The Ultimate Guide to Hosting Angular Applications on NGINX

Hosting your Angular application on an NGINX server can enhance performance, provide better security, and enable easier configuration for production environments. Below is a step-by-step guide to deploying your Angular application on NGINX.

Prerequisites

NGINX installed: Ensure you have NGINX installed on your server. You can install it on a Linux-based system using:

bash

sudo apt update
sudo apt install nginx
Angular Application: Ensure your Angular application is ready for production and built using the following command:

bash

ng build --prod
Access to Server: You should have SSH access or direct access to the server where you want to deploy your application.
Step 1: Build Your Angular Application

Run the following command in your Angular project directory to build the application for production:

bash

ng build --prod
This command will generate the production-ready files in the dist folder of your project.

Step 2: Copy Files to the Server

You will need to copy the contents of your Angular dist folder to your server. You can use scp or rsync. Assuming your dist folder is named dist/my-angular-app, run:

bash

scp -r dist/my-angular-app/* username@your_server_ip:/var/www/html/
Replace username with your server username and your_server_ip with your server’s IP address.

Step 3: Configure NGINX

Once the files are on the server, you need to configure NGINX to serve your Angular application. Create a new configuration file for your application:

bash

sudo nano /etc/nginx/sites-available/my-angular-app
Insert the following configuration into the file:

nginx

server {
listen 80;
server_name your_domain.com; # Replace with your domain or server IP

location / {
    root /var/www/html; # Path to the folder where your files are located
    try_files $uri $uri/ /index.html; # Fallback to index.html for Angular routing
}

error_page 404 /index.html; # Handle 404 errors by redirecting to index.html

}
Save and exit the editor.

Step 4: Enable the Configuration

Create a symbolic link to enable the site configuration:

bash

sudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/my-angular-app /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/
Step 5: Test Your NGINX Configuration

Before restarting NGINX, you should test the configuration to ensure there are no syntax errors:

bash

sudo nginx -t
If everything is correct, you’ll see a message indicating the test was successful.

Step 6: Restart NGINX

Restart NGINX to apply the changes:

bash

sudo systemctl restart nginx
Step 7: Access Your Application

Now, your Angular application should be accessible through your domain or public IP address. Open a web browser and visit your domain (e.g., http://your_domain.com).

Additional Tips

SSL Configuration: It’s advisable to set up SSL for secure access. You can use Let's Encrypt to obtain free SSL certificates.
Error Handling: Implement proper error handling to manage unexpected cases.
Caching: Consider configuring caching in NGINX for better performance.