How to Configure NGINX, and Host Your Local Website on Ubuntu Installed on VMware

Avatar photoByAdil

Introduction

This guide walks through my full journey of:

  • Enabling copy-paste and VMware Tools
  • Installing and configuring NGINX
  • Hosting a local HTML website
  • Fixing common Linux/VMware errors

Every problem I faced is documented, including why it happened and how to fix it.

You can follow this tutorial even as a complete beginner.

1. Installing Ubuntu on VMware

After downloading the Ubuntu ISO and creating a new VMware virtual machine, the installation completed successfully.

However, I immediately noticed something was wrong:

  • Copy/paste did not work from Windows → Ubuntu neither from Ubuntu → Windows

This usually means VMware Tools is missing or not properly installed.

2. Installing and Verifying VMware Tools

Run 

sudo apt update
sudo apt install open-vm-tools open-vm-tools-desktop -y

To first update your VM and then install the tools.

Then I rebooted the VM with 

sudo reboot

To check if VMware Tools was installed, I ran: 

vmware-toolbox-cmd -v

Correct output (after installation)

12.5.0.51152 (build-24276846)

What happened initially

At first, copy/paste only worked in one direction. This confirmed that VMware Tools needed to be installed.

Fix

From VMware: 

VM → Install VMware Tools

Ubuntu mounted the VMware Tools installer. After installation and a reboot, two-way copy/paste worked correctly.

Why VMware Tools matters

  • Enables clipboard sharing
  • Enables drag-and-drop
  • Improves display resolution
  • Improves VM performance

3. Installing NGINX

Before installation, I updated Ubuntu: 

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

Then installed NGINX: 

sudo apt install nginx -y

Check the installed version: 

nginx -v

Start NGINX: 

sudo systemctl start nginx

Enable at boot: 

sudo systemctl enable nginx

At this point, visiting the VM IP address in a browser should show the default NGINX welcome page.

4. Hosting a Local Website with NGINX

I decided to host a simple website from this directory: 

/var/www/myresume

Creating the directory

sudo mkdir -p /var/www/myresume

Assigning permissions

sudo chown -R $USER:$USER /var/www/myresume

Creating the HTML File

nano /var/www/myresume/index.html

You would notice in the image above I imputed it all together! Linux terminal allows you run multiple commands at a time.

Inside the file “nano /var/www/myresume/index.html”: 

<h1>My Resume Website</h1>
<p>Hosted locally on Ubuntu using NGINX.</p>

You could use whatever website template you have available or prefer. This sould be imputed in the editor
Save and exit:

  • CTRL + O = save
  • ENTER = save name
  • CTRL + X = exit

Important Mistake I Made

At first, I accidentally typed: 

/var/www/myreusme

Because of this typo, NGINX could not find the correct directory and displayed: 

404 Not Found
nginx/1.24.0 (Ubuntu)

I confirmed the issue with: 

ls -l /var/www/myresume
ls -l /var/www/myreusme

The second path did not exist, confirming the error.

Fixing the directory name resolved the issue.

5. Configuring NGINX to Serve the Website

Create a server block: 

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

Add: 

server {
    listen 80;
    server_name _;

    root /var/www/myresume;
    index index.html;

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

Enable the site: 

sudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/myresume /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/

Test configuration: 

sudo nginx -t

Reload NGINX: 

sudo systemctl reload nginx

6. Testing the Website

Get the VM IP address:

ip a

Mine was: 

192.168.107.13?

Test in browser:

http://192.168.107.13?

It loaded correctly.

7. Real Errors I Encountered (And How I Fixed Them)

Error: 404 Not Found

Cause:
Incorrect directory name due to a typo (myreusme instead of myresume).

Fix:
Corrected the folder name and HTML file path.

Error: curl not found

When testing: 

curl http://192.168.107.13?

I got: 

Command 'curl' not found

Fix: 

sudo apt install curl -y

Warning: NGINX config changed on disk

Warning: The unit file or drop-ins changed on disk
Run 'systemctl daemon-reload'

Fix: 

sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl restart nginx

8. Final Verification

Browser test: success
curl test: success
Nginx reload: success
VM tools: fully working

The website was now being served perfectly from NGINX.

Conclusion

In this project, I learned:

  • How to install Ubuntu on VMware
  • How to verify and install VMware Tools
  • How to install and manage NGINX
  • How to host a website locally
  • How to debug directory issues, missing tools, and configuration errors

By documenting all the mistakes I made, I hope this guide saves others time and frustration.

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