nginx: duplicate location Nginx / Apache Origin: Edge & web server OSI layer 7 · Application Last updated 5 Nov 2026

Nginx: nginx: [emerg] duplicate location "/" in /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/default:52

Two location blocks with the same match exist in one server block (often from two included files).

Exact message you may see nginx: [emerg] duplicate location "/" in /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/default[emerg] duplicate locationduplicate location "/" in[emerg] duplicate "default_server" for "0.0.0.0:80"[emerg] a duplicate default server for 0.0.0.0:80
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Seen on: Nginx Linux

Meaning

Each exact location may appear once per server. The default site and your own file both define location /, or an included snippet repeats one. Remove/merge duplicates, or disable the default site (rm /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/default).

Common causes

  • Same location defined twice
  • Default site and custom site both enabled for the same server_name
  • Included snippets duplicate locations
  • Copy-paste of config
  • Regex location repeated

⚡ Quick fix

  1. Remove or merge the duplicate location
  2. Disable unneeded default site
  3. Use nginx -T | grep -n "location /" to find duplicates

Detailed fix by platform

Linux

  1. sudo nginx -T 2>/dev/null | grep -n 'location /'

How to diagnose

  1. Location — Which pattern?
  2. Files — Which include?
  3. Default — Enabled?

🔧 Still not fixed?

Many errors look alike. If the steps above didn’t solve it, one of these is probably what you’re facing:

Where this error sits

Origin: Edge & web server. Errors that are often confused with or caused by this one (click to open):

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