Azure App Service
Azure App Service is a service used to create and deploy scalable, mission-critical web apps.
Azure App Service PHP 8.5 Runtime missing sites-enabled directory
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Ais4Drew
0
Reputation points
Hello!
I have recently migrated my App Service from PHP 7 to PHP 8 and am following this guide to migrate from .htaccess to Nginx config: https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/appsonazureblog/configure-nginx-for-php-8-linux-azure-app-service/3069373
Specifically I need to be able to handle 404 requests and redirect to a specific PHP file for error handling -- so the built in error page config area within App Service sadly will not work.
When I SSH into my App Service instance the Nginx folder does not have the /sites-enabled directory. I imagine this is a config/image issue and am looking for either my App Service image to be updated or an alternative way to allow for custom error pages -- specifically 404 errors.
Azure App Service
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Abhinaba Das 100 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator2026-08-03T20:17:35.2533333+00:00 Thank you for contacting us about the PHP 8.5 Runtime missing sites-enabled issue. We have begun looking into it and will share our suggestions with you as soon as possible. If you have any additional details or concerns in the meantime, please let us know. We appreciate your patience while we work on this.
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Abhinaba Das 100 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator
2026-08-03T23:30:18.4033333+00:00 Hi @Ais4Drew
Thank you for reaching out.
When upgrading from PHP 7.x to PHP 8.x on Azure App Service for Linux, the underlying web server changes from Apache to NGINX. This means existing .htaccess configurations are no longer used and need to be migrated to an NGINX configuration.
Regarding the missing
/etc/nginx/sites-enableddirectory, it is possible that the PHP 8.5 runtime image is using a different NGINX configuration layout than the one referenced in the older blog post. To better understand the environment, could you please provide the following from the SSH console?Also, could you please confirm the following details in the private chat:
The App Service Plan SKU
The exact PHP runtime version configured
Whether you're using the built-in PHP runtime image or a custom container
One additional note: App Service's built-in Custom Error Pages feature currently supports custom pages for HTTP 403, 502, and 503 responses. It does not provide application-level routing of HTTP 404 requests to a PHP handler, so a custom NGINX configuration may still be required for your scenario.
Once we have the NGINX configuration details, we can determine the supported location for custom configuration on the current PHP 8.5 runtime and suggest the appropriate approach for implementing your custom 404 handler.
References
- https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/app-service/configure-language-php?pivots=platform-linux
- https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/app-service/configure-error-pages
- https://azureossd.github.io/2021/09/02/php-8-rewrite-rule/
Kindly let us know if the above helps or if you need further assistance on this issue.
Please upvote if the information was helpful—this helps others in the community as well.
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Abhinaba Das 100 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator
2026-08-04T22:54:19.8533333+00:00 Just following up to see if your issue has been resolved or if you had a chance to review my earlier comment?
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Ais4Drew 0 Reputation points
2026-08-05T13:28:56.8266667+00:00 Hey Abhinaba!
Apologies for the delay on a response. I was out of the office yesterday. I appriciate you stepping up to help us with this! Per your instructions here's what I got:
ls -laproduced:and
nginx -tproduced:Also, I'm not seeing where I can Private chat to send you the additional details. Any chance you could point me to where that might be?
Thanks so much!
Drew
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