unit-devel <Required to install the Node.js module>` unit-jsc17 unit-perl  \
      unit-php unit-python39 unit-python311 unit-wasm

# systemctl restart unit  # Necessary for Unit to pick up any changes in language module setup

Runtime details:	Description
Control socket	/var/run/unit/control.sock
Log file	/var/log/unit/unit.log
Non-privileged user and group	unit

Supported architecture: x86-64.

To configure Unit’s repository, create the following file named /etc/yum.repos.d/unit.repo:

[unit]
name=unit repo
baseurl=https://packages.nginx.org/unit/amzn2/$releasever/$basearch/
gpgkey=https://unit.nginx.org/keys/nginx-keyring.gpg
gpgcheck=1
enabled=1

Install the core package and other packages you need:

# yum install unit

# yum install `unit-devel <Required to install the Node.js module>` unit-jsc8 unit-perl  \
      unit-php unit-python27 unit-python37 unit-wasm

# systemctl restart unit  # Necessary for Unit to pick up any changes in language module setup

Runtime details:	Description
Control socket	/var/run/unit/control.sock
Log file	/var/log/unit/unit.log
Non-privileged user and group	unit

Warning:
Unit’s 1.22+ packages aren’t built for Amazon Linux AMI. This distribution is obsolete; please update.

Supported architecture: x86-64.

To configure Unit’s repository, create the following file named /etc/yum.repos.d/unit.repo:


   [unit]
   name=unit repo
   baseurl=https://packages.nginx.org/unit/amzn/$releasever/$basearch/
   gpgkey=https://unit.nginx.org/keys/nginx-keyring.gpg
   gpgcheck=1
   enabled=1

Install the core package and other packages you need:

  # yum install unit

```console
  # yum install `unit-devel <Required to install the Node.js module>` unit-jsc8 unit-perl unit-php  \
         unit-python27 unit-python34 unit-python35 unit-python36

```console
  # systemctl restart unit  # Necessary for Unit to pick up any changes in language module setup

Runtime details:	Description
Control socket	/var/run/unit/control.sock
Log file	/var/log/unit/unit.log
Non-privileged user and group	unit

Debian

Supported architectures: arm64, x86-64.

Download and save NGINX’s signing key:
```
# curl --output /usr/share/keyrings/nginx-keyring.gpg  \
      https://unit.nginx.org/keys/nginx-keyring.gpg
```
This eliminates the “packages cannot be authenticated” warnings during installation.

To configure Unit’s repository, create the following file named /etc/apt/sources.list.d/unit.list:

deb [signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/nginx-keyring.gpg] https://packages.nginx.org/unit/debian/ bookworm unit
deb-src [signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/nginx-keyring.gpg] https://packages.nginx.org/unit/debian/ bookworm unit

Install the core package and other packages you need:

# apt update

# apt install unit

# apt install `unit-dev <Required to install the Node.js module>` unit-jsc17 unit-perl  \
      unit-php unit-python3.11 unit-ruby unit-wasm

# systemctl restart unit  # Necessary for Unit to pick up any changes in language module setup

Runtime details:	Description
Control socket	/var/run/control.unit.sock
Log file	/var/log/unit.log
Non-privileged user and group	unit

Supported architectures: arm64, x86-64.

Download and save NGINX’s signing key:
```
# curl --output /usr/share/keyrings/nginx-keyring.gpg  \
      https://unit.nginx.org/keys/nginx-keyring.gpg
```
This eliminates the “packages cannot be authenticated” warnings during installation.

To configure Unit’s repository, create the following file named /etc/apt/sources.list.d/unit.list:

deb [signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/nginx-keyring.gpg] https://packages.nginx.org/unit/debian/ bullseye unit
deb-src [signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/nginx-keyring.gpg] https://packages.nginx.org/unit/debian/ bullseye unit

Install the core package and other packages you need:

# apt update

# apt install unit

# apt install `unit-dev <Required to install the Node.js module>` unit-jsc11 unit-perl  \
      unit-php unit-python2.7 unit-python3.9 unit-ruby unit-wasm

# systemctl restart unit  # Necessary for Unit to pick up any changes in language module setup

Runtime details:	Description
Control socket	/var/run/control.unit.sock
Log file	/var/log/unit.log
Non-privileged user and group	unit

Warning:
Unit’s 1.28+ packages aren’t built for Debian 10. This distribution is obsolete; please update.

Supported architectures: i386, x86-64.

Download and save NGINX’s signing key:

  # curl --output /usr/share/keyrings/nginx-keyring.gpg  \
         https://unit.nginx.org/keys/nginx-keyring.gpg

This eliminates the
"packages cannot be authenticated"
warnings
during installation.

1. To configure Unit's repository,
create the following file named
**/etc/apt/sources.list.d/unit.list**:

```none

   deb [signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/nginx-keyring.gpg] https://packages.nginx.org/unit/debian/ buster unit
   deb-src [signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/nginx-keyring.gpg] https://packages.nginx.org/unit/debian/ buster unit

1. Install the core package
and other packages you need:

```console
  # apt update

```console
  # apt install unit

```console
  # apt install `unit-dev <Required to install the Node.js module>` unit-jsc11 unit-perl  \
         unit-php unit-python2.7 unit-python3.7 unit-ruby

```console
  # systemctl restart unit  # Necessary for Unit to pick up any changes in language module setup






<table class="table table-striped table-bordered">
  <thead>
      <tr>
          <th style="text-align: left">Runtime details</th>
          <th style="text-align: left">Description</th>
      </tr>
  </thead>
  <tbody>
      <tr>
          <td style="text-align: left">Control <a href="/previews/docs/171/unit/howto/security/#sec-socket">socket</a></td>
          <td style="text-align: left"><strong>/var/run/control.unit.sock</strong></td>
      </tr>
      <tr>
          <td style="text-align: left">Log <a href="/previews/docs/171/unit/troubleshooting/#troubleshooting-log">file</a></td>
          <td style="text-align: left"><strong>/var/log/unit.log</strong></td>
      </tr>
      <tr>
          <td style="text-align: left">Non-privileged <a href="/previews/docs/171/unit/howto/security/#security-apps">user and group</a></td>
          <td style="text-align: left"><strong>unit</strong></td>
      </tr>
  </tbody>
</table>

Warning:
Unit’s 1.28+ packages aren’t built for Debian 9. This distribution is obsolete; please update.

Supported architectures: i386, x86-64.

Download and save NGINX’s signing key:
```
# curl --output /usr/share/keyrings/nginx-keyring.gpg  \
      https://unit.nginx.org/keys/nginx-keyring.gpg
```
This eliminates the “packages cannot be authenticated” warnings during installation.

To configure Unit’s repository, create the following file named /etc/apt/sources.list.d/unit.list:

deb [signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/nginx-keyring.gpg] https://packages.nginx.org/unit/debian/ stretch unit
deb-src [signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/nginx-keyring.gpg] https://packages.nginx.org/unit/debian/ stretch unit

Install the core package and other packages you need:

# apt update

   # apt install unit

# apt install `unit-dev <Required to install the Node.js module>` unit-jsc8 unit-perl  \
      unit-php unit-python2.7 unit-python3.5 unit-ruby

