# X-Accel-Redirect testing **URL:** \ **Category:** NGINX\ **Created:** [September 26, 2012, 12:28am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/x-accel-redirect-testing/223207 "2012-09-26T00:28:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 1\ **Showing post:** 4
**Author:** ![w00t](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/w/e19b73/32.png) [@w00t](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/w00t)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2012, 11:04am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/x-accel-redirect-testing/223207/4 "2012-09-26T11:04:12Z")
On 26 Set 2012 10h17 CEST, [removed\_email\_address@domain.invalid](mailto:removed_email_address@domain.invalid) wrote: > Thanks for the reply. I’d love to at least understand the basics, in > fact this is what I’m trying to do. It’s a bit hard when there’s no > thorough documentation and all responses found on internet are > vague. > > You are saying that it will work only when Nginx is a reverse proxy > and receives a response from another backend, like Apache. But I > want Apache as frontend and Nginx as backend. Should I focus on > Xsendfile? XSendfile in Nginx is called X-Accel-Redirect. The way X-Accel-Redirect works is that your app/backend sends a “special” header with the location of the file that is to be served by Nginx. Usually the application case is for speeding up the delivery of protected/private files. Let’s say you have a ecommerce site that sells digital downloads. Then these files will be protected and for speeding up the delivery your application sends an X-Accel-Redirect header with the location of the file. Then the file is delivered by Nginx as a regular static file. Example: I request to download: > **[404 | Oops deze pagina bestaat niet! Bekijk myshop.com | myShop.com](http://myshop.com/downloads/big_hit.flac)** > > 404 | Oops deze pagina bestaat niet! Bekijk myshop.com | myShop.com The file is stocked at /path/to/the/flac\_files/big\_hit.flac your ecommerce sends an header: X-Accel-Redirect: /path/to/the/flac\_files/big\_hit.flac when Nginx sees this he knows that now the file is to be served directly from the file system as a regular static file. Note that the real location is hidden from the client. Note that the real location must be protected from direct access by the client always, be it from your app, be it from your server, for example using the internal keyword: > **[Module ngx\_http\_core\_module](http://nginx.org/en/docs/http/ngx_http_core_module.html#internal)** > > This directive appeared in version 1.11.8. In a nutshell that’s how it works. HTH, — appa --- _[View the full topic](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/x-accel-redirect-testing/223207)._