Route a url to a directory with nginx - nginx

Question

Let's say this is the ip of a server running nginx:
1.2.3.4
Let's also say I've purchased this url:
www.abcd.com
I've edited the DNS records for www.abcd.com like so:
(Using Godaddy as a registrar)
A (host)
Host | Points To | TTL
# | 1.2.3.4 | Live!
Entering 1.2.3.4 into my browser's url bar will take me to my server's nginx welcome page. Because I pointed my url at the same address www.abcd.com also takes me to the same page, though it resolves to 1.2.3.4.
Here is my nginx config file:
sudo nano /opt/nginx/conf/nginx.conf #=>
http {
include /usr/local/nginx/conf/mime.types;
default_type application/octet-stream;
access_log /var/log/nginx/access.log;
sendfile on;
#tcp_nopush on;
#keepalive_timeout 0;
keepalive_timeout 65;
tcp_nodelay on;
gzip on;
server_names_hash_bucket_size 128;
client_max_body_size 4M;
client_body_buffer_size 128k;
include /usr/local/nginx/conf/conf.d/*.conf;
include /usr/local/nginx/conf/sites-enabled/*;
upstream appname {
server unix:///data/apps/appname/shared/tmp/puma/appname-puma.sock;
}
server {
listen 80;
server_name www.abcd.com;
root /public/rails/test;
# keepalive_timeout 5;
}
}
On my server, I have the following structure:
~/public/rails/test/index.html
Here's what index.html contains:
sudo nano /opt/nginx/conf/nginx.conf #=>
<h1> It works! Routing from <i>www.abcd.com</i> has been successful! </h1>
What I expect to happen:
Visiting www.abcd.com would be forwarded to 1.2.3.4 by the nameserver. When the request arrives at 1.2.3.4, nginx would see that it's come from www.abcd and serve this file to the user:
~/public/rails/test/index.html
In short:
www.abcd.com => It works! Routing from www.abcd.com has been successful!
What actually happens:
Visiting www.abcd.com is forwarded to 1.2.3.4 by the nameserver. However, it's although my config file isn't working. It just displays nginx' "welcome" message to the user, as if I haven't touched my config file.
I've tried
sudo service nginx stop
sudo service nginx start
and
sudo service nginx restart
and after editing the config, but different nothing happens.
What am I doing wrong? Where can I find logs to see exactly what's happening? What does nginx' welcome screen signify? That my paths are wrong? What? Flying blind here.

Answer 1

Your server blocks root directive is set to /public/rails/test (absolute path), while you say you expect it to serve ~/public/rails/test/index.html to the user. The character ~ indicates the current users home directory, and is a relative path.
Therefore: Try setting the absolute path (for example /home/myuser/public/rails/test) in the server block.

Answer 2

Add server_name with and without www
Add this line index index.html;
add ~ sign before /public/rails/test. Like: root ~/public/rails/test;
Try with this:
server {
listen 80;
server_name abcd.com www.abcd.com;
index index.html; # add this line
root ~/public/rails/test; # add "~" sign '/public/rails/test'
server_name www.abcd.com;
}