How to Host a GitHub Website on AWS EC2 with Nginx

By Ravindra Bagale, trainer · LinkedIn · Last updated: 18 October 2026

1. Why: real projects live on GitHub

Why. In the last chapters we wrote pages by hand or let an agent write them. In real companies, code lives in one place where the whole team works on it, and very often that place is GitHub. Developers write the code; we host it.

2. What: GitHub and repositories

Why. Before you host a company's code you must know where it lives and whether you are allowed to download it. Public and private repositories answer that question.

GitHub (github.com, owned by Microsoft) is a website where companies and developers store source code. One project's code store is a repository, or repo.

1. A public repository can be seen and downloaded by anyone on the internet. You don't need to sign in to search or download public repos.
2. A private repository is visible only to the people you allow. They sign in, or use a token.
3. Free accounts can have unlimited public and private repositories.
4. Companies keep their repositories in organisation accounts that the whole team shares.

Static or backend? Read the language bar. Every repository page shows a coloured bar with the languages it uses.

1. Only HTML, CSS and JavaScript: a static site. Nginx serves the files as they are. That's what we host in this chapter.
2. Java, Python, PHP or other languages: the project needs a backend that runs code. Copying the files isn't enough; we host those later in the course.

Example 1: searching. On github.com, search for html websites. You'll find repositories that hold one site, and some that hold dozens of small beginner projects. If you click through search pages very fast while signed out, GitHub shows a Too many requests page. Wait a minute, or sign in.

3. How: connect to the server

Why. Nothing in this chapter works until you are on the server. The key permission fix here is the one Mac, Linux and newer Windows users hit first.

Step 1. Launch an Amazon Linux server (or reuse one) with SSH and HTTP allowed. Use free-tier eligible instance types, and check AWS's current free-tier terms.

Step 2. Check the AMI to pick the username: ec2-user for Amazon Linux, ubuntu for Ubuntu.

Step 3. Connect:

ssh -i mykey.pem ec2-user@PUBLIC_IP

If ssh refuses the key. You may see:

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
@         WARNING: UNPROTECTED PRIVATE KEY FILE!          @
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
Permissions for 'mykey.pem' are too open.
...
ec2-user@PUBLIC_IP: Permission denied (publickey).

Why. A private key is like a house key. If other users on your computer can read the file, ssh refuses to use it. The file must be readable only by you.

Fix on Linux and Mac.

Step 1. Run:

chmod 400 mykey.pem

400 means: 4 = read for you (the owner), 0 = nothing for the group, 0 = nothing for everyone else.

Fix on Windows. In PowerShell, cd and ls work because PowerShell has its own commands with those names, and ssh and scp work because Windows includes the OpenSSH client. chmod isn't there, so use the file's Properties. Earlier Windows versions let the key through; newer updates are strict too.

Step 1. Right-click mykey.pem and choose Properties, then the Security tab, then Advanced.

Step 2. Click Disable inheritance and choose Remove all inherited permissions. Inheritance means the file got its permissions from its parent folder.

Step 3. Click Add, then Select a principal, type your Windows user name, click Check Names and OK.

Step 4. Tick only Read, then OK and Apply. Now only you can read the key, and ssh accepts it.

4. How: two ways to get the code onto the server

Why. There is more than one road from GitHub to your server. Knowing both lets you pick the faster one, and fall back to the other when a link doesn't work.

Way A: Download ZIP, then scp. Click Code > Download ZIP on your computer, then copy it up:

scp -i mykey.pem main.zip ec2-user@PUBLIC_IP:/home/ec2-user/

The file travels twice: GitHub to your computer, your computer to the server.

Way B: copy the link, wget on the server. Right-click Download ZIP, choose Copy link, and paste it after wget in the server terminal. The server downloads straight from GitHub: faster, and one step less.

5. Example 1: one repository with ten sites

Why. A repository with an index.html at its top is the simplest real case: download, unzip, point Nginx at it, done.

What we'll build. A repository holds ten sample sites and an index.html that links to all of them. We put it in /usr/share/nginx/tensites and point Nginx at it.

Step 1. Start Nginx (install it first with sudo yum install nginx -y if needed) and see where it serves from now:

sudo service nginx start
cd /usr/share/nginx/html
ls

Step 2. Go one folder up:

cd /usr/share/nginx

Step 3. Download the ZIP. sudo is needed because this folder belongs to root:

sudo wget https://github.com/OWNER/REPO/archive/refs/heads/master.zip

Some repos use main instead of master; copy the link exactly as GitHub gives it.