```console
# systemctl restart unit  # Necessary for Unit to pick up any changes in language module setup

Runtime details	Description
Control socket	/var/run/control.unit.sock
Log file	/var/log/unit.log
Non-privileged user and group	unit

Fedora

Supported architecture: x86-64.

To configure Unit’s repository, create the following file named /etc/yum.repos.d/unit.repo:

[unit]
name=unit repo
baseurl=https://packages.nginx.org/unit/fedora/$releasever/$basearch/
gpgkey=https://unit.nginx.org/keys/nginx-keyring.gpg
gpgcheck=1
enabled=1

Install the core package and other packages you need:

# yum install unit

# yum install `unit-devel <Required to install the Node.js module>` unit-jsc8 unit-jsc11 unit-perl  \
      unit-php unit-python311 unit-ruby

# systemctl restart unit  # Necessary for Unit to pick up any changes in language module setup

Runtime details	Description
Control socket	/var/run/unit/control.sock
Log file	/var/log/unit/unit.log
Non-privileged user and group	unit

Supported architecture: x86-64.

To configure Unit’s repository, create the following file named /etc/yum.repos.d/unit.repo:

[unit]
name=unit repo
baseurl=https://packages.nginx.org/unit/fedora/$releasever/$basearch/
gpgkey=https://unit.nginx.org/keys/nginx-keyring.gpg
gpgcheck=1
enabled=1

Install the core package and other packages you need:

# yum install unit

# yum install `unit-devel <Required to install the Node.js module>` unit-jsc8 unit-jsc11 unit-perl  \
      unit-php unit-python311 unit-ruby unit-wasm

```console
# systemctl restart unit  # Necessary for Unit to pick up any changes in language module setup

Runtime details	Description
Control socket	/var/run/unit/control.sock
Log file	/var/log/unit/unit.log
Non-privileged user and group	unit

Warning:
Unit’s 1.31+ packages aren’t built for Fedora 36 and Fedora 35. These distributions are obsolete; please update.

Supported architecture: x86-64.

To configure Unit’s repository, create the following file named /etc/yum.repos.d/unit.repo:

[unit]
name=unit repo
baseurl=https://packages.nginx.org/unit/fedora/$releasever/$basearch/
gpgkey=https://unit.nginx.org/keys/nginx-keyring.gpg
gpgcheck=1
enabled=1

Install the core package and other packages you need:

# yum install unit

# yum install `unit-devel <Required to install the Node.js module>` unit-jsc8 unit-jsc11 unit-perl  \
      unit-php unit-python39 unit-python310 unit-ruby unit-wasm

# systemctl restart unit  # Necessary for Unit to pick up any changes in language module setup

Runtime details	Description
Control socket	/var/run/unit/control.sock
Log file	/var/log/unit/unit.log
Non-privileged user and group	unit

Warning:
Unit’s 1.27+ packages aren’t built for Fedora 33 and Fedora 34. These distributions are obsolete; please update.

Supported architecture: x86-64.

To configure Unit’s repository, create the following file named /etc/yum.repos.d/unit.repo:

[unit]
name=unit repo
baseurl=https://packages.nginx.org/unit/fedora/$releasever/$basearch/
gpgkey=https://unit.nginx.org/keys/nginx-keyring.gpg
gpgcheck=1
enabled=1

Install the core package and other packages you need:

# yum install unit

# yum install `unit-devel <Required to install the Node.js module>` unit-jsc8 unit-jsc11 unit-perl  \
      unit-php unit-python39 unit-ruby

# systemctl restart unit  # Necessary for Unit to pick up any changes in language module setup

.. list-table::

- Control socket
- /var/run/unit/control.sock
- Log file
- /var/log/unit/unit.log
- Non-privileged user and group
- unit

Warning:
Unit’s 1.24+ packages aren’t built for Fedora 32. These distributions are obsolete; please update.

Supported architecture: x86-64.

To configure Unit’s repository, create the following file named /etc/yum.repos.d/unit.repo:

[unit]
name=unit repo
baseurl=https://packages.nginx.org/unit/fedora/$releasever/$basearch/
gpgkey=https://unit.nginx.org/keys/nginx-keyring.gpg
gpgcheck=1
enabled=1

Install the core package and other packages you need:

# yum install unit

# yum install `unit-devel <Required to install the Node.js module>` unit-jsc8 unit-jsc11 unit-perl  \
      unit-php unit-python38 unit-ruby

# systemctl restart unit  # Necessary for Unit to pick up any changes in language module setup

Runtime details	Description
Control socket	/var/run/unit/control.sock
Log file	/var/log/unit/unit.log
Non-privileged user and group	unit

Warning:
Unit’s 1.20+ packages aren’t built for Fedora 30; 1.22+ packages aren’t built for Fedora 31. These distributions are obsolete; please update.

Supported architecture: x86-64.

To configure Unit’s repository, create the following file named /etc/yum.repos.d/unit.repo:

[unit]
name=unit repo
baseurl=https://packages.nginx.org/unit/fedora/$releasever/$basearch/
gpgkey=https://unit.nginx.org/keys/nginx-keyring.gpg
gpgcheck=1
enabled=1

Install the core package and other packages you need:

# yum install unit

# yum install `unit-devel <Required to install the Node.js module>` unit-jsc8 unit-jsc11 unit-perl  \
      unit-php unit-python27 unit-python37 unit-ruby

# systemctl restart unit  # Necessary for Unit to pick up any changes in language module setup

Runtime details	Description
Control socket	/var/run/unit/control.sock
Log file	/var/log/unit/unit.log
Non-privileged user and group	unit

Warning:
Unit’s 1.20+ packages aren’t built for Fedora 29. This distribution is obsolete; please update.

Supported architecture: x86-64.

To configure Unit’s repository, create the following file named /etc/yum.repos.d/unit.repo:

[unit]
name=unit repo
baseurl=https://packages.nginx.org/unit/fedora/$releasever/$basearch/
gpgkey=https://unit.nginx.org/keys/nginx-keyring.gpg
gpgcheck=1
enabled=1

Install the core package and other packages you need:

# yum install unit

# yum install `unit-devel <Required to install the Node.js module>` unit-jsc8 unit-perl  \
      unit-php unit-python27 unit-python37 unit-ruby

# systemctl restart unit  # Necessary for Unit to pick up any changes in language module setup

Runtime details	Description
Control socket	/var/run/unit/control.sock
Log file	/var/log/unit/unit.log
Non-privileged user and group	unit

RHEL and derivatives

Note:
Use these steps for binary-compatible distributions: AlmaLinux, CentOS, Oracle Linux, or Rocky Linux.

Supported architecture: x86-64.

To configure Unit’s repository, create the following file named /etc/yum.repos.d/unit.repo:

[unit]
name=unit repo
baseurl=https://packages.nginx.org/unit/rhel/$releasever/$basearch/
gpgkey=https://unit.nginx.org/keys/nginx-keyring.gpg
gpgcheck=1
enabled=1

Install the core package and other packages you need:

# yum install unit

# yum install `unit-devel <Required to install the Node.js module and build Go apps>` unit-go unit-jsc8 unit-jsc11  \
      unit-perl unit-php unit-python39 unit-wasm

# systemctl restart unit  # Necessary for Unit to pick up any changes in language module setup

Runtime details	Description
Control socket	/var/run/unit/control.sock
Log file	/var/log/unit/unit.log
Non-privileged user and group	unit

Supported architecture: x86-64.

To configure Unit’s repository, create the following file named /etc/yum.repos.d/unit.repo:

[unit]
name=unit repo
baseurl=https://packages.nginx.org/unit/rhel/$releasever/$basearch/
gpgkey=https://unit.nginx.org/keys/nginx-keyring.gpg
gpgcheck=1
enabled=1

Install the core package and other packages you need:
```
# yum install unit
```

yum install `unit-devel <Required to install the Node.js module>` unit-jsc8 unit-jsc11 \

     unit-perl unit-php unit-python27 unit-python36 unit-python38 unit-python39 unit-wasm


