Bug :: NGINX Compat. :: `$_GET['q']`

[jaswrks]

Overview

Referencing: http://wiki.nginx.org/Pitfalls#Front_Controller_Pattern_based_packages

try_files $uri $uri/ /index.php?q=$uri&$args;

This is a popular configuration for Nginx servers.

The $_GET['q'] variable being passed to WordPress & ZenCache though; it can prevent an entire site from being cached. This is because ZenCache, by default, will not cache URLs that contain a query string. With this Nginx config, all requests include the ?q= variable.

Steps to Reproduce

• Fire up Nginx

• Use a configuration like this.

  try_files $uri $uri/ /index.php?q=$uri&$args;
  

• Enable pretty permalinks in WordPress.

• Visit any page on the site.

Expected Behavior

That fancy permalinks would be cached.

Observed Behavior

<!-- ZenCache is NOT caching this page, because `$_GET` contains query string data. The current configuration says NOT to cache GET requests with a query string. -->

Possible Solution

ZenCache already has a check for special query vars. We could add q to the list of special query vars whenever we can detect that a site is running Nginx. That way the $_GET['q'] and $_SERVER['QUERY_STRING'] environment vars will not prevent caching.

[jaswrks]

Short-Term Fix

Change:

try_files $uri $uri/ /index.php?q=$uri&$args;

To:

try_files $uri $uri/ /index.php?$args;

[jaswrks]

I should note that the ?q=$uri is not there for WordPress. WordPress doesn't need this. It's there (i.e., suggested by Nginx) for cross-compatibility with Drupal and Joomla also. I'm not sure which of those relies on this, but WordPress itself does not. Thus, the short-term fix I posted could also be a long-term fix if you're only running WordPress.

[raamdev]

Closed by wpsharks/comet-cache-pro#137.

[raamdev]

Next Pro Release Changelog:

• Bug Fix: Fixed an issue related to a popular NGINX server configuration (try_files $uri $uri/ /index.php?q=$uri&$args;) that was preventing the entire site from being cached. ZenCache disables caching by default for all requests that include a query string (see Dashboard → ZenCache → Plugin Options → GET Requests) and this particular NGINX configuration passes all requests to WordPress with a ?q= query variable, which was resulting in ZenCache disabling caching on all pages. This release implements better detection for NGINX and works around this scenario. Props @jaswsinc. See Issue #561.

[raamdev]

ZenCache Pro v151002 has been released and includes changes from this GitHub Issue.

See the ZenCache Pro v151002 release announcement for further details.

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This issue will now be locked to further updates. If you have something to add related to this GitHub Issue, please open a new GitHub Issue and reference this one (#561).