Step 4. Unzip it:

sudo unzip master.zip

This creates a folder named REPO-master.

Step 5. Give it a short name:

sudo mv REPO-master tensites

Step 6. Check that index.html is right inside:

[ec2-user@ip-172-31-xx-xx nginx]$ cd tensites
[ec2-user@ip-172-31-xx-xx tensites]$ ls
README.md  index.html  style.css  ...  (one folder per site)
[ec2-user@ip-172-31-xx-xx tensites]$ pwd
/usr/share/nginx/tensites

Step 7. Open the settings file:

sudo nano /etc/nginx/nginx.conf

Step 8. Change the root directive in the server block:

root         /usr/share/nginx/tensites;

Save with Ctrl+O, Enter, then Ctrl+X.

Step 9. Apply it:

[ec2-user@ip-172-31-xx-xx tensites]$ sudo service nginx reload
Redirecting to /bin/systemctl reload nginx.service

Step 10. Open http://PUBLIC_IP/. You see the repo's index page; click through to each of the ten sites.

Replacing an old site in the html folder instead. If you'd rather unzip inside /usr/share/nginx/html, you may first want to clear the old files with sudo rm -rf *. That deletes everything in the current folder, with no undo. Run pwd first and make sure it prints /usr/share/nginx/html.

6. Example 2: a repository with dozens of mini-projects

Why this is different. Some repositories hold dozens of small projects, each in its own folder. If root points at the top folder of the ZIP, there's no index.html there and the site doesn't show. You have to find the folder that holds index.html.

Step 1. Download and unzip it in the html folder:

cd /usr/share/nginx/html
sudo wget https://github.com/OWNER/REPO/archive/refs/heads/main.zip
sudo unzip main.zip
sudo mv REPO-main projects

Step 2. Walk in with cd and ls:

[ec2-user@ip-172-31-xx-xx html]$ cd projects
[ec2-user@ip-172-31-xx-xx projects]$ ls
LICENSE  README.md  projects
[ec2-user@ip-172-31-xx-xx projects]$ cd projects
[ec2-user@ip-172-31-xx-xx projects]$ ls
age-calculator  dad-jokes-generator  music-player  rock-paper-scissors-game  ...

Step 3. Go into one project and check for index.html:

[ec2-user@ip-172-31-xx-xx projects]$ cd music-player
[ec2-user@ip-172-31-xx-xx music-player]$ ls
index.html  script.js  style.css  ...

Step 4. In the folder that shows index.html, run pwd and copy the path:

[ec2-user@ip-172-31-xx-xx music-player]$ pwd
/usr/share/nginx/html/projects/projects/music-player

Step 5. Paste it as the root setting in /etc/nginx/nginx.conf. Change only this line:

root         /usr/share/nginx/html/projects/projects/music-player;

Step 6. Reload and open http://PUBLIC_IP/. The music player shows.

sudo service nginx reload

Example 3: switch to another project. Same steps, another folder:

cd ../dad-jokes-generator
pwd
sudo nano /etc/nginx/nginx.conf
sudo service nginx reload

with root /usr/share/nginx/html/projects/projects/dad-jokes-generator;. Changing root switches which one site the server shows.

7. Many projects at once: folder URLs, ports, domains

Why. When one repository holds many projects, you must decide how visitors reach each one. Folder URLs, ports and domains are the three options, each with a cost.

Root at the parent folder. Set root to /usr/share/nginx/html/projects/projects;. Now every project opens at its folder name:

1. http://PUBLIC_IP/music-player/
2. http://PUBLIC_IP/dad-jokes-generator/
3. http://PUBLIC_IP/rock-paper-scissors-game/

It works, but visitors would have to know your folder names.

The proper way. Each site gets its own domain name and its own server block. You've also seen the other option: separate ports. Domains and server blocks come in the next chapter.

8. Small things that trip people up

Why. Each of these small mistakes produces a confusing error. Knowing them ahead saves you an hour of debugging.

1. URLs with spaces or brackets. Put the whole URL in double quotes, or the shell splits it:

   sudo wget "https://example.com/files/my song (live).mp3"
   

2. main.zip.1. If main.zip already exists, wget saves the next download as main.zip.1. Delete the old file first (sudo rm main.zip), or name the download yourself:

   sudo wget -O site2.zip https://github.com/OWNER/REPO/archive/refs/heads/main.zip
   

3. sudo for unzip. /usr/share/nginx and its html folder belong to root, so unzip and mv there need sudo.

