How to Compile and Configure Nginx on OpenWrt

I have tested this guide on openwrt 10.03 (backfire) running on TPLINK TL-WR1043ND.

Install precompiled Nginx

If you don’t want to compile nginx by yourself, you can install nginx from openwrt web interface:

select System -> Software -> Update Package List -> Install Nginx

Compile Nginx

If you never build openwrt from source before, you must build it first. You can follow my other post : how-to-build-openwrt-from-source-for-tp-link-tl-wr1043nd/. Note, nginx is not on openwrt base package. So you must download additional package (feeds).

./scripts/feeds update -a
./scripts/feeds install -a
make menuconfig

On ‘make menuconfig’ select Network->nginx

Compiling nginx is very easy, thanks to openwrt developers!

make ./package/feeds/packages/nginx/compile

The nginx package will be placed at bin/[board_arch]/packages/nginx_0.7.67-3_ar71xx.ipk . In tplink tl wr1043nd : bin/ar71xx/packages/nginx_0.7.67-3_ar71xx.ipk

Configure Nginx

create nginx root directory

mkdir /www-nginx/default -p

Edit /etc/nginx/nginx.conf:

• change the user from nobody to root
• change nginx root directory to /www-nginx/default

this is the diff file

--- nginx.conf.ori Mon Mar 14 12:21:24 2011
+++ nginx.conf Tue Apr  6 08:53:37 2010
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 
-#user  nobody;
+user  root;
 worker_processes  1;
 
 #error_log  logs/error.log;
@@ -41,7 +41,7 @@
         #access_log  logs/host.access.log  main;
 
         location / {
-            root   html;
+            root   /www-nginx/default;
             index  index.html index.htm;
         }

Testing the configuration
create simple html file on /www-nginx/default/index.html.
Stop openwrt default web server and start nginx

/etc/init.d/uhttpd stop
/etc/init.d/nginx star