Installing NGINX Plus

This article explains how to install NGINX Plus on different operating systems, upgrade existing NGINX Plus installation, install and enable dynamic modules, install in rootless mode or when offline.

Prerequisites

Install NGINX Plus on Amazon Linux 2023

  1. Check if your operating system and architecture are supported. For a complete list of supported platforms and architectures, see the Technical Specifications.

  2. Back up your NGINX Plus configuration and log files if you have an older NGINX Plus package installed. For more information, see Upgrading NGINX Plus.

  3. Download the SSL certificate, private key, and the JWT license file associated with your NGINX Plus subscription from the MyF5 Customer Portal:

    • Log in to MyF5.
    • Go to My Products & Plans > Subscriptions to see your active subscriptions.
    • Find your NGINX products or services subscription, and select the Subscription ID for details.
    • Download the nginx-repo.crt and nginx-repo.key from the subscription page.
    • Download the JSON Web Token (JWT) from the subscription page.
    Note: Starting from NGINX Plus Release 33, a JWT file is required for each NGINX Plus instance. For more information, see About Subscription Licenses.

  4. Install the ca-certificates dependency:

    sudo dnf update
sudo dnf install ca-certificates

  5. Create the /etc/ssl/nginx directory:

    sudo mkdir -p /etc/ssl/nginx

  6. Copy the downloaded .crt and .key files to the /etc/ssl/nginx/ directory and make sure they are named nginx-repo.crt and nginx-repo.key:

    sudo cp <downloaded-file-name>.crt /etc/ssl/nginx/nginx-repo.crt
sudo cp <downloaded-file-name>.key /etc/ssl/nginx/nginx-repo.key

  7. Add the NGINX Plus repository to your Amazon Linux 2023 instance. Download the plus-amazonlinux2023.repo file to /etc/yum.repos.d:

    sudo wget -P /etc/yum.repos.d https://cs.nginx.com/static/files/plus-amazonlinux2023.repo

  8. Install the nginx-plus package. Any older NGINX Plus package is automatically replaced.

    sudo dnf install nginx-plus

  9. Copy the downloaded JWT file to the /etc/nginx/ directory and make sure it is named license.jwt:

    sudo cp <downloaded-file-name>.jwt /etc/nginx/license.jwt

  10. Check the nginx version to verify that NGINX Plus is installed correctly:

    nginx -v

  11. Make sure license reporting to F5 licensing endpoint is configured. By default, no configuration is required. However, it becomes necessary when NGINX Plus is installed in a disconnected environment, uses NGINX Instance Manager for usage reporting, or uses a custom path for the license file. Configuration can be done in the mgmt {} block of the NGINX Plus configuration file (/etc/nginx/nginx.conf). For more information, see About Subscription Licenses.

  12. If you are using NGINX Instance Manager in your infrastructure, install and enable NGINX Agent. See Install and Configure NGINX Agent for details.

Install NGINX Plus on Amazon Linux 2

  1. Check if your operating system and architecture are supported. For a complete list of supported platforms and architectures, see the Technical Specifications.

  2. Back up your NGINX Plus configuration and log files if you have an older NGINX Plus package installed. For more information, see Upgrading NGINX Plus.

  3. Download the SSL certificate, private key, and the JWT license file associated with your NGINX Plus subscription from the MyF5 Customer Portal:

    • Log in to MyF5.
    • Go to My Products & Plans > Subscriptions to see your active subscriptions.
    • Find your NGINX products or services subscription, and select the Subscription ID for details.
    • Download the nginx-repo.crt and nginx-repo.key from the subscription page.
    • Download the JSON Web Token (JWT) from the subscription page.
    Note: Starting from NGINX Plus Release 33, a JWT file is required for each NGINX Plus instance. For more information, see About Subscription Licenses.

  4. Install the ca-certificates dependency:

    sudo yum update
sudo yum install ca-certificates

  5. Create the /etc/ssl/nginx directory:

    sudo mkdir -p /etc/ssl/nginx

  6. Copy the downloaded .crt and .key files to the /etc/ssl/nginx/ directory and make sure they are named nginx-repo.crt and nginx-repo.key:

    sudo cp <downloaded-file-name>.crt /etc/ssl/nginx/nginx-repo.crt
sudo cp <downloaded-file-name>.key /etc/ssl/nginx/nginx-repo.key

  7. Add the NGINX Plus repository to your Amazon Linux 2 instance. Download the nginx-plus-amazon2.repo file to /etc/yum.repos.d:

    sudo wget -P /etc/yum.repos.d https://cs.nginx.com/static/files/nginx-plus-amazon2.repo

  8. Install the nginx-plus package. Any older NGINX Plus package is automatically replaced.

    sudo yum install nginx-plus

  9. Copy the downloaded JWT file to the /etc/nginx/ directory and make sure it is named license.jwt:

    sudo cp <downloaded-file-name>.jwt /etc/nginx/license.jwt

  10. Check the nginx version to verify that NGINX Plus is installed correctly:

    nginx -v

  11. Make sure license reporting to F5 licensing endpoint is configured. By default, no configuration is required. However, it becomes necessary when NGINX Plus is installed in a disconnected environment, uses NGINX Instance Manager for usage reporting, or uses a custom path for the license file. Configuration can be done in the mgmt {} block of the NGINX Plus configuration file (/etc/nginx/nginx.conf). For more information, see About Subscription Licenses.

  12. If you are using NGINX Instance Manager in your infrastructure, install and enable NGINX Agent. See Install and Configure NGINX Agent for details.

Install NGINX Plus on RHEL 8.1+, Oracle Linux 8.1+, AlmaLinux 8, Rocky Linux 8

  1. Check if your operating system and architecture are supported. For a complete list of supported platforms and architectures, see the Technical Specifications.

  2. Back up your NGINX Plus configuration and log files if you have an older NGINX Plus package installed. For more information, see Upgrading NGINX Plus.

  3. Download the SSL certificate, private key, and the JWT license file associated with your NGINX Plus subscription from the MyF5 Customer Portal:

    • Log in to MyF5.
    • Go to My Products & Plans > Subscriptions to see your active subscriptions.
    • Find your NGINX products or services subscription, and select the Subscription ID for details.
    • Download the nginx-repo.crt and nginx-repo.key from the subscription page.
    • Download the JSON Web Token (JWT) from the subscription page.
    Note: Starting from NGINX Plus Release 33, a JWT file is required for each NGINX Plus instance. For more information, see About Subscription Licenses.

