How to setup Nginx to display Ruby on Rails Webpage?

Hi there,

Currently, your website seems to be up and running, can you confirm if this is also the case on your side as well?

Besides that, configuring Nginx to serve a Ruby on Rails application can be a bit tricky, especially when transitioning from development to production environments. Your scenario indicates that Nginx is correctly installed and serving static files, but it’s not properly configured to serve your Rails application.

Here are a few things that you can check:

• Check Nginx and Passenger logs: Nginx’s error.log (it is usually found in /var/log/nginx/error.log) can provide insights. Passenger’s logs can also be helpful.
• Restart Nginx after changes: Always restart Nginx after making configuration changes (sudo systemctl restart nginx).
• Check for syntax errors: Use nginx -t to check your Nginx configuration for syntax errors.

Feel free to share the errors here!

Besides that, here are a few more things that I would recommend checking:

1. Verify Passenger Installation

Even though you’ve heard Passenger might be obsolete with newer versions of Nginx, it’s still a viable and popular option for deploying Ruby on Rails applications. First, ensure that Passenger is installed and integrated with Nginx.

• Install Passenger (if you haven’t already) by following the official Passenger documentation. You will need to install the Passenger library and the Nginx module.
• Verify the installation by running passenger-config validate-install and passenger-config about nginx-module.

2. Configure Nginx with Passenger

Modify your Nginx configuration to use Passenger. Here’s a simplified version of what your server block might look like:

server {
    listen 80;
    listen [::]:80;
    server_name duelingpets.net dev.duelingpets.net;
    return 301 https://$host$request_uri; # Redirect HTTP to HTTPS
}

server {
    listen 443 ssl;
    listen [::]:443 ssl ipv6only=on;
    server_name duelingpets.net dev.duelingpets.net;

    # SSL Configuration
    ssl_certificate /etc/letsencrypt/live/duelingpets.net/fullchain.pem;
    ssl_certificate_key /etc/letsencrypt/live/duelingpets.net/privkey.pem;
    include /etc/letsencrypt/options-ssl-nginx.conf;
    ssl_dhparam /etc/letsencrypt/ssl-dhparams.pem;

    # Root directory
    root /var/www/duelingpets.net/html/Duelingpets/public;

    # Passenger
    passenger_enabled on;
    passenger_ruby /path/to/your/ruby; # Use `rbenv which ruby` to find this path if you're using rbenv

    # If you're still seeing the default Nginx page, try commenting out the default try_files line
    # try_files $uri $uri/ =404;
}

3. Permissions and Ownership

The 403 Forbidden error when changing the root directory often points to a permissions issue. Ensure that the user running Nginx (often www-data) has read access to the /var/www/duelingpets.net/html/Duelingpets/public directory and all its parents.

• Use chmod and chown to adjust permissions and ownership if necessary.
• Verify permissions with ls -l /var/www/duelingpets.net/html/Duelingpets and ensure that directories have at least 755 and files have 644.

Let me know how it goes!

Best,

Bobby

Heya @ebeecroft,

If I’m not mistaken, the APP with Ruby on Rails runs on a specific port, is that correct?

Configuring Nginx as a reverse proxy for a Ruby on Rails application is a common and recommended setup, especially in production environments.

Here is an example config:

server {
    listen 80;
    server_name example.com;

    location / {
        proxy_pass http://localhost:3000; # Assuming Rails is running on port 3000
        proxy_set_header Host $host;
        proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto $scheme;
    }
}

Considerations

• Environment: The specifics of your Nginx configuration can vary based on your server environment, domain setup, and specific requirements of your Rails application.

• SSL Configuration: If you are serving your application over HTTPS, you will need to include SSL configuration in your Nginx setup.

• Rails Server Configuration: Ensure your Rails server (like Puma or Unicorn) is configured correctly to work with Nginx as a reverse proxy.

• Testing: After configuration, thoroughly test your application to ensure that everything works as expected, especially the routing, static assets, and any websockets or long-polling features.

Using Nginx as a reverse proxy for Ruby on Rails can significantly enhance the performance, scalability, and security of your application, making it a worthwhile setup for most production environments.

Heya @ebeecroft,

I’m starting this new thread as the other was too long and couldn’t be followed anymore.

