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freenginx
What it is
freenginx is software for serving web traffic and proxying HTTP, mail, TCP, and UDP connections. The project describes its purpose as preserving free and open development of nginx. Its HTTP server handles static files and reverse proxying, with caching, load balancing, and fault tolerance. It supports SSL/TLS SNI, HTTP/2, and HTTP/3, plus access controls based on client IP, HTTP Basic authentication, or a subrequest result. Connections to FastCGI, uwsgi, SCGI, and memcached servers can be cached and accelerated. Mail proxying covers IMAP, POP3, and SMTP authentication, as well as SSL and STARTTLS/STLS. TCP and UDP proxying includes load balancing and fault tolerance; TCP also supports SSL and TLS SNI. freenginx uses a master process and several worker processes running under an unprivileged user. Configuration can be reloaded and the executable upgraded without interrupting service. The software is self-hosted, uses file-based configuration, and has TLS termination, response caching, WebSocket support, and rate limiting. It is free, with source code and documentation under a 2-clause BSD-like license.
For and against
For
- Free plan; source and documentation use a 2-clause BSD-like license.
- HTTP support includes HTTP/2, HTTP/3, and caching.
- Proxies mail, TCP, and UDP traffic.
- Configuration and executable updates can preserve active service.
Against
- Self-hosted deployment requires managing the software.
- Mailing-list support requires subscribing before posting.
The verdict
freenginx combines web serving with mail and general TCP/UDP proxy capabilities. Its self-hosted model and mailing-list support are important considerations for teams choosing and maintaining it.
Who it suits
freenginx suits people managing self-hosted web or proxy services who need HTTP, mail, or TCP/UDP proxying. It may also fit teams that want caching, access controls, or configuration and executable updates without interrupting service.
Plans and prices
freenginx
Sources and documentation distributed under a 2-clause BSD-like license
Read 4 Oct 2026 · freenginx.org
On the record
- Access control
- HTTP access control can be based on client IP address, password using HTTP Basic authentication, or the result of a subrequest.freenginx.org · read 4 Oct 2026
- Architecture
- It uses one master process and several worker processes, which run under an unprivileged user.freenginx.org · read 3 Oct 2026
- Backend integrations
- It supports cached and accelerated connections to FastCGI, uwsgi, SCGI, and memcached servers.freenginx.org · read 3 Oct 2026
- Current release
- The news page lists freenginx 1.31.4 as the mainline release announced on 2026-09-01.freenginx.org · read 3 Oct 2026
- Development
- The project uses Mercurial to store source code and directs proposed changes to the nginx development mailing list.freenginx.org · read 4 Oct 2026
- Downloads
- The download page lists mainline version 1.31.4 and stable version 1.30.1, with Windows builds and PGP links.freenginx.org · read 4 Oct 2026
- HTTP features
- It supports static files, cached reverse proxying, load balancing, and FastCGI, uwsgi, SCGI, and memcached servers.freenginx.org · read 4 Oct 2026
- License
- The source code and documentation are distributed under a 2-clause BSD-like license.freenginx.org · read 4 Oct 2026
- Mail proxy
- Its mail proxy supports IMAP, POP3, and SMTP authentication, plus SSL, STARTTLS, and STLS.freenginx.org · read 4 Oct 2026
- Operations
- It supports reconfiguration and executable upgrades without interrupting client servicing.freenginx.org · read 3 Oct 2026
- Performance
- The site says 10,000 inactive HTTP keep-alive connections use about 2.5M of memory and data copy operations are kept to a minimum.freenginx.org · read 4 Oct 2026
- Process model
- The architecture uses one master and several worker processes, with workers running under an unprivileged user.freenginx.org · read 4 Oct 2026
- Protocols
- The HTTP server supports SSL/TLS SNI, HTTP/2, and HTTP/3.freenginx.org · read 3 Oct 2026
- Purpose
- freenginx is an effort to preserve free and open development of nginx, an HTTP and reverse proxy server, mail proxy server, and generic TCP/UDP proxy server.freenginx.org · read 4 Oct 2026
- Resource use
- The site states that 10,000 inactive HTTP keep-alive connections take about 2.5M memory.freenginx.org · read 3 Oct 2026
- Security reporting
- The security page directs reports to [email protected] and says patches are signed using one of its PGP public keys.freenginx.org · read 4 Oct 2026
- Support
- Support is offered through English and Russian mailing lists; posting requires subscribing the email address used to post.freenginx.org · read 4 Oct 2026
- TCP and UDP
- It provides generic TCP and UDP proxying, including TCP SSL and TLS SNI support, load balancing, and fault tolerance.freenginx.org · read 4 Oct 2026