  4. Install the ca-certificates dependency:

    sudo dnf update
sudo dnf install ca-certificates

  5. Create the /etc/ssl/nginx directory:

    sudo mkdir -p /etc/ssl/nginx

  6. Copy the downloaded .crt and .key files to the /etc/ssl/nginx/ directory and make sure they are named nginx-repo.crt and nginx-repo.key:

    sudo cp <downloaded-file-name>.crt /etc/ssl/nginx/nginx-repo.crt
sudo cp <downloaded-file-name>.key /etc/ssl/nginx/nginx-repo.key

  7. Add the NGINX Plus repository by downloading the nginx-plus-8.repo file to /etc/yum.repos.d:

    sudo wget -P /etc/yum.repos.d https://cs.nginx.com/static/files/nginx-plus-8.repo
    Learn how to pin NGINX Plus to a specific version
    Tip: Pin NGINX Plus to a specific version

    To pin NGINX Plus to a specific version (for example, R33):

    1. Edit the /etc/yum.repos.d/nginx-plus-8.repo file.

    2. Update the repository base URL to the desired version:

      baseurl=https://pkgs.nginx.com/plus/R33/centos/8/$basearch/

    3. Save the changes and exit.

    4. Update the repository information:

      sudo dnf update

  8. Install the nginx-plus package. Any older NGINX Plus package is automatically replaced.

    sudo dnf install nginx-plus

  9. Copy the downloaded JWT file to the /etc/nginx/ directory and make sure it is named license.jwt:

    sudo cp <downloaded-file-name>.jwt /etc/nginx/license.jwt

  10. To enable the NGINX service to start at boot, run the following command:

    sudo systemctl enable nginx.service

  11. Check the nginx version to verify that NGINX Plus is installed correctly:

    nginx -v

  12. Make sure license reporting to F5 licensing endpoint is configured. By default, no configuration is required. However, it becomes necessary when NGINX Plus is installed in a disconnected environment, uses NGINX Instance Manager for usage reporting, or uses a custom path for the license file. Configuration can be done in the mgmt {} block of the NGINX Plus configuration file (/etc/nginx/nginx.conf). For more information, see About Subscription Licenses.

  13. If you are using NGINX Instance Manager in your infrastructure, install and enable NGINX Agent. See Install and Configure NGINX Agent for details.

Install NGINX Plus on RHEL 9.0+, Oracle Linux 9, AlmaLinux 9, Rocky Linux 9

  1. Check if your operating system and architecture are supported. For a complete list of supported platforms and architectures, see the Technical Specifications.

  2. Back up your NGINX Plus configuration and log files if you have an older NGINX Plus package installed. For more information, see Upgrading NGINX Plus.

  3. Download the SSL certificate, private key, and the JWT license file associated with your NGINX Plus subscription from the MyF5 Customer Portal:

    • Log in to MyF5.
    • Go to My Products & Plans > Subscriptions to see your active subscriptions.
    • Find your NGINX products or services subscription, and select the Subscription ID for details.
    • Download the nginx-repo.crt and nginx-repo.key from the subscription page.
    • Download the JSON Web Token (JWT) from the subscription page.
    Note: Starting from NGINX Plus Release 33, a JWT file is required for each NGINX Plus instance. For more information, see About Subscription Licenses.

  4. Install the ca-certificates dependency:

    sudo dnf update
sudo dnf install ca-certificates

  5. Create the /etc/ssl/nginx directory:

    sudo mkdir -p /etc/ssl/nginx

  6. Copy the downloaded .crt and .key files to the /etc/ssl/nginx/ directory and make sure they are named nginx-repo.crt and nginx-repo.key:

    sudo cp <downloaded-file-name>.crt /etc/ssl/nginx/nginx-repo.crt
sudo cp <downloaded-file-name>.key /etc/ssl/nginx/nginx-repo.key

  7. Add the NGINX Plus repository by downloading the plus-9.repo file to /etc/yum.repos.d:

    sudo wget -P /etc/yum.repos.d https://cs.nginx.com/static/files/plus-9.repo
    Learn how to pin NGINX Plus to a specific version
    Tip: Pin NGINX Plus to a specific version

    To pin NGINX Plus to a specific version (for example, R33):

    1. Edit the /etc/yum.repos.d/plus-9.repo file.

    2. Update the repository base URL to the desired version:

      baseurl=https://pkgs.nginx.com/plus/R33/centos/9/$basearch/

    3. Save the changes and exit.

    4. Update the repository information:

      sudo dnf update

  8. Install the nginx-plus package. Any older NGINX Plus package is automatically replaced.

    sudo dnf install nginx-plus

  9. Copy the downloaded JWT file to the /etc/nginx/ directory and make sure it is named license.jwt:

    sudo cp <downloaded-file-name>.jwt /etc/nginx/license.jwt

  10. To enable the NGINX service to start at boot, run the following command:

    sudo systemctl enable nginx.service

  11. Check the nginx version to verify that NGINX Plus is installed correctly:

    nginx -v

  12. Make sure license reporting to F5 licensing endpoint is configured. By default, no configuration is required. However, it becomes necessary when NGINX Plus is installed in a disconnected environment, uses NGINX Instance Manager for usage reporting, or uses a custom path for the license file. Configuration can be done in the mgmt {} block of the NGINX Plus configuration file (/etc/nginx/nginx.conf). For more information, see About Subscription Licenses.

  13. If you are using NGINX Instance Manager in your infrastructure, install and enable NGINX Agent. See Install and Configure NGINX Agent for details.

Install NGINX Plus on Debian or Ubuntu

NGINX Plus can be installed on the following versions of Debian or Ubuntu:

  1. Check if your operating system and architecture are supported. For a complete list of supported platforms and architectures, see the Technical Specifications.

  2. Back up your NGINX Plus configuration and log files if you have an older NGINX Plus package installed. For more information, see Upgrading NGINX Plus.