```console
# systemctl restart unit  # Necessary for Unit to pick up any changes in language module setup

Runtime details	Description
Control socket	/var/run/unit/control.sock
Log file	/var/log/unit/unit.log
Non-privileged user and group	unit

Note:
Official packages for CentOS 7.x are also available.

Supported architecture: x86-64.

To configure Unit’s repository, create the following file named /etc/yum.repos.d/unit.repo:

[unit]
name=unit repo
baseurl=https://packages.nginx.org/unit/rhel/$releasever/$basearch/
gpgkey=https://unit.nginx.org/keys/nginx-keyring.gpg
gpgcheck=1
enabled=1

Install the core package and other packages you need:

# yum install unit

# yum install `unit-devel <Required to install the Node.js module>` unit-jsc8 unit-jsc11  \
      unit-perl unit-php unit-python27 unit-python36

# systemctl restart unit  # Necessary for Unit to pick up any changes in language module setup

Runtime details	Description
Control socket	/var/run/unit/control.sock
Log file	/var/log/unit/unit.log
Non-privileged user and group	unit

Warning:
Unit’s 1.20+ packages aren’t built for RHEL 6. This distribution is obsolete; please update.

Supported architectures: i386, x86-64.

To configure Unit’s repository, create the following file named /etc/yum.repos.d/unit.repo:

[unit]
name=unit repo
baseurl=https://packages.nginx.org/unit/rhel/$releasever/$basearch/
gpgkey=https://unit.nginx.org/keys/nginx-keyring.gpg
gpgcheck=1
enabled=1

Install the core package and other packages you need:
```
# yum install unit
```

yum install `unit-devel <Required to install the Node.js module>` unit-jsc8 unit-perl \

