Install with Winget

This installation method is designed for Windows users who have the Windows Package Manager (winget) available.

Prerequisites

• Windows: Windows 10 version 1709 (build 16299) or later
• Windows Package Manager (winget) installed

If you don't have winget installed, you can install it from the Microsoft Store or download it from the GitHub releases page.

Installation

Install Nginx UI

winget install 0xJacky.nginx-ui

This command will:

• Download and install the latest stable version of Nginx UI to %LOCALAPPDATA%\Microsoft\WinGet\Packages\0xJacky.nginx-ui__DefaultSource\
• Set up the necessary dependencies
• Add nginx-ui to your system PATH

Note: The installation process does not create any configuration files. You will need to create the configuration manually or let Nginx UI create it on first run.

Verify Installation

After installation, you can verify that Nginx UI is installed correctly:

nginx-ui --version

Installation Directory

WinGet installs Nginx UI to the user's local directory:

• Installation Path: %LOCALAPPDATA%\Microsoft\WinGet\Packages\0xJacky.nginx-ui__DefaultSource\
• Executable Path: %LOCALAPPDATA%\Microsoft\WinGet\Packages\0xJacky.nginx-ui__DefaultSource\nginx-ui.exe

You can access this directory using:

cd "%LOCALAPPDATA%\Microsoft\WinGet\Packages\0xJacky.nginx-ui__DefaultSource\"

Service Management

On Windows, Nginx UI can be run as a Windows Service or manually started from the command line.

Install as Windows Service

Since Nginx UI doesn't have built-in Windows service management, you need to manually register it using sc.exe:

# Create the service (run as Administrator)
# Note: WinGet installs to user's local directory
sc create nginx-ui binPath= "%LOCALAPPDATA%\Microsoft\WinGet\Packages\0xJacky.nginx-ui__DefaultSource\nginx-ui.exe serve" start= auto

# Start the service
sc start nginx-ui

Manual Service Management

You can manage the service using Windows Service Manager or PowerShell:

# Start the service
Start-Service nginx-ui

# Stop the service
Stop-Service nginx-ui

# Restart the service
Restart-Service nginx-ui

# Check service status
Get-Service nginx-ui

Set Service to Start Automatically

The service is already configured to start automatically with start= auto in the creation command above. To change this later:

Set-Service -Name nginx-ui -StartupType Automatic

Running Manually

If you prefer to run Nginx UI manually instead of as a service:

# Run in foreground
nginx-ui

# Run with custom config
nginx-ui serve -config C:\path\to\your\app.ini

# Run directly from installation directory
"%LOCALAPPDATA%\Microsoft\WinGet\Packages\0xJacky.nginx-ui__DefaultSource\nginx-ui.exe" serve

# Run in background (using Start-Job)
Start-Job -ScriptBlock { nginx-ui serve }

Configuration

The configuration file needs to be created manually or will be created on first run. It should be located at:

• Default Path: %LOCALAPPDATA%\nginx-ui\app.ini
• Alternative Path: C:\ProgramData\nginx-ui\app.ini

Data is typically stored in:

• %LOCALAPPDATA%\nginx-ui\
• C:\ProgramData\nginx-ui\

Creating Configuration

You can either:

1. Let Nginx UI create it automatically - Run nginx-ui for the first time and it will create a default configuration in the current working directory
2. Create manually - Create the directories and configuration file yourself

To create the configuration directory and file manually:

# Create the configuration directory
New-Item -ItemType Directory -Force -Path "$env:LOCALAPPDATA\nginx-ui"

# Create a basic configuration file
@"
[app]
PageSize = 10

[server]
Host = 0.0.0.0
Port = 9000
RunMode = release

[cert]
HTTPChallengePort = 9180

[terminal]
StartCmd = cmd.exe
"@ | Out-File -FilePath "$env:LOCALAPPDATA\nginx-ui\app.ini" -Encoding utf8

The default configuration includes:

[app]
PageSize = 10

[server]
Host = 0.0.0.0
Port = 9000
RunMode = release

[cert]
HTTPChallengePort = 9180

[terminal]
StartCmd = cmd.exe

Updating

Update Nginx UI

winget upgrade nginx-ui

Update all packages

winget upgrade --all

Uninstallation

Stop and Uninstall Service

# Stop the service first
sc stop nginx-ui

# Delete the service
sc delete nginx-ui

# Uninstall the package
winget uninstall nginx-ui

Remove Configuration and Data

WARNING

This will permanently delete all your configurations, sites, certificates, and data. Make sure to backup any important data before proceeding.

# Remove configuration and data directories
Remove-Item -Recurse -Force "$env:LOCALAPPDATA\nginx-ui"
Remove-Item -Recurse -Force "$env:PROGRAMDATA\nginx-ui"

Troubleshooting

Port Conflicts

If you encounter port conflicts (default port is 9000), you need to modify the configuration file:

1. Edit the configuration file:

   notepad "$env:LOCALAPPDATA\nginx-ui\app.ini"

2. Change the port in the [server] section:

   [server]
   Host = 0.0.0.0
   Port = 9001
   RunMode = release

3. Restart the service:

   Restart-Service nginx-ui

Windows Firewall

If you have issues accessing Nginx UI from other devices, you may need to configure Windows Firewall:

# Allow Nginx UI through Windows Firewall (TCP and UDP)
New-NetFirewallRule -DisplayName "Nginx UI TCP" -Direction Inbound -Protocol TCP -LocalPort 9000 -Action Allow
New-NetFirewallRule -DisplayName "Nginx UI UDP" -Direction Inbound -Protocol UDP -LocalPort 9000 -Action Allow

Viewing Service Logs

To troubleshoot service issues, you can view logs:

Windows Event Viewer

1. Open Event Viewer (eventvwr.msc)
2. Navigate to Windows Logs > Application
3. Look for events from "nginx-ui" source

Service Logs

If Nginx UI is configured to write logs to files:

# View log files (if configured)
Get-Content "$env:LOCALAPPDATA\nginx-ui\logs\nginx-ui.log" -Tail 50

Permission Issues

If you encounter permission issues:

1. Run as Administrator: Some operations may require administrator privileges
2. Check folder permissions: Ensure Nginx UI has read/write access to its configuration and data directories
3. Antivirus software: Some antivirus programs may interfere with Nginx UI operation

Service Won't Start

If the service fails to start:

1. Check service status:

   Get-Service nginx-ui

2. Verify configuration file exists (create if needed):

   Test-Path "$env:LOCALAPPDATA\nginx-ui\app.ini"
   # If it returns False, create the configuration directory and file first

3. Try running manually to see error messages:

   nginx-ui serve -config "$env:LOCALAPPDATA\nginx-ui\app.ini"
   # Or run directly from installation directory:
   & "$env:LOCALAPPDATA\Microsoft\WinGet\Packages\0xJacky.nginx-ui__DefaultSource\nginx-ui.exe" serve -config "$env:LOCALAPPDATA\nginx-ui\app.ini"

4. Check for port conflicts:

   # Check if port 9000 is already in use
   netstat -an | findstr :9000

Getting Help

If you encounter any issues:

1. Check the official documentation
2. Search for existing issues on GitHub
3. Create a new issue if your problem isn't already reported

Next Steps

After installation, you can:

1. Access the web interface at http://localhost:9000
2. Complete the initial setup wizard
3. Start configuring your Nginx sites
4. Explore the configuration guides for advanced setups