  3. Download the SSL certificate, private key, and the JWT license file associated with your NGINX Plus subscription from the MyF5 Customer Portal:

    • Log in to MyF5.
    • Go to My Products & Plans > Subscriptions to see your active subscriptions.
    • Find your NGINX products or services subscription, and select the Subscription ID for details.
    • Download the nginx-repo.crt and nginx-repo.key from the subscription page.
    • Download the JSON Web Token (JWT) from the subscription page.
    Note: Starting from NGINX Plus Release 33, a JWT file is required for each NGINX Plus instance. For more information, see About Subscription Licenses.

  4. Create the /etc/ssl/nginx directory:

    sudo mkdir -p /etc/ssl/nginx

  5. Copy the downloaded .crt and .key files to the /etc/ssl/nginx/ directory and make sure they are named nginx-repo.crt and nginx-repo.key:

    sudo cp <downloaded-file-name>.crt /etc/ssl/nginx/nginx-repo.crt
sudo cp <downloaded-file-name>.key /etc/ssl/nginx/nginx-repo.key

  6. Install the prerequisites packages:

    • For Debian:

      sudo apt update
sudo apt install apt-transport-https lsb-release ca-certificates wget gnupg2 debian-archive-keyring

    • For Ubuntu:

      sudo apt update
sudo apt install apt-transport-https lsb-release ca-certificates wget gnupg2 ubuntu-keyring

  7. Download and add NGINX signing key:

    wget -qO - https://cs.nginx.com/static/keys/nginx_signing.key \
    | gpg --dearmor \
    | sudo tee /usr/share/keyrings/nginx-archive-keyring.gpg >/dev/null

  8. Add the NGINX Plus repository:

    • For Debian:

      printf "deb [signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/nginx-archive-keyring.gpg] \
https://pkgs.nginx.com/plus/debian `lsb_release -cs` nginx-plus\n" \
| sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/nginx-plus.list

    • For Ubuntu:

      printf "deb [signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/nginx-archive-keyring.gpg] \
https://pkgs.nginx.com/plus/ubuntu `lsb_release -cs` nginx-plus\n" \
| sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/nginx-plus.list
    Learn how to pin NGINX Plus to a specific version
    Tip: Pin NGINX Plus to a specific version

    To pin NGINX Plus to a specific version (for example, R33):

    1. Edit the /etc/apt/sources.list.d/nginx-plus.list file.

    2. Update the repository base URL to the desired version:

      • For Ubuntu:

        https://pkgs.nginx.com/plus/R33/ubuntu

      • For Debian:

        https://pkgs.nginx.com/plus/R33/debian

    3. Save the changes and exit.

    4. Update the repository information:

      sudo apt update

  9. Download the nginx-plus apt configuration to /etc/apt/apt.conf.d:

    sudo wget -P /etc/apt/apt.conf.d https://cs.nginx.com/static/files/90pkgs-nginx

  10. Update the repository information:

    sudo apt update

  11. Install the nginx-plus package. Any older NGINX Plus package is automatically replaced.

    sudo apt install -y nginx-plus

  12. Copy the downloaded JWT file to the /etc/nginx/ directory and make sure it is named license.jwt:

    sudo cp <downloaded-file-name>.jwt /etc/nginx/license.jwt

  13. Check the nginx version to verify that NGINX Plus is installed correctly:

    nginx -v

  14. Make sure license reporting to F5 licensing endpoint is configured. By default, no configuration is required. However, it becomes necessary when NGINX Plus is installed in a disconnected environment, uses NGINX Instance Manager for usage reporting, or uses a custom path for the license file. Configuration can be done in the mgmt {} block of the NGINX Plus configuration file (/etc/nginx/nginx.conf). For more information, see About Subscription Licenses.

  15. If you are using NGINX Instance Manager in your infrastructure, install and enable NGINX Agent. See Install and Configure NGINX Agent for details.

Install NGINX Plus on FreeBSD

  1. Check if your operating system and architecture are supported. For a complete list of supported platforms and architectures, see the Technical Specifications.

  2. Back up your NGINX Plus configuration and log files if you have an older NGINX Plus package installed. For more information, see Upgrading NGINX Plus.

  3. Download the SSL certificate, private key, and the JWT license file associated with your NGINX Plus subscription from the MyF5 Customer Portal:

    • Log in to MyF5.
    • Go to My Products & Plans > Subscriptions to see your active subscriptions.
    • Find your NGINX products or services subscription, and select the Subscription ID for details.
    • Download the nginx-repo.crt and nginx-repo.key from the subscription page.
    • Download the JSON Web Token (JWT) from the subscription page.
    Note: Starting from NGINX Plus Release 33, a JWT file is required for each NGINX Plus instance. For more information, see About Subscription Licenses.

  4. Install the prerequisite ca_root_nss package:

    sudo pkg update
sudo pkg install ca_root_nss

  5. Create the /etc/ssl/nginx directory:

    sudo mkdir -p /etc/ssl/nginx

  6. Copy the downloaded .crt and .key files to the /etc/ssl/nginx/ directory and make sure they are named nginx-repo.crt and nginx-repo.key:

    sudo cp <downloaded-file-name>.crt /etc/ssl/nginx/nginx-repo.crt
sudo cp <downloaded-file-name>.key /etc/ssl/nginx/nginx-repo.key

  7. Copy the nginx-plus.conf file to the /etc/pkg/ directory:

    sudo fetch -o /etc/pkg/nginx-plus.conf http://cs.nginx.com/static/files/nginx-plus.conf

  8. Add the following lines to the /usr/local/etc/pkg.conf file:

    PKG_ENV: { SSL_NO_VERIFY_PEER: "1",
SSL_CLIENT_CERT_FILE: "/etc/ssl/nginx/nginx-repo.crt",
SSL_CLIENT_KEY_FILE: "/etc/ssl/nginx/nginx-repo.key" }

  9. Install the nginx-plus package. Any older NGINX Plus package is automatically replaced. Back up your NGINX Plus configuration and log files if you have an older NGINX Plus package installed. For more information, see Upgrading NGINX Plus.

    sudo pkg install nginx-plus

  10. Copy the downloaded JWT file to the /usr/local/etc/nginx directory and make sure it is named license.jwt:

    sudo cp license.jwt /usr/local/etc/nginx

  11. Check the nginx version to verify that NGINX Plus is installed correctly:

    nginx -v

  12. Make sure license reporting to F5 licensing endpoint is configured. By default, no configuration is required. However, it becomes necessary when NGINX Plus is installed in a disconnected environment, uses NGINX Instance Manager for usage reporting, or uses a custom path for the license file. Configuration can be done in the mgmt {} block of the NGINX Plus configuration file (/etc/nginx/nginx.conf). For more information, see About Subscription Licenses.