     unit-php unit-python


```console
# systemctl restart unit  # Necessary for Unit to pick up any changes in language module setup

Runtime details	Description
Control socket	/var/run/unit/control.sock
Log file	/var/log/unit/unit.log
Non-privileged user and group	unit

Ubuntu

Supported architectures: arm64, x86-64.

Download and save NGINX’s signing key:
```
# curl --output /usr/share/keyrings/nginx-keyring.gpg  \
      https://unit.nginx.org/keys/nginx-keyring.gpg
```
This eliminates the “packages cannot be authenticated” warnings during installation.

To configure Unit’s repository, create the following file named /etc/apt/sources.list.d/unit.list:

deb [signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/nginx-keyring.gpg] https://packages.nginx.org/unit/ubuntu/ lunar unit
deb-src [signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/nginx-keyring.gpg] https://packages.nginx.org/unit/ubuntu/ lunar unit

Install the core package and other packages you need:

# apt update

# apt install unit

   # apt install `unit-dev <Required to install the Node.js module and build Go apps>` unit-go unit-jsc11 unit-jsc17 unit-jsc18 unit-jsc19 unit-jsc20  \
                  unit-perl unit-php unit-python3.11 unit-ruby unit-wasm

# systemctl restart unit  # Necessary for Unit to pick up any changes in language module setup

Runtime details	Description
Control socket	/var/run/control.unit.sock
Log file	/var/log/unit.log
Non-privileged user and group	unit

Warning:
Unit’s 1.31+ packages aren’t built for Ubuntu 22.10. This distribution is obsolete; please update.

Supported architectures: arm64, x86-64.

Download and save NGINX’s signing key:
```
# curl --output /usr/share/keyrings/nginx-keyring.gpg  \
      https://unit.nginx.org/keys/nginx-keyring.gpg
```
This eliminates the “packages cannot be authenticated” warnings during installation.

To configure Unit’s repository, create the following file named /etc/apt/sources.list.d/unit.list:

      deb [signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/nginx-keyring.gpg] https://packages.nginx.org/unit/ubuntu/ kinetic unit
      deb-src [signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/nginx-keyring.gpg] https://packages.nginx.org/unit/ubuntu/ kinetic unit

Install the core package and other packages you need:

# apt update

# apt install unit

# apt install `unit-dev <Required to install the Node.js module and build Go apps>` unit-go unit-jsc11 unit-jsc17 unit-jsc18 unit-jsc19  \
               unit-perl unit-php unit-python2.7 unit-python3.10 unit-ruby unit-wasm

# systemctl restart unit  # Necessary for Unit to pick up any changes in language module setup

Runtime details	Description
Control socket	/var/run/control.unit.sock
Log file	/var/log/unit.log
Non-privileged user and group	unit

Supported architectures: arm64, x86-64.

Download and save NGINX’s signing key:
```
# curl --output /usr/share/keyrings/nginx-keyring.gpg  \
      https://unit.nginx.org/keys/nginx-keyring.gpg
```
This eliminates the “packages cannot be authenticated” warnings during installation.

To configure Unit’s repository, create the following file named /etc/apt/sources.list.d/unit.list:

      deb [signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/nginx-keyring.gpg] https://packages.nginx.org/unit/ubuntu/ jammy unit
      deb-src [signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/nginx-keyring.gpg] https://packages.nginx.org/unit/ubuntu/ jammy unit

Install the core package and other packages you need:

# apt update

# apt install unit

# apt install `unit-dev <Required to install the Node.js module and build Go apps>` unit-go unit-jsc11 unit-jsc16 unit-jsc17 unit-jsc18  \
               unit-perl unit-php unit-python2.7 unit-python3.10 unit-ruby unit-wasm

# systemctl restart unit  # Necessary for Unit to pick up any changes in language module setup

Runtime details	Description
Control socket	/var/run/control.unit.sock
Log file	/var/log/unit.log
Non-privileged user and group	unit

Warning:
Unit’s 1.28+ packages aren’t built for Ubuntu 21.10. This distribution is obsolete; please update.

Supported architectures: arm64, x86-64.

Download and save NGINX’s signing key:

# curl --output /usr/share/keyrings/nginx-keyring.gpg  \
      https://unit.nginx.org/keys/nginx-keyring.gpg

This eliminates the “packages cannot be authenticated” warnings during installation.

To configure Unit’s repository, create the following file named /etc/apt/sources.list.d/unit.list:

      deb [signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/nginx-keyring.gpg] https://packages.nginx.org/unit/ubuntu/ impish unit
      deb-src [signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/nginx-keyring.gpg] https://packages.nginx.org/unit/ubuntu/ impish unit

Install the core package and other packages you need:

# apt update

# apt install unit

      # apt install `unit-dev <Required to install the Node.js module>` unit-jsc11 unit-jsc16 unit-jsc17 unit-jsc18  \
                    unit-perl unit-php unit-python2.7 unit-python3.9 unit-python3.10 unit-ruby

# systemctl restart unit  # Necessary for Unit to pick up any changes in language module setup

Runtime details:

Runtime details	Description
Control socket	/var/run/control.unit.sock
Log file	/var/log/unit.log
Non-privileged user and group	unit

.. tab:: 21.04

Warning:
Unit’s 1.27+ packages aren’t built for Ubuntu 21.04. This distribution is obsolete; please update.

Supported architectures: arm64, x86-64.

Download and save NGINX’s signing key:
```
# curl --output /usr/share/keyrings/nginx-keyring.gpg  \
      https://unit.nginx.org/keys/nginx-keyring.gpg
```
This eliminates the “packages cannot be authenticated” warnings during installation.

To configure Unit’s repository, create the following file named /etc/apt/sources.list.d/unit.list:

deb [signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/nginx-keyring.gpg] https://packages.nginx.org/unit/ubuntu/ hirsute unit
deb-src [signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/nginx-keyring.gpg] https://packages.nginx.org/unit/ubuntu/ hirsute unit

Install the core package and other packages you need:

# apt update

# apt install unit

# apt install `unit-dev <Required to install the Node.js module>` unit-jsc11 unit-jsc15 unit-jsc16 unit-jsc17  \
               unit-perl unit-php unit-python2.7 unit-python3.9 unit-ruby
# systemctl restart unit  # Necessary for Unit to pick up any changes in language module setup

Runtime details	Description
Control socket	/var/run/control.unit.sock
Log file	/var/log/unit.log
Non-privileged user and group	unit

Warning:
Unit’s 1.25+ packages aren’t built for Ubuntu 20.10. This distribution is obsolete; please update.

Supported architectures: arm64, x86-64.

Download and save NGINX’s signing key:
```
# curl --output /usr/share/keyrings/nginx-keyring.gpg  \
      https://unit.nginx.org/keys/nginx-keyring.gpg
```
This eliminates the “packages cannot be authenticated” warnings during installation.

To configure Unit’s repository, create the following file named /etc/apt/sources.list.d/unit.list:

      deb [signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/nginx-keyring.gpg] https://packages.nginx.org/unit/ubuntu/ groovy unit
      deb-src [signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/nginx-keyring.gpg] https://packages.nginx.org/unit/ubuntu/ groovy unit

Install the core package and other packages you need:

# apt update

# apt install unit

# apt install `unit-dev <Required to install the Node.js module>` unit-jsc11 unit-jsc13 unit-jsc14 unit-jsc15  \
               unit-perl unit-php unit-python3.8 unit-ruby

# systemctl restart unit  # Necessary for Unit to pick up any changes in language module setup

Runtime details	Description
Control socket	/var/run/control.unit.sock
Log file	/var/log/unit.log
Non-privileged user and group	unit

Supported architectures: arm64, x86-64.

Download and save NGINX’s signing key:
```
# curl --output /usr/share/keyrings/nginx-keyring.gpg  \
      https://unit.nginx.org/keys/nginx-keyring.gpg
```
This eliminates the “packages cannot be authenticated” warnings during installation.

To configure Unit’s repository, create the following file named /etc/apt/sources.list.d/unit.list:

      deb [signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/nginx-keyring.gpg] https://packages.nginx.org/unit/ubuntu/ focal unit
      deb-src [signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/nginx-keyring.gpg] https://packages.nginx.org/unit/ubuntu/ focal unit

Install the core package and other packages you need:

# apt update

# apt install unit

# apt install `unit-dev <Required to install the Node.js module>` unit-jsc11 unit-perl  \
      unit-php unit-python2.7 unit-python3.8 unit-ruby unit-wasm

# systemctl restart unit  # Necessary for Unit to pick up any changes in language module setup

Runtime details	Description
