Uninstall Nginx Completely on Debian/Ubuntu-Based Linux
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This guide will cover how to completely uninstall the Nginx web server (including its dependencies, modules, configuration files and logs) on Debian/Ubuntu-based Linux distros (e.g. Linux Mint, Pop!_OS, Elementary OS). It's useful when you're trying to reinstall a clean Nginx server.
/usr/sbin/nginx) running in the backgroundStop Service
In case the Nginx server is still running, let's stop the Nginx service (nginx.service) first:
$ sudo systemctl stop nginx
Uninstallation
In this step, we'll uninstall Nginx and its related packages from our system.
Main Packages
Purge the main Nginx packages:
$ sudo apt purge nginx*
Dependencies
Remove the unused dependencies with autoremove:
$ sudo apt autoremove
Clean Up
Although Nginx is now uninstalled, there are still some files generated by Nginx left to clean.
Configuration Files (Optional)
Remove the configuration files in /etc/nginx:
$ sudo rm -rf /etc/nginx
Logs (Optional)
Remove the logs in /var/log/nginx
$ sudo rm -rf /var/log/nginx