The update allows any variable to act as a traffic modifier for any location block in the configuration. This removes the previous limitation where routing was primarily based on URLs, enabling more flexible traffic management without the need for external scripts.
The new functionality integrates with the early reading of the HTTP request body and built-in JSON parsing. Using JSONPath, developers can now set variables based on specific fields within a JSON payload and use them as predicates for routing.
The release also improves the interaction with NJS. Previously, users often wrote extensive NJS code just for routing. Now, JavaScript can be used for specific small tasks, such as counting words in a request body, with the result being passed directly back to NGINX location blocks.
NGINX is also developing built-in support for complex conditional logic. This will be introduced as a separate directive that evaluates to true or false, allowing for more precise traffic handling while keeping the configuration reliable.