Control socket	/var/run/control.unit.sock
Log file	/var/log/unit.log
Non-privileged user and group	unit

Warning:
Unit’s 1.20+ packages aren’t built for Ubuntu 19.10. This distribution is obsolete; please update.

Supported architecture: x86-64.

Download and save NGINX’s signing key:
```
# curl --output /usr/share/keyrings/nginx-keyring.gpg  \
      https://unit.nginx.org/keys/nginx-keyring.gpg
```
This eliminates the “packages cannot be authenticated” warnings during installation.

To configure Unit’s repository, create the following file named /etc/apt/sources.list.d/unit.list:

      deb [signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/nginx-keyring.gpg] https://packages.nginx.org/unit/ubuntu/ eoan unit
      deb-src [signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/nginx-keyring.gpg] https://packages.nginx.org/unit/ubuntu/ eoan unit

Install the core package and other packages you need:

# apt update

# apt install unit

# apt install `unit-dev <Required to install the Node.js module>` unit-jsc11 unit-perl  \
      unit-php unit-python2.7 unit-python3.7 unit-python3.8 unit-ruby

# systemctl restart unit  # Necessary for Unit to pick up any changes in language module setup

Runtime details	Description
Control socket	/var/run/control.unit.sock
Log file	/var/log/unit.log
Non-privileged user and group	unit

Warning:
Unit’s 1.31+ packages aren’t built for Ubuntu 18.04. This distribution is obsolete; please update.

Supported architectures: arm64, x86-64.

Download and save NGINX’s signing key:
```
# curl --output /usr/share/keyrings/nginx-keyring.gpg  \
      https://unit.nginx.org/keys/nginx-keyring.gpg
```
This eliminates the “packages cannot be authenticated” warnings during installation.

To configure Unit’s repository, create the following file named /etc/apt/sources.list.d/unit.list:

      deb [signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/nginx-keyring.gpg] https://packages.nginx.org/unit/ubuntu/ bionic unit
      deb-src [signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/nginx-keyring.gpg] https://packages.nginx.org/unit/ubuntu/ bionic unit

Install the core package and other packages you need:

# apt update

# apt install unit

# apt install `unit-dev <Required to install the Node.js module>` unit-jsc8 unit-jsc11 unit-perl  \
      unit-php unit-python2.7 unit-python3.6 unit-python3.7 unit-ruby

# systemctl restart unit  # Necessary for Unit to pick up any changes in language module setup

Runtime details	Description
Control socket	/var/run/control.unit.sock
Log file	/var/log/unit.log
Non-privileged user and group	unit

Warning:
Unit’s 1.24+ packages aren’t built for Ubuntu 16.04. This distribution is obsolete; please update.

Supported architectures: arm64, i386, x86-64.

Download and save NGINX’s signing key:
```
# curl --output /usr/share/keyrings/nginx-keyring.gpg  \
      https://unit.nginx.org/keys/nginx-keyring.gpg
```
This eliminates the “packages cannot be authenticated” warnings during installation.

To configure Unit’s repository, create the following file named /etc/apt/sources.list.d/unit.list:

deb [signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/nginx-keyring.gpg] https://packages.nginx.org/unit/ubuntu/ xenial unit
deb-src [signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/nginx-keyring.gpg] https://packages.nginx.org/unit/ubuntu/ xenial unit

Install the core package and other packages you need:

# apt update

# apt install unit

# apt install `unit-dev <Required to install the Node.js module>` unit-jsc8 unit-perl unit-php  \
      unit-python2.7 unit-python3.5 unit-ruby

# systemctl restart unit  # Necessary for Unit to pick up any changes in language module setup

Runtime details	Description
Control socket	/var/run/control.unit.sock
Log file	/var/log/unit.log
Non-privileged user and group	unit

macOS

To install Unit on macOS, use the official Homebrew tap.

   $ brew install nginx/unit/unit

This deploys the core Unit binary and the prerequisites for the Node.js language module.

To install the Java, Perl, Python, and Ruby language modules from Homebrew:

$ brew install unit-java unit-perl unit-php unit-python unit-python3 unit-ruby

# pkill unitd  # Stop Unit

# unitd        # Start Unit to pick up any changes in language module setup

Runtime details	Description
Control socket	/usr/local/var/run/unit/control.sock (Intel), /opt/homebrew/var/run/unit/control.sock (Apple Silicon)
Log file	/usr/local/var/log/unit/unit.log (Intel), /opt/homebrew/var/log/unit/unit.log (Apple Silicon)
Non-privileged user and group	nobody

Note:

To run Unit as root on macOS:

$ export OBJC_DISABLE_INITIALIZE_FORK_SAFETY=YES

$ sudo --preserve-env=OBJC_DISABLE_INITIALIZE_FORK_SAFETY /path/to/unitd ...

Node.js

Unit’s npm-hosted Node.js module is called unit-http. Install it to run Node.js apps on Unit:

First, install the unit-dev/unit-devel package; it’s needed to build unit-http.
Next, build and install unit-http globally (this requires npm and node-gyp):
```
# npm install -g --unsafe-perm unit-http
```
Warning:
The unit-http module is platform dependent due to optimizations; you can’t move it across systems with the rest of node-modules. Global installation avoids such scenarios; just relink the migrated app.
It’s entirely possible to run Node.js apps on Unit without mentioning unit-http in your app sources. However, you can explicitly use unit-http in your code instead of the built-in http, but mind that such frameworks as Express may require extra changes.

Warning:
The unit-http module and Unit must have matching version numbers.

If you update Unit later, make sure to update the module as well:

# npm update -g --unsafe-perm unit-http

Note:
You can also configure and install the unit-http module from sources.

Working with multiple Node.js versions

To use Unit with multiple Node.js versions side by side, we recommend Node Version Manager.

$ curl -o- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nvm-sh/nvm/x.y.z/install.sh | bash # Replace x.y.z with the nvm version

Install the versions you need and select the one you want to use with Unit:

$ nvm install 18

$ nvm install 16

$ nvm use 18
      Now using node `v18.12.1 <Note the version numbers>` (npm v8.19.2)

Having selected the specific version, install the node-gyp module:

$ npm install -g node-gyp

Next, clone the Unit source code to build a unit-http module for the selected Node.js version:

$ git clone https://github.com/nginx/unit

$ cd unit

$ pwd
      `/home/user/unit <Note the path to the source code>`

$ ./configure

$ ./configure nodejs

      configuring nodejs module
      checking for node ... found
         + node version `v18.12.1 <Should be the version selected with nvm>`
      checking for npm ... found
         + npm version `8.19.2 <Should be the version selected with npm>`
      checking for node-gyp ... found
         + node-gyp version v9.3.0

Point to Unit’s header files and libraries in the source code directory to build the module:

$ CPPFLAGS="-I/home/user/unit/include/" LDFLAGS="-L/home/user/unit/lib/"  \
      make node-install

$ npm list -g

      /home/vagrant/.nvm/versions/node/v18.12.1/lib
      ├── corepack@0.14.2
      ├── node-gyp@9.3.0
      ├── npm@8.19.2
      └── unit-http@1.29.0

That’s all; use the newly built module to run your Node.js apps on Unit as usual.

Enable Unit to launch automatically at system startup:

# systemctl enable unit

Start or restart Unit:

# systemctl restart unit

Stop a running Unit:

# systemctl stop unit

Disable Unit’s automatic startup:

# systemctl disable unit

Start Unit as a daemon:

# unitd

Stop all Unit’s processes:

# pkill unitd

For startup options, see the Building from source documentation.

Note:
Restarting Unit is necessary after installing or uninstalling any language modules to pick up the changes.

Community Repositories

Warning:
These distributions are maintained by their respective communities, not NGINX. Use them with caution.

To install Unit’s core executables from the Alpine Linux packages:

# apk update

# apk upgrade

# apk add unit

To install service manager files and specific language modules:

# apk add unit-openrc unit-perl unit-php7 unit-python3 unit-ruby

# service unit restart  # Necessary for Unit to pick up any changes in language module setup

Runtime details	Description
Control socket	/run/control.unit.sock
Log file	/var/log/unit.log
Non-privileged user and group	unit

Startup and shutdown:

# `service unit enable <Enable Unit to launch automatically at system startup>`

# `service unit restart <Start or restart Unit; one-time action>`

# `service unit stop <Stop a running Unit; one-time action>`

# `service unit disable <Disable Unit's automatic startup>`

To install Unit’s core executables and specific language modules from the Sisyphus packages:

# apt-get update

# apt-get install unit
``

