[Nginx Proxy Manager] can't update

[frontend-report]

Script: Nginx Proxy Manager

Reported by: @kintaro1981

Guidelines

• Read and understood guidelines: yes
• Verbose mode used: yes

Issue occurs during: Script Update

Environment

• Linux distribution: Debian
• Proxmox version: 8.4
• Default settings: Yes
• Advanced settings: No
• Exact command: update

Description

I'm getting the next error during update:

[2026-04-03 10:49:09] [ERROR] in line 97: exit code 1 (General error / Operation not permitted): while executing command systemctl restart openresty

I already saw another closed issue similar to this but doing the suggested fix:
systemctl unmask openresty
and then re-run "update" didn't solve my issue

Steps to reproduce

go to the npm lxc shell and use update command

Error output

test -d '/usr/local/openresty/nginx/logs'
|| mkdir -p '/usr/local/openresty/nginx/logs'
test -d '/usr/local/openresty/nginx/html'
|| cp -R docs/html '/usr/local/openresty/nginx'
test -d '/usr/local/openresty/nginx/logs'
|| mkdir -p '/usr/local/openresty/nginx/logs'
make[2]: Leaving directory '/opt/openresty/build/nginx-1.27.1'
make[1]: Leaving directory '/opt/openresty/build/nginx-1.27.1'
mkdir -p /usr/local/openresty/site/lualib /usr/local/openresty/site/pod /usr/local/openresty/site/manifest
ln -sf /usr/local/openresty/nginx/sbin/nginx /usr/local/openresty/bin/openresty
Job for openresty.service failed because the control process exited with error code.
See "systemctl status openresty.service" and "journalctl -xeu openresty.service" for details.
✖️ in line 97: exit code 1 (General error / Operation not permitted): while executing command systemctl restart openresty

--- Last 20 lines of log ---
[2026-04-03 10:47:25] [INFO] Update Node.js 22
[2026-04-03 10:47:29] [OK] Update Node.js 22
[2026-04-03 10:47:30] [INFO] Updating yarn to latest version
[2026-04-03 10:47:31] [OK] Installed Node.js modules: yarn
[2026-04-03 10:47:31] [INFO] Migrating from packaged OpenResty to source
[2026-04-03 10:47:32] [OK] Migrated from packaged OpenResty to source
[2026-04-03 10:47:32] [INFO] Checking for update: openresty
[2026-04-03 10:47:32] [OK] Update available: openresty not installed → 1.27.1.2
[2026-04-03 10:47:33] [INFO] Fetching GitHub release: openresty (1.27.1.2)
[2026-04-03 10:47:34] [OK] Deployed: openresty (1.27.1.2)
[2026-04-03 10:47:34] [INFO] Building OpenResty
[2026-04-03 10:49:09] [ERROR] in line 97: exit code 1 (General error / Operation not permitted): while executing command systemctl restart openresty

[MickLesk]

systemctl status openresty
journalctl -xeu openresty

[RandomLegend]

Hey, i'm not OP but i have the exact same issue.

Here are my outputs:

ln -sf /usr/local/openresty/nginx/sbin/nginx /usr/local/openresty/bin/openresty
Job for openresty.service failed because the control process exited with error code.
See "systemctl status openresty.service" and "journalctl -xeu openresty.service" for details.
  ✖️   in line 97: exit code 1 (General error / Operation not permitted): while executing command systemctl restart openresty

  --- Last 20 lines of log ---
[2026-04-03 13:37:00] [INFO] Update Node.js 22
[2026-04-03 13:37:04] [OK] Update Node.js 22
[2026-04-03 13:37:05] [INFO] Updating yarn to latest version
[2026-04-03 13:37:06] [OK] Installed Node.js modules: yarn
[2026-04-03 13:37:06] [INFO] Migrating from packaged OpenResty to source
[2026-04-03 13:37:07] [OK] Migrated from packaged OpenResty to source
[2026-04-03 13:37:07] [INFO] Checking for update: openresty
[2026-04-03 13:37:07] [OK] Update available: openresty not installed → 1.27.1.2
[2026-04-03 13:37:08] [INFO] Fetching GitHub release: openresty (1.27.1.2)
[2026-04-03 13:37:09] [OK] Deployed: openresty (1.27.1.2)
[2026-04-03 13:37:09] [INFO] Building OpenResty
[2026-04-03 13:39:20] [ERROR] in line 97: exit code 1 (General error / Operation not permitted): while executing command systemctl restart openresty
  -----------------------------------