  13. If you are using NGINX Instance Manager in your infrastructure, install and enable NGINX Agent. See Install and Configure NGINX Agent for details.

Install NGINX Plus on SUSE Linux Enterprise Server

  1. Check if your operating system and architecture are supported. For a complete list of supported platforms and architectures, see the Technical Specifications.

  2. Back up your NGINX Plus configuration and log files if you have an older NGINX Plus package installed. For more information, see Upgrading NGINX Plus.

  3. Download the SSL certificate, private key, and the JWT license file associated with your NGINX Plus subscription from the MyF5 Customer Portal:

    • Log in to MyF5.
    • Go to My Products & Plans > Subscriptions to see your active subscriptions.
    • Find your NGINX products or services subscription, and select the Subscription ID for details.
    • Download the nginx-repo.crt and nginx-repo.key from the subscription page.
    • Download the JSON Web Token (JWT) from the subscription page.
    Note: Starting from NGINX Plus Release 33, a JWT file is required for each NGINX Plus instance. For more information, see About Subscription Licenses.

  4. Create the /etc/ssl/nginx directory:

    sudo mkdir -p /etc/ssl/nginx

  5. Copy the downloaded .crt and .key files to the /etc/ssl/nginx/ directory and make sure they are named nginx-repo.crt and nginx-repo.key:

    sudo cp <downloaded-file-name>.crt /etc/ssl/nginx/nginx-repo.crt
sudo cp <downloaded-file-name>.key /etc/ssl/nginx/nginx-repo.key

  6. Create a file bundle of the certificate and key:

    cat /etc/ssl/nginx/nginx-repo.crt /etc/ssl/nginx/nginx-repo.key > /etc/ssl/nginx/nginx-repo-bundle.crt

  7. Install the required ca-certificates dependency:

    zypper refresh
zypper install ca-certificates

  8. Add the nginx-plus repo.

    For SLES 12:

    zypper addrepo -G -t yum -c \
"https://pkgs.nginx.com/plus/sles/12?ssl_clientcert=/etc/ssl/nginx/nginx-repo-bundle.crt&ssl_verify=peer" \
nginx-plus

    For SLES 15:

    zypper addrepo -G -t yum -c \
"https://pkgs.nginx.com/plus/sles/15?ssl_clientcert=/etc/ssl/nginx/nginx-repo-bundle.crt&ssl_verify=peer" \
nginx-plus

  9. Install the nginx-plus package. Any older NGINX Plus package is automatically replaced.

    zypper install nginx-plus

  10. Copy the downloaded JWT file to the /etc/nginx/ directory and make sure it is named license.jwt:

    sudo cp <downloaded-file-name>.jwt /etc/nginx/license.jwt

  11. Check the nginx version to verify that NGINX Plus is installed correctly:

    nginx -v

  12. Make sure license reporting to F5 licensing endpoint is configured. By default, no configuration is required. However, it becomes necessary when NGINX Plus is installed in a disconnected environment, uses NGINX Instance Manager for usage reporting, or uses a custom path for the license file. Configuration can be done in the mgmt {} block of the NGINX Plus configuration file (/etc/nginx/nginx.conf). For more information, see About Subscription Licenses.

  13. If you are using NGINX Instance Manager in your infrastructure, install and enable NGINX Agent. See Install and Configure NGINX Agent for details.

Install NGINX Plus on Alpine Linux

  1. Check if your operating system and architecture are supported. For a complete list of supported platforms and architectures, see the Technical Specifications.

  2. Back up your NGINX Plus configuration and log files if you have an older NGINX Plus package installed. For more information, see Upgrading NGINX Plus.

  3. Download the SSL certificate, private key, and the JWT license file associated with your NGINX Plus subscription from the MyF5 Customer Portal:

    • Log in to MyF5.
    • Go to My Products & Plans > Subscriptions to see your active subscriptions.
    • Find your NGINX products or services subscription, and select the Subscription ID for details.
    • Download the nginx-repo.crt and nginx-repo.key from the subscription page.
    • Download the JSON Web Token (JWT) from the subscription page.
    Note: Starting from NGINX Plus Release 33, a JWT file is required for each NGINX Plus instance. For more information, see About Subscription Licenses.

  4. Upload nginx-repo.key to /etc/apk/cert.key and nginx-repo.crt to /etc/apk/cert.pem. Ensure these files contain only the specific key and certificate — Alpine Linux doesn’t support mixing client certificates for multiple repositories.

  5. Put the NGINX signing public key in the /etc/apk/keys directory:

    sudo wget -O /etc/apk/keys/nginx_signing.rsa.pub https://cs.nginx.com/static/keys/nginx_signing.rsa.pub

  6. Add the NGINX repository to the /etc/apk/repositories file:

    printf "https://pkgs.nginx.com/plus/alpine/v`egrep -o '^[0-9]+\.[0-9]+' /etc/alpine-release`/main\n" \
| sudo tee -a /etc/apk/repositories

  7. Remove all community-supported NGINX packages. Note that this will also remove all NGINX modules:

    sudo apk del -r nginx

  8. Install the NGINX Plus package:

    sudo apk add nginx-plus

  9. Copy the downloaded JWT file to the /etc/nginx/ directory and make sure it is named license.jwt:

    sudo cp <downloaded-file-name>.jwt /etc/nginx/license.jwt

  10. Check the nginx version to verify that NGINX Plus is installed correctly:

    nginx -v

  11. Make sure license reporting to F5 licensing endpoint is configured. By default, no configuration is required. However, it becomes necessary when NGINX Plus is installed in a disconnected environment, uses NGINX Instance Manager for usage reporting, or uses a custom path for the license file. Configuration can be done in the mgmt {} block of the NGINX Plus configuration file (/etc/nginx/nginx.conf). For more information, see About Subscription Licenses.

  12. If you are using NGINX Instance Manager in your infrastructure, install and enable NGINX Agent. See Install and Configure NGINX Agent for details.

