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Documentation

WasmX/ngx_wasm_module documentation.

Table of Contents

Installation

Consult INSTALL.md for instructions on how to install this module or use one of the binary releases.

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Directives

Consult DIRECTIVES.md for a list of Nginx configuration directives and their effects.

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Development

Consult DEVELOPER.md for developer resources on building this module from source and other general development processes.

See a term you are unfamiliar with? Consult the code lexicon.

For a primer on the code's layout and architecture, see the code layout section.

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Essential Concepts

Proxy-Wasm

As the de-facto SDK for proxies in the WebAssembly world, the prominent way of extending Nginx with ngx_wasm_module is to write a Proxy-Wasm filter.

The Proxy-Wasm SDK is the initial focus of WasmX/ngx_wasm_module development and is still a work in progress. You can browse PROXY_WASM.md for a guide on Proxy-Wasm support in ngx_wasm_module.

For a reliable resource in an evolving ABI specification, you may also wish to consult the SDK source of the language of your choice in the Proxy-Wasm SDKs list.

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Contexts

ngx_wasm_module supports extending Nginx with WebAssembly in various nginx.conf contexts. Some of these contexts are referred to as "subsystems" and provide additional sub-contexts:

  • wasm{}: All directives specified within this block globally affect all WebAssembly execution throughout all other contexts.
    • wasmtime{}: all directives specified within this block will only take effect when ngx_wasm_module is compiled with Wasmtime.
    • wasmer{}: all directives specified within this block will only take effect when ngx_wasm_module is compiled with Wasmer.
    • v8{}: all directives specified within this block will only take effect when ngx_wasm_module is compiled with V8.
  • http{}: this context is the "HTTP subsystem". All directives specified within this block apply to all enclosed server{} blocks. See http.
    • server{}: all directives specified within this Nginx HTTP server block apply to all enclosed location{} blocks. See server.
      • location{}: all directives specified within this block are scoped to this specific location. See location.
  • stream{}: this context is the "Stream subsystem". No directives are implemented for this subsystem in ngx_wasm_module yet.

All directives specified in a given context will be inherited by its nested sub-contexts, unless explicitly overridden.

For example:

# nginx.conf
wasm {
    # this module is visible in all other contexts
    module my_module /path/to/module.wasm;

    # this setting applies to wasm execution in all other contexts
    socket_connect_timeout 60s;

    wasmtime {
        # this flag only takes effect if wasmtime is in use
        flag static_memory_maximum_size 1m;
    }

    wasmer {
        # this flag only takes effect if wasmer is in use
        flag wasm_reference_types on;
    }

    v8 {
        # this flag only takes effect if v8 is in use
        flag trace_wasm on;
    }
}

http {
    # this setting applies to wasm execution within the http{} block
    wasm_socket_buffer_reuse off;

    server {
        # this setting overrides the above, but only in this server{} block
        wasm_socket_buffer_reuse on;

        location / {
            # this setting overrides the wasm{} block setting, but only in this
            # location{} block
            wasm_socket_connect_timeout 5s;
            # this setting references a module specified in the wasm{} block
            proxy_wasm my_module;
            # in this context:
            # - buffer_reuse: on
            # - connect_timeout: 5s
        }
    }

    server {
        # this setting overrides the wasm{} block setting, but only in this
        # server{} block
        wasm_socket_connect_timeout 10s;

        location / {
            # this setting references a module specified in the wasm{} block
            proxy_wasm my_module;
            # in this context:
            # - buffer_reuse: off
            # - connect_timeout: 10s
        }
    }
}

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Execution Chain

ngx_wasm_module implements a static "execution chain" model. This chain is a static list (i.e. determined at configuration time) of "WebAssembly operations" to be executed sequentially within a context (See Contexts).

In the http{} subsystem, each location{} block represents an entry-point within an HTTP server/context. All location{} blocks have an empty execution chain by default. To add WebAssembly operations to an entry-point, one must populate the execution chain by specifying directives within the desired contexts.

For example:

# nginx.conf
http {
    server {
        listen 9000;

        location / {
            # run a proxy-wasm filter
            proxy_wasm  my_filter;
            # run a proxy-wasm filter
            proxy_wasm  another_filter;
            # call a WebAssembly function during the access phase
            wasm_call   access my_module check_something;
            # call a WebAssembly function during the header_filter phase
            wasm_call   header_filter my_module check_something_else;
            proxy_pass  ...;
        }
    }
}

The execution chain runs WebAssembly code following the ordering of proxy_wasm and wasm_call directives, as well as the order of Nginx phases.

Let's assume that the above two Proxy-Wasm filters have the following callbacks implemented:

  • my_filter implements 3 Proxy-Wasm callbacks to be executed at different Nginx phases: on_request_headers, on_response_headers, on_log.
  • another_filter implements 2 callbacks: on_response_headers, on_log.

Given these filters and the above configuration, all requests matching / will process WebAssembly code in the following order:

  1. On the Nginx rewrite phase, it will: a. Call the on_request_headers callback for my_filter.
  2. On the Nginx access phase, it will: a. Call the check_something function from my_module.
  3. On the Nginx header_filter phase, it will: a. Call the on_response_headers callback for my_filter. b. Call the on_response_headers callback for another_filter. c. Call the check_something_else function from my_module.
  4. Finally, on the Nginx log phase, it will: a. Call the on_log callback for my_filter. b. Call the on_log callback for another_filter.

Additionally, the execution chain of any context (http{}, server{}, or location{}) will be inherited by its sub-contexts, unless explicitly overridden.

For example:

# nginx.conf
http {
    # execute a proxy-wasm filter in all servers by default
    proxy_wasm  my_global_filter;

    server {
        listen 9000;

        # override the execution chain in this server
        # execute a proxy-wasm filter on all locations by default
        proxy_wasm  my_server_filter;

        location /with-filter {
            # inherits the "my_server_filter" execution
            return 200;
        }

        location /no-filter {
            # override the execution chain
            # execute some WebAssembly during the access phase
            wasm_call   access my_module check_something;
            # execute some WebAssembly during the header_filter phase
            wasm_call   header_filter my_module check_something_else;
            proxy_pass  ...;
        }
    }

    server {
        listen 9001;

        location /with-filter {
            # inherits the "my_global_filter" execution
            return 200;
        }
    }
}

In the above example:

  • :9000/with-filter: Inherits its execution chain from its parent block: server{}. Runs my_server_filter.
  • :9000/no-filter: Overrides its execution chain. Runs check_something and check_something_else in their respective phases.
  • :9001/with-filter: Inherits its execution chain from its grandparent block: http{}. Runs my_global_filter.

You may also consult another description of the execution chain through the Filter Chains section, which focuses on the execution chain only through the lens of Proxy-Wasm filters.

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