NGINX Unit

intermediate

Dynamic application server supporting multiple languages.

Overview

NGINX Unit is a dynamic application server developed by NGINX Inc. that revolutionizes web application deployment by supporting multiple programming languages within a single server process. Unlike traditional web servers that require separate processes or modules for different languages, Unit can natively execute PHP, Python, Go, Ruby, Node.js, Java, and Perl applications through its polyglot architecture. This eliminates the complexity of managing multiple application servers and reduces resource overhead significantly. NGINX Unit's standout capability is its dynamic reconfiguration system that operates through a REST API, allowing administrators to modify application configurations, routing rules, and server settings without requiring restarts or service interruptions. The server maintains application state during configuration changes, enabling true zero-downtime deployments. This makes Unit particularly valuable for organizations running mixed-language environments or requiring frequent deployment cycles without service disruption. This setup is ideal for development teams working with microservices in different languages, hosting providers managing multi-tenant applications, and organizations seeking to consolidate their application server infrastructure. Unit's ability to handle multiple applications simultaneously while providing isolated execution environments makes it perfect for reducing operational complexity while maintaining performance and security boundaries between applications.

Key Features

Native multi-language support for PHP, Python, Go, Ruby, Node.js, Java, and Perl in a single server process
Dynamic reconfiguration via REST API without service restarts or downtime
Zero-downtime application deployments with graceful configuration transitions
Per-application isolation with independent memory spaces and resource limits
Advanced request routing with pattern matching, load balancing, and traffic splitting
Real-time statistics and monitoring through the control API endpoint
Automatic process management with configurable limits and scaling policies
Built-in support for WebSocket connections across all supported languages

Common Use Cases

1Multi-language microservices architecture requiring a unified application server
2Development environments needing to test applications in different programming languages
3Continuous integration pipelines requiring zero-downtime deployments
4Hosting platforms serving multiple customer applications with different language requirements
5A/B testing environments with traffic splitting between application versions
6Legacy application modernization where different components use different languages
7Educational platforms demonstrating web applications across multiple programming languages

Prerequisites

Minimum 512MB RAM recommended for running multiple language runtimes
Docker and Docker Compose installed on the host system
Port 80 and 8080 available on the host machine
Basic understanding of JSON configuration format for Unit setup
Familiarity with REST API concepts for dynamic configuration management
Application code prepared in supported languages (PHP, Python, Go, Ruby, Node.js, Java, Perl)

For development & testing. Review security settings, change default credentials, and test thoroughly before production use. See Terms

docker-compose.yml

1services: 
2  unit: 
3    image: unit:latest
4    container_name: nginx-unit
5    restart: unless-stopped
6    volumes: 
7      - ./app:/www
8      - ./unit/config.json:/docker-entrypoint.d/config.json:ro
9    ports: 
10      - "80:80"
11      - "8080:8080"
12    networks: 
13      - unit-network
14
15networks: 
16  unit-network: 
17    driver: bridge

.env Template

.env

1# NGINX Unit configuration via JSON

Usage Notes

1Docs: https://unit.nginx.org/
2Polyglot server: PHP, Python, Go, Ruby, Node.js, Java, Perl
3Dynamic reconfiguration via REST API - no restarts needed
4Control API: curl --unix-socket /var/run/control.unit.sock http://localhost/
5Zero downtime deployments - change config on the fly
6Configure via JSON - applications, routes, listeners

Quick Start

terminal

1# 1. Create the compose file
2cat > docker-compose.yml << 'EOF'
3services:
4  unit:
5    image: unit:latest
6    container_name: nginx-unit
7    restart: unless-stopped
8    volumes:
9      - ./app:/www
10      - ./unit/config.json:/docker-entrypoint.d/config.json:ro
11    ports:
12      - "80:80"
13      - "8080:8080"
14    networks:
15      - unit-network
16
17networks:
18  unit-network:
19    driver: bridge
20EOF
21
22# 2. Create the .env file
23cat > .env << 'EOF'
24# NGINX Unit configuration via JSON
25EOF
26
27# 3. Start the services
28docker compose up -d
29
30# 4. View logs
31docker compose logs -f

One-Liner

Run this command to download and set up the recipe in one step:

terminal

1curl -fsSL https://docker.recipes/api/recipes/unit/run | bash

Troubleshooting

Unit control socket permission denied: Ensure the container has proper permissions to access /var/run/control.unit.sock
Application fails to start with 'module not found': Verify the application path is correctly mounted and accessible within the container
Configuration API returns 400 Bad Request: Validate JSON configuration syntax using a JSON validator before applying
Multiple language applications conflict: Check that each application has unique listeners and properly isolated working directories
Memory exhaustion with multiple apps: Adjust per-application process limits in Unit configuration and increase container memory limits
Port binding fails on startup: Verify ports 80 and 8080 are not in use by other services on the host system

Community Notes

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Components

nginx-unit

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