🚀 Hosting My Portfolio on KillerCoda Using Nginx

joseph osuorji — Thu, 27 Nov 2025 01:24:22 +0000

A Hands-On DevOps Practice Task

During one of our DevOps sessions in the Tech With Achievers bootcamp, our tutor gave us a practical assignment:

Create a personal portfolio and host it using Nginx on KillerCoda.

This was a great opportunity to get hands-on with Linux, Nginx, and basic web deployment.
In this article, I’ll walk you through exactly how I hosted my portfolio using KillerCoda’s free cloud playground.

🧩 Why KillerCoda?

KillerCoda provides temporary Linux environments where you can practice DevOps tasks without installing anything locally.
Perfect for learning Linux commands and testing quick deployments.

🛠️ Steps to Host a Portfolio on KillerCoda with Nginx

1. Launch a Linux Playground

Sign up or login into KillerCoda. [https://killercoda.com]
Go to Playground.
Choose an Ubuntu environment.
Wait for the terminal to load.

2. Install Nginx
Run:

Sudo apt install nginx -y

Verify the installation:

nginx -version

If it prints a version number, Nginx is good to go.

3. Navigate to the Web Root


cd /var/www/html
ls

You’ll find the default file:


index.nginx-debian.html

Feel free to remove it:


sudo rm index.nginx-debian.html

4. Add Your Portfolio

Create your own index.html:

Sudo nano index.html

Paste your portfolio code into the nano editor.

Save and exit:

CTRL + X > Y > Enter

5. Expose Port 80

On the left sidebar in KillerCoda:

-Open the hamburger menu

-Click Port 80

This exposes your Nginx server to the internet.

6. View Your Live Portfolio

KillerCoda generates a public URL.
Open it in your browser — your portfolio should now be live.

📚 What I Learned

How to install and configure Nginx
How static websites are served from /var/www/html
How ports work (specifically HTTP on port 80)
How cloud sandboxes help in DevOps learning
Practical web hosting workflow on Linux

This mini-project boosted my confidence in server management and basic deployment.

DEV Community: joseph osuorji

🚀 Hosting My Portfolio on KillerCoda Using Nginx