```console
# apt-get install unit-perl unit-php unit-python3 unit-ruby

# service unit restart  # Necessary for Unit to pick up any changes in language module setup

Versions of these packages with the *-debuginfo suffix contain symbols for debugging.

Runtime details	Description
Control socket	/run/unit/control.sock
Log file	/var/log/unit/unit.log
Non-privileged user and group	_unit (mind the _ prefix)

Startup and shutdown:

# `service unit enable <Enable Unit to launch automatically at system startup>`

# `service unit restart <Start or restart Unit; one-time action>`

# `service unit stop <Stop a running Unit; one-time action>`
``

```console
# `service unit disable <Disable Unit's automatic startup>`

To install Unit’s core executables and all language modules, clone the Arch User Repository (AUR).

$ git clone https://aur.archlinux.org/nginx-unit.git
$ cd nginx-unit

Before proceeding further, verify that the PKGBUILD and the accompanying files aren’t malicious or untrustworthy. AUR packages are user produced without pre-moderation; use them at your own risk.

Next, build the package:

$ makepkg -si

Runtime details	Description
Control socket	/run/nginx-unit.control.sock
Log file	/var/log/nginx-unit.log
Non-privileged user and group	nobody

Startup and shutdown:

# `systemctl enable unit <Enable Unit to launch automatically at system startup>`

# `systemctl restart unit <Start or restart Unit; one-time action>`

# `systemctl stop unit <Stop a running Unit; one-time action>`

# `systemctl disable unit <Disable Unit's automatic startup>`

To install Unit from FreeBSD packages get the core package and other packages you need:

# pkg install -y unit

# pkg install -y `libunit <Required to install the Node.js module>`

# pkg install -y unit-java8  \
                  unit-perl5.36  \
                  unit-php81 unit-php82 unit-php83  \
                  unit-python39  \
                  unit-ruby3.2  \
                  unit-wasm

# service unitd restart  # Necessary for Unit to pick up any changes in language module setup

To install Unit from FreeBSD ports, start by updating your port collection.

With portsnap:

# portsnap fetch update

With git:

# cd /usr/ports && git pull

Next, browse to the port path to build and install the core Unit port:

# cd /usr/ports/www/unit/

# make

# make install

Repeat the steps for the other ports you need: libunit (required to install the Node.js module and build Go apps, , unit-java, unit-perl, unit-php, unit-python, unit-ruby, or unit-wasm.

After that, restart Unit:

# service unitd restart  # Necessary for Unit to pick up any changes in language module setup

Runtime details	Description
Control socket	/var/run/unit/control.unit.sock
Log file	/var/log/unit/unit.log
Non-privileged user and group	www

Startup and shutdown:

# `service unitd enable <Enable Unit to launch automatically at system startup>`

# `service unitd restart <Start or restart Unit; one-time action>`

# `service unitd stop <Stop a running Unit; one-time action>`

# `service unitd disable <Disable Unit's automatic startup>`

To install Unit using Portage, update the repositoryand install the

# emerge --sync

# emerge www-servers/nginx-unit

To install specific language modules and features, apply the corresponding USE flags.

Runtime details	Description
Control socket	/run/nginx-unit.sock
Log file	/var/log/nginx-unit
Non-privileged user and group	nobody

Startup and shutdown:

# `rc-update add nginx-unit <Enable Unit to launch automatically at system startup>`

# `rc-service nginx-unit restart <Start or restart Unit; one-time action>`

# `rc-service nginx-unit stop <Stop a running Unit; one-time action>`

# `rc-update del nginx-unit <Disable Unit's automatic startup>`

To install Unit’s core package and the other packages you need from the NetBSD Packages Collection:

# pkg_add unit

# pkg_add `libunit <Required to install the Node.js module>`

# pkg_add unit-perl  \
            unit-python2.7  \
            unit-python3.8 unit-python3.9 unit-python3.10 unit-python3.11 unit-python3.12  \
            unit-ruby31 unit-ruby32 unit-ruby33

# service unit restart  # Necessary for Unit to pick up any changes in language module setup

To build Unit manually, start by updating the package collection:

# cd /usr/pkgsrc && cvs update -dP

Next, browse to the package path to build and install the core Unit binaries:

# cd /usr/pkgsrc/www/unit/
``

