Install NGINX Brotli Module on Rocky Linux, AlmaLinux, CentOS & RHEL

Danila Vershinin

7 years ago

📅 Updated: February 18, 2026 (Originally published: January 10, 2019)

Brotli is a modern compression algorithm that delivers 15-25% better compression ratios than gzip. With widespread browser support, enabling Brotli compression on your NGINX server is one of the easiest performance wins you can achieve.

This guide shows you how to install the NGINX Brotli module on RHEL-based systems including Rocky Linux, AlmaLinux, CentOS, and Amazon Linux using pre-built RPM packages from the GetPageSpeed repository. For Debian and Ubuntu users, check out our NGINX APT repository which provides the same modules.

Why Use Brotli Compression?

Brotli offers several advantages over traditional gzip compression:

Better compression ratios: 15-25% smaller files at similar CPU cost
Faster decompression: Browsers decompress Brotli faster than gzip
Universal browser support: All modern browsers support Brotli (Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge)

Install NGINX Brotli Module

Step 1. Add GetPageSpeed Repository

For Rocky Linux, AlmaLinux, CentOS 8/9, or Fedora:

sudo dnf install -y https://extras.getpagespeed.com/release-latest.rpm

For CentOS/RHEL 7 or Amazon Linux 2:

sudo yum -y install https://extras.getpagespeed.com/release-latest.rpm

Note: An active NGINX Extras subscription is required for RHEL-based systems. Fedora users have free access.

Step 2. Install NGINX and Brotli Module

For Rocky Linux, AlmaLinux, CentOS 8/9, or Fedora:

sudo dnf install -y nginx nginx-module-brotli

For CentOS/RHEL 7 or Amazon Linux 2:

sudo yum -y install nginx nginx-module-brotli

Follow the installation prompt to import the GPG public key used for verifying packages.

Step 3. Enable Brotli Module in NGINX

The Brotli package includes two modules:

ngx_http_brotli_filter_module.so – Compresses responses on-the-fly
ngx_http_brotli_static_module.so – Serves pre-compressed .br files

Add these lines at the top of /etc/nginx/nginx.conf:

load_module modules/ngx_http_brotli_filter_module.so;
load_module modules/ngx_http_brotli_static_module.so;

For most use cases, you only need the filter module. The static module is useful if you pre-compress assets at build time for maximum compression.

Configure Brotli Compression

Create /etc/nginx/conf.d/brotli.conf with your compression settings:

brotli on;
brotli_comp_level 4;
brotli_types
    application/atom+xml
    application/javascript
    application/json
    application/ld+json
    application/manifest+json
    application/rss+xml
    application/vnd.ms-fontobject
    application/wasm
    application/x-font-opentype
    application/x-font-truetype
    application/x-font-ttf
    application/x-javascript
    application/xhtml+xml
    application/xml
    application/xml+rss
    font/eot
    font/opentype
    font/otf
    image/bmp
    image/svg+xml
    image/vnd.microsoft.icon
    image/x-icon
    text/cache-manifest
    text/calendar
    text/css
    text/javascript
    text/markdown
    text/plain
    text/vcard
    text/vtt
    text/x-component
    text/xml;

Why compression level 4? Brotli’s sweet spot is level 4, where compression matches or exceeds gzip’s default level 6 while using less CPU time.

Reload NGINX to apply changes:

sudo systemctl reload nginx

Verify Brotli Compression Works

Using curl

Test from the command line:

curl -IL https://example.com -H "Accept-Encoding: br"

Look for Content-Encoding: br in the response headers.

Using Browser DevTools

Open your site in Chrome or Firefox
Open Developer Tools (F12)
Go to the Network tab
Reload the page
Click any request and check Response Headers
Look for Content-Encoding: br

Pre-Compressed Brotli Files (Optional)

For maximum compression, pre-compress static assets at build time using Brotli’s highest compression level (11). The static module serves these .br files automatically.

Learn more in our guide on serving pre-compressed Brotli files with brotli_static.

PageSpeed Module Compatibility

If you use the PageSpeed NGINX module alongside Brotli, disable PageSpeed’s internal compression:

pagespeed HttpCacheCompressionLevel 0;

This allows the Brotli module to handle compression while PageSpeed handles optimization.

Going Further

For even better compression on modern systems, consider Zstd compression which offers faster compression speeds at similar ratios.

Also check out how to install PageSpeed module for additional performance optimizations.