Install Dynamically Loadable Modules

NGINX Plus functionality can be extended with dynamically loadable modules. They can be added or updated independently of the core binary, enabling powerful capabilities such as advanced security, traffic shaping, telemetry, embedded scripting, geolocation, and many more.

Dynamic modules are shared object files (.so) that can be loaded at runtime using the load_module directive in the NGINX configuration.

Types of dynamic modules

Type Description Distribution Method F5 NGINX Support
NGINX-authored Developed and distributed by NGINX Packaged binaries from nginx-plus official repo Full support
NGINX-certified Community Tested and distributed by NGINX Packaged binaries from nginx-plus official repo Installation and basic configuration support
NGINX Certified Partner Partner-built modules verified through NGINX’s certification Provided by partners Provided by partners
Community Developed and distributed by third‑party contributors Self-compiled No support

NGINX-authored dynamic modules

NGINX-authored dynamic modules are developed and officially maintained by the F5 NGINX team. These modules are available as packaged binaries for various operating systems and can be installed from the nginx-plus repository.

Name Description Package name
GeoIP Enables IP-based geolocation using the precompiled MaxMind databases. nginx-plus-module-geoip
Image-Filter Adds on-the-fly support for JPEG, GIF, PNG, and WebP image resizing and cropping. nginx-plus-module-image-filter
njs Scripting Language Adds JavaScript-like scripting for advanced server-side logic in NGINX configuration file. nginx-plus-module-njs
OpenTelemetry Adds distributed tracing support via OpenTelemetry. nginx-plus-module-otel
Perl Integrates Perl scripting for advanced customization. nginx-plus-module-perl
XSLT Applies XSLT transformations to XML responses. nginx-plus-module-xslt

NGINX-certified community dynamic modules

NGINX-certified community dynamic modules are popular third‑party modules tested and distributed by F5 NGINX, with installation and basic configuration support provided. They are also distributed as precompiled packages for various operating systems and can be installed from the nginx-plus repository.

Name Description Package name
Brotli Brotli compression support with modules for dynamic compression and for serving pre-compressed .br files. nginx-plus-module-brotli
Encrypted-Session AES-256 based encryption/decryption of NGINX variables. nginx-plus-module-encrypted-session
FIPS Status Check Verifies if OpenSSL is operating in FIPS mode. nginx-plus-module-fips-check
GeoIP2 Uses MaxMind GeoIP2 for enhanced geolocation. nginx-plus-module-geoip2
Headers-More Extends the NGINX Headers module to modify request and response headers. nginx-plus-module-headers-more
HTTP Substitutions Filter Enables regex and string-based substitutions in response bodies. nginx-plus-module-subs-filter
Lua Embeds Lua programming language. nginx-plus-module-lua
NGINX Developer Kit Provides helper macros for module development. nginx-plus-module-ndk
Phusion Passenger Application server for Node.js, Python, Ruby. nginx-plus-module-passenger
Prometheus-njs Converts NGINX Plus metrics into Prometheus format. nginx-plus-module-prometheus
RTMP Adds streaming capabilities (RTMP, HLS, MPEG-DASH, FFmpeg support). nginx-plus-module-rtmp
Set-Misc Adds set_* directives for scripting (extend NGINX Rewrite module). nginx-plus-module-set-misc
SPNEGO for Kerberos Adds support for GSS‑API based SPNEGO/Kerberos authentication. nginx-plus-module-auth-spnego

Install from official repository

NGINX‑authored and NGINX‑certified community dynamic modules can be installed as packaged binaries directly from the official nginx-plus repository.

To install a binary package, run the command in a terminal that corresponds to your operating system, replacing <MODULE-NAME> with the actual binary package name, for example, nginx-plus-module-njs.

  • For RHEL, Amazon Linux 2, CentOS, Oracle Linux:

    sudo yum update && \
sudo yum install <MODULE-NAME>

    The resulting .so file will be installed to: /usr/lib64/nginx/modules/

  • For Amazon Linux 2023, AlmaLinux and Rocky Linux:

    sudo dnf update && \
sudo dnf install <MODULE-NAME>

    The resulting .so file will be installed to: /usr/lib64/nginx/modules/

  • For Debian and Ubuntu:

    sudo apt update && \
sudo apt install <MODULE-NAME>

    The resulting .so file will be installed to: /usr/lib/nginx/modules

  • For FreeBSD:

    sudo pkg update && \
sudo pkg install <MODULE-NAME>

    The resulting .so file will be installed to: /usr/local/etc/nginx/modules

  • For SUSE Linux Enterprise:

    sudo zypper refresh && \
sudo zypper install <MODULE-NAME>

    The resulting .so file will be installed to: /usr/lib64/nginx/modules/

  • For Alpine Linux:

    sudo apk update && \
sudo apk add <MODULE-NAME>

    The resulting .so file will be installed to: /usr/lib/nginx/modules

For detailed description and installation steps for each dynamic module, see NGINX Plus Dynamic Modules.

Some modules may not be available on specific operating systems due to platform-level limitations. For detailed modules compatibility, see the Dynamic Modules section of the NGINX Plus Technical Specifications.

After installing the module, you will need to:

  • enable it with the load_module directive
  • configure it according to the module’s documentation

Enabling Dynamic Modules

To enable a dynamic module:

  1. In a text editor, open the NGINX Plus configuration file:

    • /etc/nginx/nginx.conf for Linux
    • /usr/local/etc/nginx/nginx.conf for FreeBSD

  2. On the top-level (or the “main” context, before any http or stream blocks), specify the path to the .so file with the load_module directive. By default, the files are expected to be in the /modules directory. The path to the directory depends on your operating system:

    • /usr/lib64/nginx/modules/ for most Linux operating systems
    • /usr/lib/nginx/modules for Debian, Ubuntu, Alpine
    • /usr/local/etc/nginx/modules for FreeBSD

    If there are several dynamic modules, specify each module with a separate load_module directive:

    load_module modules/<MODULE-NAME-1>.so;
load_module modules/<MODULE-NAME-2>.so;

http {
    #...
}

stream {
    #...
}

  3. Save the changes.

  4. Check the new configuration for syntactic validity:

    nginx -t

  5. Reload the NGINX Plus configuration:

    nginx -s reload

    After installing the module, you will need to configure the module in the NGINX Plus configuration file. Follow the usage and setup instructions provided in the module’s official documentation.