 📋 Full log: /tmp/create-lxc-a2b4b3b4.log
root@nginxproxymanager:~# systemctl status openresty
× openresty.service - The OpenResty Application Platform
     Loaded: loaded (/lib/systemd/system/openresty.service; enabled; preset: enabled)
     Active: failed (Result: exit-code) since Fri 2026-04-03 13:39:20 CEST; 9s ago
    Process: 46383 ExecStartPre=/usr/local/openresty/nginx/sbin/nginx -t (code=exited, status=1/FAILURE)
        CPU: 5ms

Apr 03 13:39:20 nginxproxymanager systemd[1]: Starting openresty.service - The OpenResty Application Platform...
Apr 03 13:39:20 nginxproxymanager nginx[46383]: nginx: [emerg] getpwnam("npm") failed in /usr/local/openresty/nginx/conf/nginx.conf>
Apr 03 13:39:20 nginxproxymanager nginx[46383]: nginx: configuration file /usr/local/openresty/nginx/conf/nginx.conf test failed
Apr 03 13:39:20 nginxproxymanager systemd[1]: openresty.service: Control process exited, code=exited, status=1/FAILURE
Apr 03 13:39:20 nginxproxymanager systemd[1]: openresty.service: Failed with result 'exit-code'.
Apr 03 13:39:20 nginxproxymanager systemd[1]: Failed to start openresty.service - The OpenResty Application Platform.

root@nginxproxymanager:~# journalctl -xeu openresty
░░ A start job for unit openresty.service has finished with a failure.
░░ 
░░ The job identifier is 926 and the job result is failed.
Apr 03 13:02:35 nginxproxymanager systemd[1]: Starting openresty.service - The OpenResty Application Platform...
░░ Subject: A start job for unit openresty.service has begun execution
░░ Defined-By: systemd
░░ Support: https://www.debian.org/support
░░ 
░░ A start job for unit openresty.service has begun execution.
░░ 
░░ The job identifier is 988.
Apr 03 13:02:35 nginxproxymanager nginx[37156]: nginx: [emerg] getpwnam("npm") failed in /usr/local/openresty/nginx/conf/nginx.conf>
Apr 03 13:02:35 nginxproxymanager nginx[37156]: nginx: configuration file /usr/local/openresty/nginx/conf/nginx.conf test failed
Apr 03 13:02:35 nginxproxymanager systemd[1]: openresty.service: Control process exited, code=exited, status=1/FAILURE
░░ Subject: Unit process exited
░░ Defined-By: systemd
░░ Support: https://www.debian.org/support
░░ 
░░ An ExecStartPre= process belonging to unit openresty.service has exited.
░░ 
░░ The process' exit code is 'exited' and its exit status is 1.
Apr 03 13:02:35 nginxproxymanager systemd[1]: openresty.service: Failed with result 'exit-code'.
░░ Subject: Unit failed
░░ Defined-By: systemd
░░ Support: https://www.debian.org/support
░░ 
░░ The unit openresty.service has entered the 'failed' state with result 'exit-code'.
Apr 03 13:02:35 nginxproxymanager systemd[1]: Failed to start openresty.service - The OpenResty Application Platform.
░░ Subject: A start job for unit openresty.service has failed
░░ Defined-By: systemd
░░ Support: https://www.debian.org/support
░░ 
░░ A start job for unit openresty.service has finished with a failure.
░░ 
░░ The job identifier is 988 and the job result is failed.
Apr 03 13:39:20 nginxproxymanager systemd[1]: Starting openresty.service - The OpenResty Application Platform...
░░ Subject: A start job for unit openresty.service has begun execution
░░ Defined-By: systemd
░░ Support: https://www.debian.org/support
░░ 
░░ A start job for unit openresty.service has begun execution.
░░ 
░░ The job identifier is 1055.
Apr 03 13:39:20 nginxproxymanager nginx[46383]: nginx: [emerg] getpwnam("npm") failed in /usr/local/openresty/nginx/conf/nginx.conf>
Apr 03 13:39:20 nginxproxymanager nginx[46383]: nginx: configuration file /usr/local/openresty/nginx/conf/nginx.conf test failed
Apr 03 13:39:20 nginxproxymanager systemd[1]: openresty.service: Control process exited, code=exited, status=1/FAILURE
░░ Subject: Unit process exited
░░ Defined-By: systemd
░░ Support: https://www.debian.org/support
░░ 
░░ An ExecStartPre= process belonging to unit openresty.service has exited.
░░ 
░░ The process' exit code is 'exited' and its exit status is 1.
Apr 03 13:39:20 nginxproxymanager systemd[1]: openresty.service: Failed with result 'exit-code'.
░░ Subject: Unit failed
░░ Defined-By: systemd
░░ Support: https://www.debian.org/support
░░ 
░░ The unit openresty.service has entered the 'failed' state with result 'exit-code'.
Apr 03 13:39:20 nginxproxymanager systemd[1]: Failed to start openresty.service - The OpenResty Application Platform.
░░ Subject: A start job for unit openresty.service has failed
░░ Defined-By: systemd
░░ Support: https://www.debian.org/support
░░ 
░░ A start job for unit openresty.service has finished with a failure.
░░ 
░░ The job identifier is 1055 and the job result is failed.

