ngx_pagespeed FAQ
Answers from the team that maintains the module.
Is ngx_pagespeed still maintained?
The maintained continuation is mod_pagespeed 1.1 for nginx and ModPageSpeed 2.0 for nginx, developed by We-Amp — founded by a former mod_pagespeed maintainer — with active development, regular releases, and CVE patches. Google's original ngx_pagespeed repository is archived and no longer developed, but the optimization lineage lives on in the maintained nginx modules you can install today.
Is ngx_pagespeed free?
The module is free to install and evaluate. A license is required for production optimization: without a valid token, the worker stops optimizing and nginx passes requests through unmodified — your site keeps serving, just without PageSpeed rewrites. We do not paywall access to the binary; the packages install from a signed repository We-Amp operates.
Does it support AVIF?
AVIF image output is part of the
ModPageSpeed 2.0 engine for
nginx, alongside its new architecture — zero-copy mmap serving and
variant-aware caching.
mod_pagespeed 1.1 for
nginx is the drop-in continuation that preserves the existing
pagespeed_* directive surface. Pick by your situation:
an existing configuration to preserve points to 1.1; a fresh install
that wants the modern engine points to 2.0 — the full side-by-side
comparison is on modpagespeed.com.
Which nginx versions are supported?
The maintained module installs against stock distro nginx builds via
the signed package repository. When
building from source, compile the
module against the source for the exact nginx version you run — nginx
dynamic modules are version-specific, so rebuild when you upgrade
nginx. The --with-compat configure flag lets the module
load into a stock distro nginx.
How do I install it?
Add the signed repository and install the package, or build from source for a custom nginx. The install hub has the commands for both paths, and the configuration reference covers the minimal directives to get optimization running.