```console
# make build install
``

Repeat the steps for the other packages you need:
[libunit](https://cdn.netbsd.org/pub/pkgsrc/current/pkgsrc/devel/libunit/index.html)
(required to install the Node.js
[module](/previews/docs/171/unit/installation/#installation-nodejs-package) and build
[Go apps](/previews/docs/171/unit/configuration/#configuration-go),
[unit-perl](https://cdn.netbsd.org/pub/pkgsrc/current/pkgsrc/www/unit-perl/index.html),
[unit-php](https://cdn.netbsd.org/pub/pkgsrc/current/pkgsrc/www/unit-php/index.html),
[unit-python](https://cdn.netbsd.org/pub/pkgsrc/current/pkgsrc/www/unit-python/index.html),
or
[unit-ruby](https://cdn.netbsd.org/pub/pkgsrc/current/pkgsrc/www/unit-ruby/index.html).

Note that **unit-php** packages require the PHP package to be built with the **php-embed** option. To enable the option for **lang/php82**:

```console
# echo "PKG_OPTIONS.php82=php-embed" >> /etc/mk.conf

After that, restart Unit:

# service unit restart  # Necessary for Unit to pick up any changes in language module setup

Runtime details	Description
Control socket	/var/run/unit/control.unit.sock
Log file	/var/log/unit/unit.log
Non-privileged user and group	unit

Startup and shutdown:

First, add Unit’s startup script to the /etc/rc.d/ directory:

# cp /usr/pkg/share/examples/rc.d/unit /etc/rc.d/

After that, you can start and stop Unit as follows:

# `service unit restart <Start or restart Unit; one-time action>`

# `service unit stop <Stop a running Unit; one-time action>`

To enable or disable Unit’s automatic startup, edit /etc/rc.conf:

# Enable service:
unit=YES

# Disable service:
unit=NO

To install Unit’s core executables and all language modules using the Nix package manager, update the channel, check if Unit’s available, and install the package

$ nix-channel --update
$ nix-env -qa 'unit'
$ nix-env -i unit

This installs most embedded language modules and such features as SSL or IPv6 support. For a full list of optionals, see the [package definition]https://github.com/NixOS/nixpkgs/blob/master/pkgs/servers/http/unit/default.nix); for a .nix configuration file defining an app, see this sample.

Runtime details	Description
Control socket	/run/unit/control.unit.sock
Log file	/var/log/unit/unit.log
Non-privileged user and group	unit

Startup and shutdown:

Add services.unit.enable = true; to /etc/nixos/configuration.nix and rebuild the system configuration:

# nixos-rebuild switch

After that, use systemctl:

# `systemctl enable unit <Enable Unit to launch automatically at system startup>`

# `systemctl restart unit <Start or restart Unit; one-time action>`

# `systemctl stop unit <Stop a running Unit; one-time action>`

# `systemctl disable unit <Disable Unit's automatic startup>`

To install Unit from OpenBSD packages get the core package and other packages you need:

# pkg_add unit

# pkg_add unit-perl

# pkg_add unit-php74

# pkg_add unit-php80

# pkg_add unit-php81

# pkg_add unit-php82

# pkg_add unit-php83

# pkg_add unit-python

# pkg_add unit-ruby

# rcctl restart unit  # Necessary for Unit to pick up any changes in language module setup

To install Unit from OpenBSD ports, start by updating your port collection, for example:

$ cd /usr/

$ cvs -d anoncvs@anoncvs.spacehopper.org:/cvs checkout -P ports

Next, browse to the port path to build and install Unit:

$ cd /usr/ports/www/unit/
`` `

```console
$ make
``

```console
# make install
``

This also installs the language modules for Perl, PHP, Python, and Ruby;
other modules can be built and installed from
[source](/previews/docs/171/unit/howto/source/).

After that, restart Unit:

```console
# rcctl restart unit  # Necessary for Unit to pick up any changes in language module setup

Runtime details	Description
Control socket	/var/run/unit/control.unit.sock
Log file	/var/log/unit/unit.log
Non-privileged user and group	_unit

Startup and shutdown:

# `rcctl enable unit <Enable Unit to launch automatically at system startup>`

# `rcctl restart unit <Start or restart Unit; one-time action>`

# `rcctl stop unit <Stop a running Unit; one-time action>`

# `rcctl disable unit <Disable Unit's automatic startup>`

Remi’s RPM repository, which hosts the latest versions of the PHP stack for Fedora and RHEL, also has the core Unit package and the PHP modules.

To use Remi’s versions of Unit’s packages, configure the repository first. Remi’s PHP language modules are also compatible with the core Unit package from our own repository.

Next, install Unit and the PHP modules you want:

# yum install --enablerepo=remi unit  \
      php54-unit-php php55-unit-php php56-unit-php  \
      php70-unit-php php71-unit-php php72-unit-php php73-unit-php php74-unit-php  \
      php80-unit-php php81-unit-php php82-unit-php

# systemctl restart unit  # Necessary for Unit to pick up any changes in language module setup

Runtime details	Description
Control socket	/run/unit/control.sock
Log file	/var/log/unit/unit.log
Non-privileged user and group	nobody

Startup and shutdown:

# `systemctl enable unit <Enable Unit to launch automatically at system startup>`

# `systemctl restart unit <Start or restart Unit; one-time action>`

# `systemctl stop unit <Stop a running Unit; one-time action>`

# `systemctl disable unit <Disable Unit's automatic startup>`

Docker Images

Unit’s Docker images come in several language-specific flavors:

Tag	Description
`1.34.1-minimal`	No language modules; based on the debian:bullseye-slim image.
`1.34.1-go1.21`	Single-language; based on the golang:1.21 image.
`1.34.1-jsc11`	Single-language; based on the eclipse-temurin:11-jdk image.
`1.34.1-node20`	Single-language; based on the node:20 image.
`1.34.1-perl5.38`	Single-language; based on the perl:5.38 image.
`1.34.1-php8.2`	Single-language; based on the php:8.2-cli image.
`1.34.1-python3.11`	Single-language; based on the python:3.11 image.
`1.34.1-ruby3.2`	Single-language; based on the ruby:3.2 image.
`1.34.1-wasm`	Single-language; based on the debian:bullseye-slim image.

