URL Redirect Rewrite

In this guide, you’ll learn how to use Nginx’s return (redirect) and rewrite directives to forward requests, enforce HTTPS, and transform URLs on the fly. Whether you’re migrating a domain, cleaning up paths, or preserving legacy links, these patterns will help you maintain SEO value and user experience.

Table of Contents

• Why Redirect vs Rewrite?
• 1. Redirecting with return
  • 1.1. Entire Domain Redirect
  • 1.2. HTTP → HTTPS Redirect
  • 1.3. Single-Page Redirect
• 2. Common HTTP Status Codes
• 3. Transforming URLs with rewrite
  • 3.1. Simple Rewrite Example
  • 3.2. Rewriting Directory Paths
  • 3.3. Regex Cheat Sheet
• Links and References

Why Redirect vs Rewrite?

• Redirect (return) issues an HTTP status code (e.g., 301) back to the client and changes what appears in their browser’s address bar.
• Rewrite silently alters the URI before Nginx processes it, keeping the user’s URL intact.

Use redirects when you want search engines and clients to update bookmarks. Use rewrites to preserve a clean URL structure without exposing internal file paths.

1. Redirecting with return

1.1. Entire Domain Redirect

To forward every request from one domain to another:

server {
    listen       80;
    server_name  honda.cars.com;

    return 301 https://cars.honda.com$request_uri;

    root  /var/www/example.com/html;
    index index.html;

    location / {
        try_files $uri $uri/ =404;
    }
}

1.2. HTTP → HTTPS Redirect

Force all HTTP traffic to HTTPS:

server {
    listen       80;
    server_name  honda.cars.com;

    return 301 https://$host$request_uri;
}

server {
    listen       443 ssl;
    server_name  honda.cars.com;

    ssl_certificate     /etc/ssl/certs/honda.cars.com.pem;
    ssl_certificate_key /etc/ssl/certs/honda.cars.com-key.pem;

    root  /var/www/;
}

Here, $host becomes the requested domain name, and $request_uri includes the full path and query string.

1.3. Single-Page Redirect

For path-specific forwarding, wrap only that URI:

server {
    listen       80;
    server_name  honda.cars.com;

    root  /var/www/example.com/html;
    index index.html;

    location /civic-type-r {
        return 301 https://cars.honda.com$request_uri;
    }
}

2. Common HTTP Status Codes

Inspect redirects and responses in your browser’s DevTools (Network tab):

3. Transforming URLs with rewrite

Rewrites let you modify incoming URLs before Nginx searches for files or forwards to upstream servers—ideal for cleanup rules or legacy support.

Use rewrites to convert long URIs into friendly, concise paths:

3.1. Simple Rewrite Example

Map /sports-car-civic-type-r → /type-r:

server {
    listen       80;
    server_name  honda.cars.com;

    root  /var/www/example.com/html;
    index index.html;

    rewrite ^/sports-car-civic-type-r$ /type-r permanent;
}

3.2. Rewriting Directory Paths

When you rename a folder from /pics → /images, keep existing links functional:

# Before rename
$ tree
|-- 50x.html
|-- index.html
`-- pics
    |-- accord.jpg
    |-- civic.jpg
    `-- type-r.jpg

# After rename
$ tree
|-- 50x.html
|-- index.html
|-- images
|   |-- accord.jpg
|   |-- civic.jpg
|   `-- type-r.jpg
`-- pics
    |-- accord.jpg
    |-- civic.jpg
    `-- type-r.jpg

server {
    listen       80;
    server_name  honda.cars.com;

    root  /var/www/example.com/html;
    index index.html;

    location /pics {
        rewrite ^/pics/(.*)$ /images/$1 permanent;
    }
}

Visitors requesting /pics/type-r.jpg will be served /images/type-r.jpg without broken links.

3.3. Regex Cheat Sheet

For interactive testing, try regex101.

Links and References

• Nginx Official Documentation
• Kubernetes Basics
• Docker Hub
• Terraform Registry