NGINX Certified Partner dynamic modules

NGINX Certified Partner dynamic modules are partner-built extensions that enhance NGINX Plus with advanced features such as security, identity and access management, device detection, application delivery, and many more. These modules are verified through NGINX’s certification process. Installation packages, documentation, and support are provided directly by the partners.

Name Description Commercial Support
CQ botDefence Simplify traffic analysis to prevent fraud and theft that may result from automated bot attacks against your public-facing web, mobile, and API-based applications. Support provided by Cequence
Curity Identity Server Powerful OAuth and OpenID Connect server, used for logging in and securing millions of users, access to API and mobile apps over APIs and microservices. Support and docs [1], [2] provided by Curity
DeviceAtlas Detect what devices users are using, including smartphones, laptops, and weareable devices, and use this data to deliver customized experiences. Support and docs provided by DeviceAtlas
ForgeRock Policy Agent In conjunction with ForgeRock Access Management, allows you to authenticate your application and API access. Support and docs provided by PingIdentity
HUMAN Security for F5 NGINX Provides the required enforcement layer to protect websites and apps from modern automated security threats. Support provided by HUMAN Security
IDFConnect SSO/Rest Integrates your web access management platform’s full capabilities with NIGNX Plus. Support and docs provided by IDFConnect
OPSWAT Scalable solutions to protect your networks and applications from malware and unknown (zero-day) malicious file content. Support and docs provided by OPSWAT
Passenger Enterprise An application server with support for Meteor, Node.js, Python, and Ruby apps. Support and docs provided by Phusion
Ping Access Centralized management of access security with advanced contextual policies to secure your mobile and web properties in any domain. Support and docs provided by PingIdentity
PingIntelligence A complete solution to secure an organization’s API across on-premises, public and private clouds, and hybrid IT environments. Support and docs provided by PingIdentity
Seer Box by Plurbius One Cloud-native web application security manager which provides thorough monitoring and protection capabilities. Support provided by Seer Box
Signal Sciences Intelligently detects malicious requests and blocks them without false positives, while the patented fail-open architecture allows legitimate requests through. Support and docs provided by Fastly
Wallarm The Wallarm WAF provides enterprise-grade protection against advanced Layer 7 application attacks. Support and docs provided by Wallarm
WURFL InFuse Give developers the most advanced, accurate, and high-performance device detection in the industry. Support and docs provided by Scientiamobile
51Degrees Device Detection Improve speed of response and accuracy, delivering an optimal user experience and high-fidelity analysis. Support and docs provided by 51Degrees

The complete list of Certified Partner Modules can be found on the F5.com Dynamic Modules page.

Community dynamic modules

Community dynamic modules are open source extensions developed and distributed by third‑party contributors of the NGINX community.

These modules are not available in the official NGINX repository. To use them, you must download the source code from the module’s repository and compile it against the NGINX Open Source version that matches your NGINX Plus version.

The lists of community modules can be found across different community-driven resources, for example, Awesome NGINX GitHub project.

Installing a community dynamic module

For a community dynamic module to work with NGINX Plus, it must be compiled alongside the corresponding version of NGINX Open Source.

  1. Find out the NGINX Open Source version that matches your NGINX Plus version. In a terminal, run the command:

    nginx -v

    Expected output of the command:

    nginx version: nginx/1.27.4 (nginx-plus-r34)

  2. Prepare the build environment.

    We strongly recommend compiling dynamic modules on a separate system, referred to as the “build environment”. This approach minimizes the risk and complexity for the system where NGINX Plus will be upgraded, referred to as the “production environment”. The build environment should meet the following requirements:

    • The same operating system as the production environment
    • The same NGINX version as the production environment
    • Compiler and make utilities
    • PCRE library (development files)
    • Zlib compression libraries (development files)

    To verify that the required prerequisites are installed in your build environment, run the following commands:

    • For Debian and Ubuntu:

      sudo apt update && \
sudo apt install gcc make libpcre3-dev zlib1g-dev

    • For CentOS, Oracle Linux, and RHEL:

      sudo yum update && \
sudo yum install gcc make pcre-devel zlib-devel

  3. Obtain NGINX Open Source.

    • Identify the NGINX Open Source version that corresponds to your version of NGINX Plus. See NGINX Plus Releases.

    • Download the sources for the appropriate NGINX Open Source mainline version, in this case 1.27.4:

      wget -qO - https://nginx.org/download/nginx-1.27.4.tar.gz | tar zxfv -

  4. Obtain the source for the dynamic module.

    The source code for the dynamic module can be placed in any directory in the build environment. As an example, here we’re copying the NGINX “Hello World” module from GitHub:

    git clone https://github.com/perusio/nginx-hello-world-module.git

  5. Compile the dynamic module.

    First, establish binary compatibility by running the configure script with the ‑‑with‑compat option. Then compile the module with make modules.

    cd nginx-1.27.4/ && \
./configure --with-compat --add-dynamic-module=../<MODULE-SOURCES> && \
make modules

    The .so file generated by the build process is placed in the objs subdirectory:

    ls objs/*.so

    Expected command output:

    objs/ngx_http_hello_world_module.so

  6. Make a copy of the module file and include the NGINX Open Source version in the filename. This makes it simpler to manage multiple versions of a dynamic module in the production environment.

    cp objs/ngx_http_hello_world_module.so ./ngx_http_hello_world_module_1.27.4.so

  7. Transfer the resulting .so file from your build environment to the production environment.

  8. In your production environment, copy the resulting .so file to the dynamic modules directory. The path to the directory depends on your operating system:

    • /usr/lib64/nginx/modules/ for most Linux operating systems
    • /usr/lib/nginx/modules for Debian, Ubuntu, Alpine
    • /usr/local/etc/nginx/modules for FreeBSD
    sudo cp ngx_http_hello_world_module_1.27.4.so /usr/local/nginx/modules/ngx_http_hello_world_module_1.27.4.so

After installing the module, you need to enable it in the NGINX Plus configuration file. For more information, see Enabling Dynamic Modules.

NGINX Plus Unprivileged Installation

In some environments, access to the root account is restricted for security reasons. On Linux systems, this limitation prevents the use of package managers to install NGINX Plus without root privileges.