As for the errors you’ve received:

=> Booting Puma => Rails 7.1.3 application starting in development => Run `bin/rails server --help` for more startup options Rails Error: Unable to access log file. Please ensure that /var/www/duelingpets.net/Duelingpets/log/development.log exists and is writable (i.e. make it writable for user and group: chmod 0664 /var/www/duelingpets.net/Duelingpets/log/development.log). The log level has been raised to WARN and the output directed to STDERR until the problem is fixed. Exiting /home/duelingpets/.rbenv/versions/3.3.0/lib/ruby/gems/3.3.0/gems/activesupport-7.1.3/lib/active_support/encrypted_file.rb:122:in `binread': Permission denied @ rb_sysopen - /var/www/duelingpets.net/Duelingpets/config/master.key (Errno::EACCES) from /home/duelingpets/.rbenv/versions/3.3.0/lib/ruby/gems/3.3.0/gems/activesupport-7.1.3/lib/active_support/encrypted_file.rb:122:in` binread’ from /home/duelingpets/.rbenv/versions/3.3.0/lib/ruby/gems/3.3.0/gems/activesupport-7.1.3/lib/active_support/encrypted_file.rb:122:in `read_key_file' from /home/duelingpets/.rbenv/versions/3.3.0/lib/ruby/gems/3.3.0/gems/activesupport-7.1.3/lib/active_support/encrypted_file.rb:53:in` key’ from /home/duelingpets/.rbenv/versions/3.3.0/lib/ruby/gems/3.3.0/gems/activesupport-7.1.3/lib/active_support/encrypted_file.rb:71:in `read' from /home/duelingpets/.rbenv/versions/3.3.0/lib/ruby/gems/3.3.0/gems/activesupport-7.1.3/lib/active_support/encrypted_configuration.rb:57:in` read’ from /home/duelingpets/.rbenv/versions/3.3.0/lib/ruby/gems/3.3.0/gems/activesupport-7.1.3/lib/active_support/encrypted_configuration.rb:76:in `config' from /home/duelingpets/.rbenv/versions/3.3.0/lib/ruby/gems/3.3.0/gems/activesupport-7.1.3/lib/active_support/encrypted_configuration.rb:95:in` options’ from /home/duelingpets/.rbenv/versions/3.3.0/lib/ruby/gems/3.3.0/gems/activesupport-7.1.3/lib/active_support/core_ext/module/delegation.rb:332:in `method_missing' from /home/duelingpets/.rbenv/versions/3.3.0/lib/ruby/gems/3.3.0/gems/activerecord-7.1.3/lib/active_record/railtie.rb:384:in` block (2 levels) in [class:Railtie](class:Railtie)’ from /home/duelingpets/.rbenv/versions/3.3.0/lib/ruby/gems/3.3.0/gems/activesupport-7.1.3/lib/active_support/lazy_load_hooks.rb:94:in `block in execute_hook' from /home/duelingpets/.rbenv/versions/3.3.0/lib/ruby/gems/3.3.0/gems/activesupport-7.1.3/lib/active_support/lazy_load_hooks.rb:87:in` with_execution_control’ from /home/duelingpets/.rbenv/versions/3.3.0/lib/ruby/gems/3.3.0/gems/activesupport-7.1.3/lib/active_support/lazy_load_hooks.rb:92:in `execute_hook' from /home/duelingpets/.rbenv/versions/3.3.0/lib/ruby/gems/3.3.0/gems/activesupport-7.1.3/lib/active_support/lazy_load_hooks.rb:78:in` block in run_load_hooks’ from /home/duelingpets/.rbenv/versions/3.3.0/lib/ruby/gems/3.3.0/gems/activesupport-7.1.3/lib/active_support/lazy_load_hooks.rb:77:in `each' from /home/duelingpets/.rbenv/versions/3.3.0/lib/ruby/gems/3.3.0/gems/activesupport-7.1.3/lib/active_support/lazy_load_hooks.rb:77:in` run_load_hooks’ from /home/duelingpets/.rbenv/versions/3.3.0/lib/ruby/gems/3.3.0/gems/railties-7.1.3/lib/rails/application/finisher.rb:93:in `block in <module:Finisher>' from /home/duelingpets/.rbenv/versions/3.3.0/lib/ruby/gems/3.3.0/gems/railties-7.1.3/lib/rails/initializable.rb:32:in` instance_exec’ from /home/duelingpets/.rbenv/versions/3.3.0/lib/ruby/gems/3.3.0/gems/railties-7.1.3/lib/rails/initializable.rb:32:in `run' from /home/duelingpets/.rbenv/versions/3.3.0/lib/ruby/gems/3.3.0/gems/railties-7.1.3/lib/rails/initializable.rb:61:in` block in run_initializers’ from /home/duelingpets/.rbenv/versions/3.3.0/lib/ruby/3.3.0/tsort.rb:231:in `block in tsort_each' from /home/duelingpets/.rbenv/versions/3.3.0/lib/ruby/3.3.0/tsort.rb:353:in` block (2 levels) in each_strongly_connected_component’ from /home/duelingpets/.rbenv/versions/3.3.0/lib/ruby/3.3.0/tsort.rb:434:in `each_strongly_connected_component_from' from /home/duelingpets/.rbenv/versions/3.3.0/lib/ruby/3.3.0/tsort.rb:352:in` block