Essential Ubuntu/Linux Commands for Static Blog Deployment

Ubuntu, Linux, and macOS provide exceptional development environments, though their desktop ecosystems differ from Windows. When working with cloud servers (like Tencent Cloud's lightweight instances), you'll primarily interact through a terminal interface. This guide covers essential commands for deploying static websites using Node.js and Nginx.

Note: All commands assume you have sudo privileges. Replace /path/to/www with your actual directory path.

Package Management Fundamentals

Ubuntu/Debian (apt)

# Update package lists
sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

# Install Node.js (using NodeSource repository for latest versions)
curl -fsSL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_18.x | sudo -E bash -
sudo apt install -y nodejs

# Install Nginx
sudo apt install nginx -y

macOS (Homebrew)

# Install Homebrew (if missing)
/bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)"

# Install Node.js
brew install node@18

# Install Nginx
brew install nginx

Verify Installations

node -v  # v18.x.x
npm -v   # 9.x.x
nginx -v # nginx/1.x.x

Nginx Configuration

Basic Operations

# Start/Stop/Restart Nginx
sudo systemctl start nginx
sudo systemctl stop nginx
sudo systemctl restart nginx

# Enable auto-start on boot
sudo systemctl enable nginx

# Check service status
sudo systemctl status nginx

Configure Virtual Host

1. Create new config file:

sudo nano /etc/nginx/sites-available/myblog

2. Add server block configuration:

server {
    listen 80;
    server_name yourdomain.com www.yourdomain.com;
    root /var/www/myblog;
    index index.html;

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

    # Enable compression
    gzip on;
    gzip_types text/plain text/css application/json application/javascript;
}

3. Enable configuration:

sudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/myblog /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/
sudo nginx -t  # Test configuration
sudo systemctl reload nginx

Permission Management

Understanding Linux Permissions

ls -l /var/www
# Output: drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 Jan 1 12:34 myblog

• First character: d = directory, - = file
• Next 9 characters: Three triplets representing owner/group/others permissions
• Permissions: r = read, w = write, x = execute

Securing Web Directories

# Set owner to www-data (Nginx user)
sudo chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/myblog

# Apply secure permissions (owner: rwx, group: rx, others: rx)
sudo chmod -R 755 /var/www/myblog

# Alternative (less secure) for write access:
sudo chmod -R 775 /var/www/myblog

Permission Troubleshooting

# Check Nginx error logs
sudo tail -f /var/log/nginx/error.log

# Common errors:
# 403 Forbidden: Incorrect permissions or missing index file
# 404 Not Found: Incorrect root directory path

Essential Linux Commands

Deployment Workflow Example

1. Transfer files to server:

# From local machine
scp -r ./build user@server_ip:/var/www/myblog

2. Set permissions:

ssh user@server_ip
sudo chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/myblog
sudo chmod -R 755 /var/www/myblog

3. Reload Nginx:

sudo systemctl reload nginx

Security Best Practices

1. Regular Updates:

   sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y
   

2. Firewall Configuration:

   sudo ufw allow 'Nginx Full'
   sudo ufw enable
   

3. SSH Hardening:
   • Disable root login
   • Use SSH keys instead of passwords
4. Automated Backups:

   # Daily backup script
   0 3 * * * tar -czf /backups/myblog-$(date +\%F).tar.gz /var/www/myblog
   

Pro Tip: Use certbot for free SSL certificates:

sudo apt install certbot python3-certbot-nginx
sudo certbot --nginx -d yourdomain.com -d www.yourdomain.com

For extended learning, explore Nginx Official Documentation and Linux File Permissions Guide.