As a workaround, in such environments NGINX Plus can be installed with a special script that modifies NGINX Plus configuration file to allow it to run from a non-root user. This script performs the following actions:

  • Downloads the NGINX Plus packages

  • Extracts the content of the archives into a user-defined directory of the packages

  • Updates the paths in the NGINX configuration file to use relative paths in the specified directory

  • Makes a backup copy of the configuration directory

  • Provides an option to upgrade an existing unprivileged installation of NGINX Plus

Comparing to a standard installation of NGINX Plus, an unprivileged installation has certain limitations and restrictions:

  • Root privileges are still required in order to listen on ports below 1024.

  • The script is not intended to replace your operating system’s package manager and does not allow for the installation of any software other than NGINX Plus and its modules. Modifications to the script for other installations are not covered by the support program.

  • NGINX Plus will not start automatically, so, you must add a custom init script or a systemd unit file for each unprivileged installation on the host.

  • all dependencies and libraries required by the NGINX Plus binary and its modules are not installed automatically and should be checked and installed manually.

The script can be run on the following operating systems:

  • RedHat, CentOS
  • Amazon Linux 2
  • Amazon Linux 2023
  • Debian, Ubuntu
  • Alpine Linux
  • AlmaLinux, Rocky Linux

Before starting the unprivileged installation, make sure you have all the prerequisites listed in the Prerequisites section (excluding root privileges). For RPM-based distributions, verify that you have rpm2cpio installed.

To perform an unprivileged installation of NGINX Plus:

  1. Download the SSL certificate, private key, and the JWT license file associated with your NGINX Plus subscription from the MyF5 Customer Portal:

    • Log in to MyF5.
    • Go to My Products & Plans > Subscriptions to see your active subscriptions.
    • Find your NGINX products or services subscription, and select the Subscription ID for details.
    • Download the nginx-repo.crt and nginx-repo.key from the subscription page.
    • Download the JSON Web Token (JWT) from the subscription page.
    Note: Starting from NGINX Plus Release 33, a JWT file is required for each NGINX Plus instance. For more information, see About Subscription Licenses.

  2. Ensure that the downloaded JWT license file is named license.jwt.

  3. Obtain the script:

    wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nginxinc/nginx-plus-install-tools/main/ngxunprivinst.sh

  4. Make the script executable:

    chmod +x ngxunprivinst.sh

  5. Download NGINX Plus and its module packages for your operating system. The <cert_file> and <key_file> are your NGINX Plus certificate and a private key required to access the NGINX Plus repo:

    ./ngxunprivinst.sh fetch -c <cert_file> -k <key_file>

    If you need to install a particular version of NGINX Plus:

    • first, list all available NGINX Plus versions from the repository:

      ./ngxunprivinst.sh list -c <cert_file> -k <key_file>

    • then specify a particular NGINX Plus version with the -v parameter:

      ./ngxunprivinst.sh fetch -c <cert_file> -k <key_file> -v <version>

  6. Extract the downloaded packages to the program prefix <path> specified by the -p parameter and specify the license.jwt <license_file> with the -j parameter. The optional -y parameter allows overwriting an existing installation:

    ./ngxunprivinst.sh install [-y] -p <path> -j <license_file> <file1.rpm> <file2.rpm>

  7. When the installation procedure is finished, run NGINX Plus. The -p parameter sets a path to the directory that keeps nginx files. The -c parameter sets a path to an alternative NGINX configuration file. Please note NGINX Plus must listen on ports above 1024:

    <path>/usr/sbin/nginx -p <path>/etc/nginx -c <path>/etc/nginx/conf.d

With this script, you can also upgrade an existing unprivileged installation of NGINX Plus in the provided <path>. The optional -y parameter performs a forced upgrade without any confirmation:

./ngxunprivinst.sh upgrade [-y] -p <path> <file1.rpm> <file2.rpm>

NGINX Plus Offline Installation

This section explains how to install NGINX Plus and its dynamic modules on a server with limited or no Internet access.

To install NGINX Plus offline, you will need a machine connected to the Internet to get the NGINX Plus package, JWT license, SSL certificate and key. Then your can transfer these files to the target server for offline installation.

Step 1: Obtaining files on the machine connected to the Internet

  1. Download the SSL certificate, private key, and the JWT license file associated with your NGINX Plus subscription from the MyF5 Customer Portal:

    • Log in to MyF5.
    • Go to My Products & Plans > Subscriptions to see your active subscriptions.
    • Find your NGINX products or services subscription, and select the Subscription ID for details.
    • Download the nginx-repo.crt and nginx-repo.key from the subscription page.
    • Download the JSON Web Token (JWT) from the subscription page.
    Note: Starting from NGINX Plus Release 33, a JWT file is required for each NGINX Plus instance. For more information, see About Subscription Licenses.

  2. Transfer the files to the target server that doesn’t have online access and where NGINX Plus will be installed.

Step 2: Installing NGINX Plus on a server without Internet connectivity

  1. Back up your NGINX Plus configuration and log files if you have an older NGINX Plus package installed. For more information, see Upgrading NGINX Plus.

  2. Make sure you’ve downloaded the SSL certificate, private key, and the JWT file required for your NGINX Plus subscription. You can find these files in the MyF5 Customer Portal. For details on how to obtain these files, see Step 1: Obtaining files on the machine connected to the Internet.

  3. Create the /etc/ssl/nginx directory:

    sudo mkdir -p /etc/ssl/nginx

  4. Copy the downloaded .crt and .key files to the /etc/ssl/nginx/ directory and make sure they are named nginx-repo.crt and nginx-repo.key:

    sudo cp <downloaded-file-name>.crt /etc/ssl/nginx/nginx-repo.crt
sudo cp <downloaded-file-name>.key /etc/ssl/nginx/nginx-repo.key

  5. Install the NGINX Plus package or a dynamic module. Any older NGINX Plus package is automatically replaced.

    • For RHEL, Amazon Linux, CentOS, Oracle Linux, AlmaLinux and Rocky Linux:

      sudo rpm -ihv <rpm_package_name>

    • For Debian, Ubuntu:

      sudo dpkg -i <deb_package_name>

    • For Alpine:

      apk add <apk_package_name>

    • For SLES:

      rpm -ivh <rpm_package_name>

  6. Copy the downloaded JWT file to the /etc/nginx/ directory and make sure it is named license.jwt:

    sudo cp <downloaded-file-name>.jwt /etc/nginx/license.jwt

  7. Check the nginx version to verify that NGINX Plus is installed correctly:

    nginx -v

  8. Install NGINX Instance Manager 2.18 or later in your local environment to enable usage reporting, which is mandatory since R33. For more information, see Disconnected environments and About Subscription Licenses.