root@nginxproxymanager:~# 

Running npm test shows:

root@nginxproxymanager:~# npm test
npm error code EJSONPARSE
npm error JSON.parse Invalid package.json: JSONParseError: Unexpected end of JSON input while parsing empty string
npm error JSON.parse Failed to parse JSON data.
npm error JSON.parse Note: package.json must be actual JSON, not just JavaScript.
npm error A complete log of this run can be found in: /root/.npm/_logs/2026-04-03T11_41_10_690Z-debug-0.log
root@nginxproxymanager:~# 

And the log in /root/.npm/_logs/2026-04-03T11_41_10_690Z-debug-0.log shows:

verbose cli /usr/bin/node /usr/bin/npm
1 info using npm@11.11.0
2 info using node@v22.22.2
3 silly config load:file:/usr/lib/node_modules/npm/npmrc
4 silly config load:file:/root/.npmrc
5 silly config load:file:/usr/etc/npmrc
6 verbose title npm test
7 verbose argv "test"
8 verbose logfile logs-max:10 dir:/root/.npm/_logs/2026-04-03T11_41_10_690Z-
9 verbose logfile /root/.npm/_logs/2026-04-03T11_41_10_690Z-debug-0.log
10 silly logfile start cleaning logs, removing 1 files
11 silly logfile done cleaning log files
12 verbose stack JSONParseError: Invalid package.json: JSONParseError: Unexpected end of JSON input while parsing empty string
12 verbose stack     at parse (/usr/lib/node_modules/npm/node_modules/@npmcli/package-json/lib/read-package.js:19:21)
12 verbose stack     at PackageJson.fromJSON (/usr/lib/node_modules/npm/node_modules/@npmcli/package-json/lib/index.js:162:22)
12 verbose stack     at PackageJson.load (/usr/lib/node_modules/npm/node_modules/@npmcli/package-json/lib/index.js:157:17)
12 verbose stack     at async PackageJson.normalize (/usr/lib/node_modules/npm/node_modules/@npmcli/package-json/lib/index.js:117:5)
12 verbose stack     at async #run (/usr/lib/node_modules/npm/lib/commands/run.js:90:13)
12 verbose stack     at async RunScript.exec (/usr/lib/node_modules/npm/lib/commands/run.js:44:7)
12 verbose stack     at async Npm.exec (/usr/lib/node_modules/npm/lib/npm.js:209:9)
12 verbose stack     at async module.exports (/usr/lib/node_modules/npm/lib/cli/entry.js:67:5)
13 error code EJSONPARSE
14 error JSON.parse Invalid package.json: JSONParseError: Unexpected end of JSON input while parsing empty string
15 error JSON.parse Failed to parse JSON data.
15 error JSON.parse Note: package.json must be actual JSON, not just JavaScript.
16 verbose cwd /root
17 verbose os Linux 6.8.12-20-pve
18 verbose node v22.22.2
19 verbose npm  v11.11.0
20 verbose exit 1
21 verbose code 1
22 error A complete log of this run can be found in: /root/.npm/_logs/2026-04-03T11_41_10_690Z-debug-0.log