4. Quality varies. Anyone can publish a repo. Some look polished, some look rough. Preview before you promise anything.
5. Check the LICENSE. Before you reuse a template, or sell a site built from one, open the repo's LICENSE file and follow it; give credit where it asks.

A real skill. Suppose a local bakery or tuition class wants a simple website. You can pick a template whose licence allows it, change the text and images, and host it on EC2.

9. Warning: phishing login pages

10. Clean up and what's next

Why. A practice server you forget keeps costing money. Terminating it when you are done is part of the job.

Step 1. When practice is over, terminate the instance in the EC2 console so it stops costing money.

Next. Hosting several websites on one server with domain names and server blocks.

11. The whole flow on one page

1. Find a public repo whose language bar shows only HTML, CSS and JavaScript.
2. ssh -i mykey.pem ec2-user@PUBLIC_IP (key readable only by you: chmod 400, or Windows Properties).
3. Right-click Download ZIP, copy the link.
4. cd /usr/share/nginx, sudo wget <link>, sudo unzip master.zip, sudo mv REPO-master tensites.
5. cd and ls until you see index.html; pwd.
6. sudo nano /etc/nginx/nginx.conf: root <that path>;.
7. sudo service nginx reload, open http://PUBLIC_IP/.
8. Check the LICENSE; terminate the instance when done.

12. Hands-on lab: from a GitHub repository to a live site

Why this lab. In real work the code comes from GitHub, not from your keyboard. This lab takes a public HTML/CSS/JavaScript repository and puts it live with Nginx, with a check at every step.

1. Pick a static repository
   • Do: On GitHub, open a public repository whose language bar shows only HTML, CSS and JavaScript, with index.html at the top level.
   • Check: You can see index.html in the file list.
   • Why: Nginx alone can only serve plain files. A repo with Java, Python or PHP needs a backend, which comes later in the course.
2. Fix the key and log in
   • Command: chmod 400 mykey.pem && ssh -i mykey.pem ec2-user@PUBLIC_IP
   • You should see: The ec2-user prompt.
   • Check: No UNPROTECTED PRIVATE KEY FILE warning.
   • Why: ssh refuses a key others can read. On Windows, use the file's Properties → Security instead of chmod.
3. Start Nginx
   • Command: sudo yum install nginx -y && sudo service nginx start
   • You should see: Complete! (or Nothing to do.), then the systemctl redirect line.
   • Check: http://PUBLIC_IP/ shows the Nginx welcome page.
   • Why: Seeing the welcome page first proves Nginx and port 80 work, so any later problem is in your files or settings.
4. Download the ZIP on the server
   • Command: cd /usr/share/nginx && sudo wget https://github.com/OWNER/REPO/archive/refs/heads/master.zip
   • You should see: master.zip ... saved.
   • Check: ls shows master.zip.
   • Why: Copy the link from Code → Download ZIP exactly; some repos use main. wget on the server is faster than downloading to your laptop and uploading with scp.
5. Unzip and rename
   • Command: sudo unzip master.zip && sudo mv REPO-master mysite
   • You should see: One inflating: line per file.
   • Check: ls mysite shows index.html.
   • Why: A short folder name keeps the root line simple. index.html must sit directly inside, or Nginx shows 403 or 404.
6. Point Nginx at the folder
   • Command: sudo nano /etc/nginx/nginx.conf
   • You should see: In the server block set root /usr/share/nginx/mysite;. Save and exit.
   • Check: sudo nginx -t → syntax is ok and test is successful.
   • Why: root tells Nginx which folder is the website. Test before reload so a typo never takes the site down.
7. Reload and open the site
   • Command: sudo service nginx reload
   • You should see: Redirecting to /bin/systemctl reload nginx.service
   • Check: http://PUBLIC_IP/ shows the repository's site, with its styles and images.
   • Why: If the page shows but without styles, a CSS path is wrong or a file name differs in case; open DevTools → Network and look for 404s.
8. Terminate when practice is over
   • Do: EC2 console → select the instance → Instance state → Terminate instance.
   • Check: State Terminated; it disappears from the list after a while.
   • Why: The code still lives on GitHub, so nothing is lost. A forgotten server keeps costing money.

13. Try at home

Recap

Ravindra Bagale, trainer: linkedin.com/in/ravindra-bagale. OWNER/REPO stand for any public repository; tensites, projects, the project folder names and mykey.pem are examples for learning; PUBLIC_IP stands for your instance's public IPv4 address. Outputs are shortened with "..."; the hostname in the prompt is illustrative.

Revision, comparison and interview cards

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