Test your knowledge: Extending Nginx

Question 1 of 5

Building from source, what do `--with-http_ssl_module` style flags do?

The dash direction tells you the default.

Answer options A Install SSL certificates B Compile optional modules into the binary — --with- modules are OFF by default; --without- removes defaults C Link against system OpenSSL only D Set the SSL default protocols

configure's flags curate the module set: --with-* opts into what the default build omits (--with-http_ssl_module, --with-stream, --with-http_v3_module), --without-* trims what it includes. nginx -V later proves what was compiled.

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Question 2 of 5

A dynamic module differs from a static one how?

Loaded at config load — still not at runtime.

Answer options A It hot-attaches to the running process at runtime — no config change, no reload B It builds as an .so file loaded at startup with load_module — the core binary stays stock, modules attach per build C It runs in a separate process D It is interpreted rather than compiled

load_module pulls a compiled .so into the process at config load — the ABI must match the exact NGINX version. The win: one stock binary plus a module directory, instead of a bespoke fork per feature.

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Question 3 of 5

njs scripting inside NGINX is designed for what scope?

It is a scalpel, not an app server.

Answer options A Writing full web applications inside workers B Small, request-scoped logic in the config pipeline — header rewrites, subrequest orchestration, access decisions — in a sandboxed JavaScript subset C Replacing the event loop with Node.js semantics D Background cron jobs

njs runs an ECMAScript subset inside the NGINX pipeline for logic that outgrew map/rewrite but does not justify a backend hop. The sandbox has no disk, no arbitrary sockets, no long-lived state — per-request scripting only.

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Question 4 of 5

Why must a dynamic module be rebuilt when NGINX upgrades?

ABI stability is the missing promise.

Answer options A The .so is signed with the binary's hash — mismatched signatures refuse to load B NGINX's module ABI (internal structs and signatures) is not stable across versions, so nginx -V's configure args must match at rebuild time C Modules embed the config format version D Only signatures of TLS keys change

NGINX deliberately does not freeze internal structure layout between releases — modules compiled against 1.25 will not load into 1.27. Rebuild with the same configure line (nginx -V prints it) as part of every upgrade.

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Question 5 of 5

Adding Brotli to a distro NGINX typically follows which path?

Same dynamic-module story as the last questions.

Answer options A Enable it in nginx.conf — it is built in B Install or build ngx_brotli as a dynamic module, load_module modules/ngx_http_brotli_filter_module.so;, then brotli on + brotli_types C Put a CDN in front and turn Brotli on there only D Recompile the kernel

Brotli arrives as a dynamic module pair (filter + static): load both .so files at startup, then configure brotli/brotli_types/brotli_static exactly like their gzip counterparts. CDNs are the zero-effort alternative — at the cost of control.

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Test your knowledge: Extending Nginx