Taking a look at /root/package.json i see that it's completely empty...

---

Copied the contents of https://github.com/NginxProxyManager/nginx-proxy-manager/blob/develop/backend/package.json into the /root/package.json and ran sed -E -i 's/"node-sass" *: *"([^"]*)"/"sass": "\1"/g' package.json afterwards that i found in line 130 of https://github.com/community-scripts/ProxmoxVE/blob/main/install/nginxproxymanager-install.sh didn't help either

[RandomLegend]

Solved for me with:
Make sure you have a /root/package.json file

1. cd /root/
2. ls -al (look for package.json)
3. If not there: nano package.json and copy the content of https://github.com/NginxProxyManager/nginx-proxy-manager/blob/develop/backend/package.json in there
4. Then run sed -E -i 's/"node-sass" *: *"([^"]*)"/"sass": "\1"/g' package.json

After that run the following.

1. useradd npm (it's okay if it says the user already exists)
2. mkdir /run/nginx
3. touch /run/nginx/nginx.pid
4. nginx -t
5. update

Then it worked for me.

[RandomLegend]

Interestingly enough though i can't open the webui anymore...but my proxies still work in the background

---

Also...my prior "fix" doesn't persist reboots...

[kintaro1981]

systemctl status openresty journalctl -xeu openresty

root@nginxproxymanager:~# systemctl status openresty
× openresty.service - The OpenResty Application Platform
     Loaded: loaded (/usr/lib/systemd/system/openresty.service; enabled; preset: enabled)
     Active: failed (Result: exit-code) since Fri 2026-04-03 18:31:58 CEST; 1min 51s ago
 Invocation: 7256047ae76349248ab7eb7244c81baa
    Process: 9266 ExecStartPre=/usr/local/openresty/nginx/sbin/nginx -t (code=exited, status=1/FAILURE)
   Mem peak: 1.8M
        CPU: 9ms

Apr 03 18:31:58 nginxproxymanager systemd[1]: Starting openresty.service - The OpenResty Application Platform...
Apr 03 18:31:58 nginxproxymanager nginx[9266]: nginx: [emerg] getpwnam("npm") failed in /usr/local/openresty/nginx/conf/nginx.conf:4
Apr 03 18:31:58 nginxproxymanager nginx[9266]: nginx: configuration file /usr/local/openresty/nginx/conf/nginx.conf test failed
Apr 03 18:31:58 nginxproxymanager systemd[1]: openresty.service: Control process exited, code=exited, status=1/FAILURE
Apr 03 18:31:58 nginxproxymanager systemd[1]: openresty.service: Failed with result 'exit-code'.
Apr 03 18:31:58 nginxproxymanager systemd[1]: Failed to start openresty.service - The OpenResty Application Platform.
root@nginxproxymanager:~# 