in each_strongly_connected_component’ from /home/duelingpets/.rbenv/versions/3.3.0/lib/ruby/3.3.0/tsort.rb:350:in `each' from /home/duelingpets/.rbenv/versions/3.3.0/lib/ruby/3.3.0/tsort.rb:350:in` call’ from /home/duelingpets/.rbenv/versions/3.3.0/lib/ruby/3.3.0/tsort.rb:350:in `each_strongly_connected_component' from /home/duelingpets/.rbenv/versions/3.3.0/lib/ruby/3.3.0/tsort.rb:229:in` tsort_each’ from /home/duelingpets/.rbenv/versions/3.3.0/lib/ruby/3.3.0/tsort.rb:208:in `tsort_each' from /home/duelingpets/.rbenv/versions/3.3.0/lib/ruby/gems/3.3.0/gems/railties-7.1.3/lib/rails/initializable.rb:60:in` run_initializers’ from /home/duelingpets/.rbenv/versions/3.3.0/lib/ruby/gems/3.3.0/gems/railties-7.1.3/lib/rails/application.rb:426:in `initialize!' from /var/www/duelingpets.net/Duelingpets/config/environment.rb:5:in` <main>’ from [config.ru:3](http://config.ru:3/):in `require_relative' from config.ru:3:in` block in <main>’ from /home/duelingpets/.rbenv/versions/3.3.0/lib/ruby/gems/3.3.0/gems/rack-3.0.9/lib/rack/builder.rb:103:in `eval' from /home/duelingpets/.rbenv/versions/3.3.0/lib/ruby/gems/3.3.0/gems/rack-3.0.9/lib/rack/builder.rb:103:in` new_from_string’ from /home/duelingpets/.rbenv/versions/3.3.0/lib/ruby/gems/3.3.0/gems/rack-3.0.9/lib/rack/builder.rb:94:in `load_file' from /home/duelingpets/.rbenv/versions/3.3.0/lib/ruby/gems/3.3.0/gems/rack-3.0.9/lib/rack/builder.rb:64:in` parse_file’ from /home/duelingpets/.rbenv/versions/3.3.0/lib/ruby/gems/3.3.0/gems/rackup-2.1.0/lib/rackup/server.rb:354:in `build_app_and_options_from_config' from /home/duelingpets/.rbenv/versions/3.3.0/lib/ruby/gems/3.3.0/gems/rackup-2.1.0/lib/rackup/server.rb:263:in` app’ from /home/duelingpets/.rbenv/versions/3.3.0/lib/ruby/gems/3.3.0/gems/rackup-2.1.0/lib/rackup/server.rb:424:in `wrapped_app' from /home/duelingpets/.rbenv/versions/3.3.0/lib/ruby/gems/3.3.0/gems/railties-7.1.3/lib/rails/commands/server/server_command.rb:76:in` log_to_stdout’ from /home/duelingpets/.rbenv/versions/3.3.0/lib/ruby/gems/3.3.0/gems/railties-7.1.3/lib/rails/commands/server/server_command.rb:36:in `start' from /home/duelingpets/.rbenv/versions/3.3.0/lib/ruby/gems/3.3.0/gems/railties-7.1.3/lib/rails/commands/server/server_command.rb:145:in` block in perform’ from [internal:kernel](internal:kernel):90:in `tap' from /home/duelingpets/.rbenv/versions/3.3.0/lib/ruby/gems/3.3.0/gems/railties-7.1.3/lib/rails/commands/server/server_command.rb:136:in` perform’ from /home/duelingpets/.rbenv/versions/3.3.0/lib/ruby/gems/3.3.0/gems/thor-1.3.0/lib/thor/command.rb:28:in `run' from /home/duelingpets/.rbenv/versions/3.3.0/lib/ruby/gems/3.3.0/gems/thor-1.3.0/lib/thor/invocation.rb:127:in` invoke_command’ from /home/duelingpets/.rbenv/versions/3.3.0/lib/ruby/gems/3.3.0/gems/railties-7.1.3/lib/rails/command/base.rb:178:in `invoke_command' from /home/duelingpets/.rbenv/versions/3.3.0/lib/ruby/gems/3.3.0/gems/thor-1.3.0/lib/thor.rb:527:in` dispatch’ from /home/duelingpets/.rbenv/versions/3.3.0/lib/ruby/gems/3.3.0/gems/railties-7.1.3/lib/rails/command/base.rb:73:in `perform' from /home/duelingpets/.rbenv/versions/3.3.0/lib/ruby/gems/3.3.0/gems/railties-7.1.3/lib/rails/command.rb:71:in` block in invoke’ from /home/duelingpets/.rbenv/versions/3.3.0/lib/ruby/gems/3.3.0/gems/railties-7.1.3/lib/rails/command.rb:149:in `with_argv' from /home/duelingpets/.rbenv/versions/3.3.0/lib/ruby/gems/3.3.0/gems/railties-7.1.3/lib/rails/command.rb:69:in` invoke’ from /home/duelingpets/.rbenv/versions/3.3.0/lib/ruby/gems/3.3.0/gems/railties-7.1.3/lib/rails/commands.rb:18:in `<main>' from /home/duelingpets/.rbenv/versions/3.3.0/lib/ruby/3.3.0/bundled_gems.rb:74:in` require’ from /home/duelingpets/.rbenv/versions/3.3.0/lib/ruby/3.3.0/bundled_gems.rb:74:in `block (2 levels) in replace_require' from /home/duelingpets/.rbenv/versions/3.3.0/lib/ruby/gems/3.3.0/gems/bootsnap-1.18.3/lib/bootsnap/load_path_cache/core_ext/kernel_require.rb:30:in` require’ from bin/rails:4:in `<main>’

