Linux distributions of nginx sometimes have their conf.d/ and available-sites.d/ directories in /etc/nginx/ which sometimes can confuse matters.
With software packages such as nginx (in general, not in the context of Linux distributions mentioned above), it's sometimes easier / clearer to start with a completely empty configuration file, and add just enough to make it work (TDD-style), and
/ or stop it complaining. If you can explain / defend / justify the presence of every line, you stand a much better chance of knowing how it will behave.
With software packages such as nginx (in general, not in the context of Linux distributions mentioned above), it's sometimes easier / clearer to start with a completely empty configuration file, and add just enough to make it work (TDD-style), and / or stop it complaining. If you can explain / defend / justify the presence of every line, you stand a much better chance of knowing how it will behave.