Aly Badawy

Enabling HTTP/3 on Nginx: A Step-by-Step Guide

General • Wednesday, Feb 8, 2023

A step-by-step tutorial on how to configure Nginx with the HTTP/3 module for improved website speed, reliability, and security. Learn how to install the module, configure Nginx, and test the functionality.

In the previous post we spoke about HTTP/3: The Future of Web Communication, and mentioned that HTTP/3 is the latest version of the HTTP protocol and offers improved speed, reliability, and security compared to its predecessors. In this tutorial, we will show you how to enable HTTP/3 on Nginx, a popular open-source web server.

Prerequisites:

  • Nginx version 1.19 or higher
  • A domain name with an A or AAAA record pointing to your server
  • A valid SSL certificate

Step 1: Install the Nginx HTTP/3 module

To use HTTP/3, you need to install the Nginx HTTP/3 module. You can do this by compiling Nginx from source with the HTTP/3 module enabled or by installing a pre-built package from your operating system's repository. If you're compiling from source, you need to install the necessary dependencies and run the following command:

./configure --with-http_v3_module
make
make install

Step 2: Configure Nginx

Once you have installed the Nginx HTTP/3 module, you need to configure Nginx to use it. To do this, open your Nginx configuration file, typically located at /etc/nginx/nginx.conf, and add the following lines:

listen 443 ssl http3;
ssl_certificate /path/to/cert.pem;
ssl_certificate_key /path/to/key.pem;

Replace /path/to/cert.pem and /path/to/key.pem with the paths to your SSL certificate and key, respectively.

Step 3: Restart Nginx

After making the necessary changes to your Nginx configuration, you need to restart Nginx for the changes to take effect. You can do this by running the following command:

systemctl restart nginx

Step 4: Test HTTP/3

To test if HTTP/3 is working correctly, you can use a tool such as curl or a browser developer tool to make a request to your website over HTTP/3. If everything is working correctly, you should see a status code of 200 OK and the content of your website.

In conclusion, enabling HTTP/3 on Nginx is a straightforward process that can significantly improve the speed, reliability, and security of your website. By following this tutorial, you can quickly and easily take advantage of the benefits of HTTP/3 and provide your users with a faster, more seamless online experience.