Customizing language versions in Docker images

To build a custom language version image, clone and rebuild the sources locally with Docker installed:

$ make build-<language name><language version> VERSIONS_<language name>=<language version>

The make utility parses the command line to extract the language name and version; these values must reference an existing official language image to be used as the base for the build. If not sure whether an official image exists for a specific language version, follow the links in the tag table above.

Note:
Unit relies on the official Docker images, so any customization method offered by their maintainers is equally applicable; to tailor a Unit image to your needs, see the quick reference for its base image.

The language name can be go, jsc, node, perl, php, python, or ruby; the version is defined as <major>.<minor>, except for jsc and node that take only major version numbers (as seen in the tag table).

Thus, to create an image with Python 3.10 and tag it as unit:1.34.1-python3.10:

$ git clone https://github.com/nginx/unit

$ cd unit

$ git checkout 1.34.1  # Optional; use to choose a specific Unit version

$ cd pkg/docker/

$ make build-python3.10 VERSIONS_python=3.10 # Language and version

For details, see the Makefile. For other customization scenarios, see the Docker howto.

Image tags for pre-1.29.1 Unit versions

Before Unit 1.29.1 was released, our Docker images were available from the official [NGINX repository](https://hub.docker.com/r/nginx/unit/) on Docker Hub.

Images with pre-1.22.0 Unit versions

Before Unit 1.22.0 was released, the following tagging scheme was used:

Tag	Description
<version>-full	Contains modules for all languages that Unit then supported.
<version>-minimal	No language modules were included.
<version>-<language>	A specific language module such as 1.21.0-ruby2.3 or 1.21.0-python2.7.

You can obtain the images from these sources:

To install and run Unit from official builds at Docker Hub:

$ docker pull unit:TAG # Specific image tag; see above for a complete list

$ docker run -d unit:TAG # Specific image tag; see above for a complete list

To install and run Unit from NGINX’s repository at Amazon ECR Public Gallery:

$ docker pull public.ecr.aws/nginx/unit:TAG # Specific image tag; see above for a complete list

$ docker run -d public.ecr.aws/nginx/unit:TAG # Specific image tag; see above for a complete list

Warning:
Unit’s 1.30+ image tarballs aren’t published on the website; this channel is deprecated.

To install and run Unit from the tarballs stored on our website:

$ curl -O https://packages.nginx.org/unit/docker/1.29.1/nginx-unit-TAG.tar.gz # Specific image tag; see above for a complete list

$ curl -O https://packages.nginx.org/unit/docker/1.29.1/nginx-unit-TAG.tar.gz.sha512 # Specific image tag; see above for a complete list

$ sha512sum -c nginx-unit-TAG.tar.gz.sha512 # Specific image tag; see above for a complete list
      nginx-unit-TAG.tar.gz: OK # Specific image tag; see above for a complete list

$ docker load < nginx-unit-TAG.tar.gz # Specific image tag; see above for a complete list

Runtime details	Description
Control socket	/var/run/control.unit.sock
Log file	Forwarded to the Docker log collector
Non-privileged user and group	unit

For more details, see the repository pages (Docker Hub, Amazon ECR Public Gallery) and our Docker howto.

Initial configuration

The official images support initial container configuration, implemented with an ENTRYPOINT script. First, the script checks the Unit state directory in the container (/var/lib/unit/).

If it’s empty, the script processes certain file types in the container’s /docker-entrypoint.d/ directory:

File Type	Purpose/Action
.pem	Certificate bundles, uploaded under respective names: cert.pem to /certificates/cert.
.json	Configuration snippets, uploaded to the /config section of Unit’s configuration.
.sh	`Shell scripts <Use shebang in your scripts to specify a custom shell>`, run after the .pem and .json files are uploaded; must be executable.

The script warns about any other file types in /docker-entrypoint.d/.

This mechanism enables customizing your containers at startup, reusing configurations, and automating workflows to reduce manual effort. To use the feature, add COPY directives for certificate bundles, configuration fragments, and shell scripts to your Dockerfile derived from an official image:

FROM unit:1.34.1-minimal
COPY ./*.pem  /docker-entrypoint.d/
COPY ./*.json /docker-entrypoint.d/
COPY ./*.sh   /docker-entrypoint.d/

Note:
Mind that running Unit even once populates its state directory; this prevents the script from executing, so this script-based initialization must occur before you run Unit in your derived container.

This feature comes in handy if you want to tie Unit to a certain app configuration for later use. For ad-hoc initialization, you can mount a directory with configuration files to a container at startup:

$ docker run -d --mount \
      type=bind,src=/path/to/config/files/,dst=/docker-entrypoint.d/  # Use a real path instead \
      unit:1.34.1-minimal

Source Code

You can get Unit’s source code from our official GitHub repository or as a tarball.

Git
Tarball

$ git clone https://github.com/nginx/unit            # Latest updates to the repository

$ # -- or --

$ git clone -b 1.34.1 https://github.com/nginx/unit  # Specific version tag; see https://github.com/nginx/unit/tags

$ cd unit

$ curl -O https://sources.nginx.org/unit/unit-1.34.1.tar.gz

$ tar xzf unit-1.34.1.tar.gz

         $ cd unit-1.34.1

To build Unit and specific language modules from these sources, refer to the source code howto. to package custom modules, see the module howto.

Last modified February 11, 2025

Installation

Prerequisites

Official packages

Repository installation script

Amazon Linux

Debian

Fedora

RHEL and derivatives

yum install unit-devel <Required to install the Node.js module> unit-jsc8 unit-jsc11 \

yum install unit-devel <Required to install the Node.js module> unit-jsc8 unit-perl \

Ubuntu

macOS

Node.js

Working with multiple Node.js versions

Startup and shutdown

Community Repositories

Docker Images

Customizing language versions in Docker images

Initial configuration

Source Code

yum install `unit-devel <Required to install the Node.js module>` unit-jsc8 unit-jsc11 \

yum install `unit-devel <Required to install the Node.js module>` unit-jsc8 unit-perl \