Disable logging for specific useragent in nginx conf - nginx

Question

I want to disable logging for a specific useragent. This is a part of my current conf-file.
if ($http_user_agent ~ (bingbot|AhrefsBot|DotBot|Exabot|Baiduspider|SemrushBot) ) {
return 403;
}
I've tried adding access_log off; but get the following error:
nginx: [emerg] "access_log" directive is not allowed here
I'm assuming this is because I only have a server block. I need a location block also. I've tried the following code:
location / {
if ($http_user_agent ~ (bingbot|AhrefsBot|DotBot|Exabot|Baiduspider|SemrushBot) ) {
return 403;
}
}
But I get the following error:
duplicate location "/"
In my conf-file I already have this code:
location / {
try_files $uri $uri/ =404;
}
Can I combine the two location snippets into one? Or how do I proceed?

Answer 1

As your question indicates, the access_log directive cannot be used within an if block unless enclosed within a location. However, the access_log directive does include an if=condition which can be controlled by a map. There is an example at the end of this section of the manual.
For example:
map $http_user_agent $goodagent {
default 1;
~(bingbot|AhrefsBot|DotBot|Exabot|Baiduspider|SemrushBot) 0;
}
server {
access_log ... if=$goodagent;
if ($goodagent = 0) { return 403; }
...
}
The map directive must be placed outside of the server block. The access_log statement can be placed inside or outside the server block depending on whether it applies to all server blocks or just one.

Answer 2

At the http level declare a map like so.
map $http_user_agent $ignore_status_checks {
default 0;
"~Pingdom.*" 1;
"~*\(StatusCake\)" 1;
"~*mod_pagespeed*" 1;
"~*NodePing*" 1;
}
Then in your server's location block add:
if ($ignore_status_checks) {
access_log off;
}
This will turn off the access_log for anything returns a 1 in the map. Of course, you can do want ever you want in the if.