Sync NGINX Configs with Ansible

Hello, I'm Maneshwar. I'm working on FreeDevTools online currently building **one place for all dev tools, cheat codes, and TLDRs* — a free, open-source hub where developers can quickly find and use tools without any hassle of searching all over the internet.

---

You know the pain: updating NGINX config files on a remote server, reloading NGINX, making
sure you didn't fat-finger anything... and repeating it across environments. Let’s automate that away with Ansible.

Project Structure

Start by initializing a role:

ansible-galaxy init roles/nginx-conf-sync

Here’s the resulting layout:

hex-ansible
├─ README.md
├─ hosts.ini 
├─ nginx-conf-sync-playbook.yml
├─ nginx-purge-playbook.yml
└─ roles
   └─ nginx-conf-sync
      ├─ defaults/main.yml
      ├─ files/
      │  ├─ blog.dev.to
      │  ├─ dev.to
      │  └─ api.dev.to
      ├─ handlers/main.yml
      ├─ meta/main.yml
      ├─ tasks/main.yml
      ├─ tasks/create-nginx-confs.yml
      ├─ templates/
      ├─ tests/
      │  ├─ inventory
      │  └─ test.yml
      └─ vars/main.yml

Put your actual NGINX site config files inside the files/ folder. Example file: files/blog.dev.to:

server {
    listen 80;
    server_name blog.dev.to;

    access_log  /var/log/nginx/nginx_access.log;
    error_log   /var/log/nginx/nginx_error.log  debug;

    location / {
        include proxy_params;
        proxy_pass http://127.1.22.71:9080;
    }
}

The Inventory File

This is your hosts.ini:

[master]
master ansible_host=128.122.213.172 ansible_user=root ansible_ssh_private_key_file=~/.ssh/secret.txt

Make sure you can SSH into the machine using that key.

defaults/main.yml

This lets you declare which config files to sync:

---
nginx_conf_domains:
  - blog.dev.to
  - dev.to
  - api.dev.to

The Playbook

Create nginx-conf-sync-playbook.yml at the root:

- name: Sync NGINX Configs
  hosts: master
  become: yes
  roles:
    - nginx-conf-sync

The Logic

In roles/nginx-conf-sync/tasks/main.yml:

---
- import_tasks: create-nginx-confs.yml

And the real deal in create-nginx-confs.yml:

---
- name: Ensure NGINX config directory exists
  file:
    path: "/etc/nginx/sites-available"
    state: directory

- name: Ensure NGINX enabled directory exists
  file:
    path: "/etc/nginx/sites-enabled"
    state: directory

- name: Create .htpasswd file for basic auth
  copy:
    dest: /etc/nginx/.htpasswd
    content: |
      hexmos:$apr1$v5j1xXVg$i6XGv4RoQGT2FwqpKsJcs0
    owner: root
    group: root
    mode: "0640"

- name: Sync nginx conf files
  copy:
    src: "{{ item }}"
    dest: "/etc/nginx/sites-available/{{ item }}"
  with_items: "{{ nginx_conf_domains }}"

- name: Create symlinks in sites-enabled
  file:
    src: "/etc/nginx/sites-available/{{ item }}"
    dest: "/etc/nginx/sites-enabled/{{ item }}"
    state: link
    force: yes
  with_items: "{{ nginx_conf_domains }}"

- name: Reload nginx
  service:
    name: nginx
    state: reloaded

Run It

ansible-playbook -i hosts.ini nginx-conf-sync-playbook.yml

Boom. Your NGINX configs are in place, symlinked, and NGINX is reloaded.

TL;DR

Ansible makes syncing NGINX config files effortless and repeatable. Dump your config files in the role, declare them in defaults, run the playbook, and you’re good to go.

---

I’ve been building FreeDevTools.

A collection of UI/UX-focused tools crafted to simplify workflows, save time, and reduce friction in searching tools/materials.

Any feedback or contributors are welcome!

It’s online, open-source, and ready for anyone to use.

👉 Check it out: FreeDevTools
⭐ Star it on GitHub: freedevtools

Let’s make it even better together.

Comments

[Dotallio]

This is super clear, I wish I had this when I started automating NGINX updates! Do you think you could hook in LiveAPI to auto-test endpoints right after Ansible runs?

[Athreya aka Maneshwar]

Hey bot!