  9. Configure usage reporting of the NGINX Plus instance to NGINX Instance Manager which is mandatory starting from R33.

    In the nginx.conf configuration file, specify the following directives:

    • the mgmt {} block that handles NGINX Plus licensing and usage reporting configuration,

    • the usage_report directive that sets the domain name or IP address of NGINX Instance Manager,

    • the enforce_initial_report directive that enables the 180-day grace period for sending the initial usage report. The initial usage report must be received by F5 licensing endpoint during the grace period, otherwise traffic processing will be stopped:

    mgmt {
    usage_report endpoint=NIM_FQDN;
    enforce_initial_report off;
}

  10. In NGINX Instance Manager, prepare and send the usage report to F5 licensing endpoint. For more information, see Report usage to F5 in a disconnected environment.

  11. Upload the usage acknowledgement to NGINX Instance Manager. For more information, see Report usage to F5 in a disconnected environment.

Upgrade NGINX Plus

Note: Starting from Release 24 (R24), NGINX Plus repositories have been separated into individual repositories based on operating system distribution and license subscription. Before upgrading from previous NGINX Plus versions, you must first reconfigure your repositories to point to the correct location. To reconfigure your repository, follow the installation instructions above for your operating system.

To upgrade your NGINX Plus installation to the newest version:

  1. If your system has previous NGINX or NGINX Plus packages on it, back up the configuration and log files.

    • For Linux distributions:

      sudo cp -a /etc/nginx /etc/nginx-plus-backup
sudo cp -a /var/log/nginx /var/log/nginx-plus-backup

    • For FreeBSD:

      sudo cp -a /usr/local/etc/nginx /usr/local/etc/nginx-plus-backup
sudo cp -a /var/log/nginx /var/log/nginx-plus-backup

  2. Get the JWT file associated with your NGINX Plus subscription from the MyF5 Customer Portal:

    1. Log in to MyF5.
    2. Go to My Products & Plans > Subscriptions to see your active subscriptions.
    3. Find your NGINX products or services subscription, and select the Subscription ID for details.
    4. Download the JSON Web Token from the subscription page.
    Note: Starting from NGINX Plus Release 33, a JWT file is required for each NGINX Plus instance. For more information, see About Subscription Licenses.

  3. Create the /etc/nginx/ directory for Linux or the /usr/local/etc/nginx directory for FreeBSD:

    • For Linux:

      sudo mkdir -p /etc/nginx

    • For FreeBSD:

      sudo mkdir -p /usr/local/etc/nginx
    Using custom paths

    If you plan to use a custom path for the license file, note that custom paths won’t work until after the R33 upgrade. You’ll need to create a placeholder file at /etc/nginx/license.jwt or /usr/local/etc/nginx/license.jwt on FreeBSD before upgrading.

    1. Before upgrading: Create the placeholder file by running:

      touch /etc/nginx/license.jwt

    2. After upgrading: Update the license_token directive in the NGINX configuration mgmt block to point to your custom path:

      mgmt {
  license_token <custom_path>;
}

  4. After downloading the JWT file, copy it to the /etc/nginx/ directory for Linux, or to the /usr/local/etc/nginx directory for FreeBSD, and make sure it’s named license.jwt:

    • For Linux:

      sudo cp <downloaded-file-name>.jwt /etc/nginx/license.jwt

    • For FreeBSD:

      sudo cp <downloaded-file-name>.jwt /usr/local/etc/nginx/license.jwt

  5. Upgrade to the new NGINX Plus package.

    • For RHEL, Amazon Linux, CentOS, Oracle Linux, AlmaLinux and Rocky Linux:

      sudo yum upgrade nginx-plus

    • For Debian and Ubuntu:

      sudo apt update
sudo apt install nginx-plus

    • For FreeBSD:

      sudo pkg upgrade nginx-plus

  6. Configure NGINX Plus usage reporting which is mandatory starting from R33. By default, no configuration is required. However, configuration is required in specific scenarios, such as NGINX Plus is installed in an offline environment or if the JWT license file is located in a non-default directory.

    For offline environments, usage reporting should be configured for NGINX Instance Manager 2.18 or later. In the nginx.conf configuration file, specify the following directives:

    • the mgmt context handles NGINX Plus licensing and usage reporting configuration,

    • the usage_report directive specifies the domain name or IP address of the NGINX Instance Manager,

    • the enforce_initial_report directive enables a 180-day grace period for sending the initial usage report. The initial usage report must be received by F5 licensing endpoint within this grace period. If the report is not received in time, traffic processing will be stopped:

    mgmt {
    usage_report endpoint=NIM_FQDN;
    enforce_initial_report off;
}

    In NGINX Instance Manager, prepare and send the usage report to F5 licensing endpoint. For more information, see Report usage to F5 in a disconnected environment.

    If the JWT license file is located in a directory other than /etc/nginx/ for Linux or usr/local/etc/nginx/ for FreeBSD, you must specify its name and path in the license_token directive:

    mgmt {
    license_token custom/file/path/license.jwt;
}

    For more information, see About Subscription Licenses.

  7. To verify that the new NGINX Plus version is upgraded, run:

    nginx -v

    The output of the command:

    nginx version: nginx/1.27.4 (nginx-plus-r34)

Upgrade NGINX Plus Modules

The upgrade procedure depends on how the module was supplied and installed.

  • NGINX‑authored and NGINX‑certified community dynamic modules are updated automatically together with NGINX Plus.

    Note: For FreeBSD, each NGINX‑authored and NGINX‑certified module must be updated separately using FreeBSD package management tool.

  • Community dynamic modules must be recompiled against the corresponding NGINX Open Source version. See Installing NGINX Community Modules.

Install NGINX App Protect

To install NGINX App Protect, follow the steps in the NGINX App Protect installation guide.