$location

Description

The $location variable in the NGINX CoolKit Module provides the name of the matched location block for the incoming request. It is evaluated during the handling of an HTTP request whenever NGINX processes location directives in its configuration. As the request traverses through the configuration, NGINX checks each location block to find the most specific match for the requested URI. Once a match is found, the name of the corresponding location block is stored in this variable. Typical values for the $location variable can be exact paths, such as '/auth', or more complex patterns defined by regular expressions. This functionality is beneficial for logging, conditional processing, and customizing responses based on the matched location. The $location variable is particularly useful in configurations where URL rewrites, or access controls, are dictated by the matched location. Being a non-cacheable variable, $location reflects real-time changes in the request-processing context. This ensures that it is dynamically updated as the NGINX processes requests against the defined location contexts, making it essential for scenarios where behavior must vary depending on the matched URI.

Config Example

http {
    server {
        location = /auth {
            internal;
        }
        location / {
            add_header X-Matched-Location $location;
            proxy_pass http://backend;
        }
    }
}