Problem
Nginx config files hide dangerous pitfalls behind deceptive simplicity:
- Header inheritance bugs, path traversal vulnerabilities, conditional logic errors are hard to catch in code review
- DevOps engineers manually audit configs or rely on tribal knowledge
- No mature CI/CD-integrated linting standard exists for nginx (unlike ESLint for JavaScript)
- Existing tools (gixy) are abandoned, nginx-linter has low adoption
Pain Intensity: 6/10 - Leads to real outages and security incidents, but nginx -t handles basic syntax
Market
- Primary Market: DevOps engineers, platform teams, SREs
- Segment: Teams running nginx in production
- TAM: DevOps tools market $10-13B (2024), nginx holds 33-38% web server market share
- SAM: CI/CD-integrated linting SaaS, $175M-$2.4B based on 50K-200K nginx teams
- Comparable Exit: Bridgecrew (Terraform linter) acquired by Palo Alto for $156M
Solution
Nginx Config Linter SaaS - CI/CD-integrated nginx config linter + team dashboard + rule marketplace
Core Features
- GitHub Action/GitLab CI: Auto-lint nginx config changes on PR diffs
- Team Dashboard: Config violation status by server/repo, historical trends, security posture
- Rule Marketplace: Share organizational custom rules (WASM plugins)
- Autofix: Automated fix suggestions for common misconfigurations
Usage Example
# .github/workflows/nginx-lint.yml
- name: Nginx Lint
uses: nginx-lint/action@v1
with:
config-path: ./nginx/
rules: security,performance,best-practice
fail-on: error
Competition
| Competitor | Price | Weakness |
|---|---|---|
| gixy (Yandex) | Free (abandoned) | Unmaintained, limited rules, no CI output |
| nginx-linter | Free (OSS) | Low adoption, poor maintenance |
| nginxconfig.io | Free | Generator only, cannot lint existing configs |
| F5 NGINX Instance Manager | $$$$ | Enterprise-only, not a linter |
Competition Intensity: Low - Zero SaaS competitors Differentiation: CI/CD-native, team dashboard, rule marketplace
MVP Development
- MVP Timeline: 6 weeks
- Full Version: 5 months
- Tech Complexity: Low
- Stack: Node.js (backend), React (dashboard), Docker, GitHub Actions
MVP Scope
- Nginx config parser + 30 default rules
- GitHub Action with PR comment lint results
- Basic web dashboard (violation list)
- –fix flag support
Revenue Model
- Model: Subscription (per-repo)
- Pricing:
- Free: Public repos, basic rules
- Team: $29/repo/mo (private repos, team dashboard)
- Enterprise: $199-499/mo (org-wide, compliance reports, custom rules)
- Expected MRR (6 months): $2,000-5,000
- Expected MRR (12 months): $10,000-25,000
Risk
| Type | Level | Mitigation |
|---|---|---|
| Technical | Low | Config parsing + rule engine are well-known patterns |
| Market | Medium | nginx -t exists free → differentiate with security/compliance value-add |
| Execution | Medium | Snyk/Semgrep could bundle nginx rules → need fast first-mover |
Recommendation
Score: 91/100 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Why Recommended
- Zero SaaS competitors in a clear niche
- Fastest MVP at 6 weeks
- Bridgecrew ($156M acquisition) validates linter-to-exit path
- Lowest technical risk across all ideas
Risk Factors
- Narrow surface area (nginx-only) → expand to Caddy/HAProxy/Traefik
- Snyk/Semgrep bundling threat
First Actions
- Wrap existing OSS parser (crossplane) with rule engine PoC
- Publish free version on GitHub Actions Marketplace
- Gather feedback from DevOps communities (Reddit r/devops, HN)
This idea is inspired by nginx-lint (Rust CLI with WASM plugin support), adding a SaaS product layer (CI/CD integration, dashboard, rule marketplace).