Application config: require_relative “boot”

require “rails/all”

# [Require the gems listed in Gemfile, including any gems](https://www.digitalocean.com/community/questions/how-to-setup-nginx-to-display-ruby-on-rails-webpage?comment=202920#require-the-gems-listed-in-gemfile-including-any-gems)[](https://www.digitalocean.com/community/questions/how-to-setup-nginx-to-display-ruby-on-rails-webpage?comment=202920#require-the-gems-listed-in-gemfile-including-any-gems)

# [you’ve limited to :test, :development, or :production.](https://www.digitalocean.com/community/questions/how-to-setup-nginx-to-display-ruby-on-rails-webpage?comment=202920#you-ve-limited-to-test-development-or-production)[](https://www.digitalocean.com/community/questions/how-to-setup-nginx-to-display-ruby-on-rails-webpage?comment=202920#you-ve-limited-to-test-development-or-production)

Bundler.require(*Rails.groups)

module Duelingpets class Application < Rails::Application # Initialize configuration defaults for originally generated Rails version. config.load_defaults 7.1

It seems like your permissions and ownership might be wrong. Try to set the permissions of your folders to 755 and of files to 644.

Additionally, regarding not being able to load your Ruby on Rails app via your Droplet’s IP

The site could be temporarily unavailable or too busy. Try again in a few moments.
If you are unable to load any pages, check your computer’s network connection.
If your computer or network is protected by a firewall or proxy, make sure that Firefox is permitted to access the web.

See if you’ve allowed the App to be accessed by your Droplet’s IP address.