Fixing Nginx 404 for Movies Path | Generated by AI

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Question: I’m getting a 404 Not Found error from nginx/1.28.2 when accessing the /movies/ location.

Answer:

A 404 error means nginx is running and responding, but it cannot find the requested resource. Since you’re using alias /home/lzw/qDownloads/; with autoindex on;, here are the most common causes and how to fix them step by step:

1. Wrong URL (most frequent reason)

Make sure you’re accessing the exact path:

If you type http://localhost/movies (no trailing slash), nginx may return 404 depending on your config.

2. Directory permissions – nginx cannot read /home/lzw/qDownloads

This is the second most common cause.

Nginx usually runs as user www-data (Ubuntu/Debian) or nginx (official package). That user must be able to:

Quick fix – give read & execute permissions to others (safest for private home directory setup):

sudo chmod -R o+rx /home/lzw/qDownloads
# or more minimal:
sudo chmod o+x /home/lzw
sudo chmod o+x /home/lzw/qDownloads
sudo chmod -R o+r /home/lzw/qDownloads

Better long-term solution (recommended):

# Create group www-data access
sudo chgrp -R www-data /home/lzw/qDownloads
sudo chmod -R g+rx /home/lzw/qDownloads

# Allow traversing home (only execute bit needed)
sudo chmod g+x /home/lzw

3. SELinux or AppArmor blocking access (if enabled)

On Ubuntu, AppArmor is often active.

Check if AppArmor is denying access:

sudo aa-status
# If you see nginx in complain or enforce mode

Quick temporary test – put AppArmor in complain mode for nginx:

sudo aa-complain /usr/sbin/nginx
sudo systemctl restart nginx

If it starts working → AppArmor is the problem. You should create or adjust a profile instead of disabling it permanently.

4. Configuration not actually loaded

Make sure your config is active:

5. Directory is empty or doesn’t exist

Double-check:

ls -la /home/lzw/qDownloads/

If the folder is empty, nginx with autoindex on will still show an index page (just says no files).

Diagnostic commands to run right now

Run these and share the output if it still doesn’t work:

# 1. Current nginx config files that are enabled
ls -l /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/

# 2. Full server block nginx is using
sudo nginx -T | grep -A 15 "server_name localhost"

# 3. Check nginx error log for clues
sudo tail -n 30 /var/log/nginx/error.log

# 4. Test access as the nginx user
sudo -u www-data ls -la /home/lzw/qDownloads/
# If this says "Permission denied" → permissions problem

Fix the most likely issue (permissions or trailing slash) first — in 80–90% of home-directory alias cases it’s one of those two.

References:

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