root@nginxproxymanager:~# journalctl -xeu openresty
░░ Defined-By: systemd
░░ Support: https://www.debian.org/support
░░ 
░░ The unit openresty.service has entered the 'failed' state with result 'exit-code'.
Apr 03 18:29:55 nginxproxymanager systemd[1]: Failed to start openresty.service - The OpenResty Application Platform.
░░ Subject: A start job for unit openresty.service has failed
░░ Defined-By: systemd
░░ Support: https://www.debian.org/support
░░ 
░░ A start job for unit openresty.service has finished with a failure.
░░ 
░░ The job identifier is 933 and the job result is failed.
Apr 03 18:31:58 nginxproxymanager systemd[1]: Starting openresty.service - The OpenResty Application Platform...
░░ Subject: A start job for unit openresty.service has begun execution
░░ Defined-By: systemd
░░ Support: https://www.debian.org/support
░░ 
░░ A start job for unit openresty.service has begun execution.
░░ 
░░ The job identifier is 939.
Apr 03 18:31:58 nginxproxymanager nginx[9266]: nginx: [emerg] getpwnam("npm") failed in /usr/local/openresty/nginx/conf/nginx.conf:4
Apr 03 18:31:58 nginxproxymanager nginx[9266]: nginx: configuration file /usr/local/openresty/nginx/conf/nginx.conf test failed
Apr 03 18:31:58 nginxproxymanager systemd[1]: openresty.service: Control process exited, code=exited, status=1/FAILURE
░░ Subject: Unit process exited
░░ Defined-By: systemd
░░ Support: https://www.debian.org/support
░░ 
░░ An ExecStartPre= process belonging to unit openresty.service has exited.
░░ 
░░ The process' exit code is 'exited' and its exit status is 1.
Apr 03 18:31:58 nginxproxymanager systemd[1]: openresty.service: Failed with result 'exit-code'.
░░ Subject: Unit failed
░░ Defined-By: systemd
░░ Support: https://www.debian.org/support
░░ 
░░ The unit openresty.service has entered the 'failed' state with result 'exit-code'.
Apr 03 18:31:58 nginxproxymanager systemd[1]: Failed to start openresty.service - The OpenResty Application Platform.
░░ Subject: A start job for unit openresty.service has failed
░░ Defined-By: systemd
░░ Support: https://www.debian.org/support
░░ 
░░ A start job for unit openresty.service has finished with a failure.
░░ 
░░ The job identifier is 939 and the job result is failed.

[MickLesk]

please test after #13500 merges

[RandomLegend]

Thank you so much for the quick PR!

Will test asap

[RandomLegend]

Works!

[ozmodiar]

Just wanted to chime in to say that it was not completely fixed for me. I had the original issue too, but after the fix from #13500 I still had to create /tmp/nginx/body manually in order for the update to fully complete successfully.

root@nginxproxymanager:~# systemctl status openresty.service
× openresty.service - The OpenResty Application Platform
     Loaded: loaded (/usr/lib/systemd/system/openresty.service; enabled; preset: enabled)
     Active: failed (Result: exit-code) since Sat 2026-04-04 21:47:14 CEST; 14s ago
   Duration: 1month 1w 4d 17h 36min 23.318s
 Invocation: 4cbab1f3d98d4060b96afbdf2388a15f
    Process: 103627 ExecStartPre=/usr/local/openresty/nginx/sbin/nginx -t (code=exited, status=1/FAILURE)
   Mem peak: 4.7M
        CPU: 27ms

Apr 04 21:47:14 nginxproxymanager systemd[1]: Starting openresty.service - The OpenResty Application Platform...
Apr 04 21:47:14 nginxproxymanager nginx[103627]: nginx: the configuration file /usr/local/openresty/nginx/conf/nginx.conf syntax is ok
Apr 04 21:47:14 nginxproxymanager nginx[103627]: nginx: [emerg] mkdir() "/tmp/nginx/body" failed (2: No such file or directory)
Apr 04 21:47:14 nginxproxymanager nginx[103627]: nginx: configuration file /usr/local/openresty/nginx/conf/nginx.conf test failed
Apr 04 21:47:14 nginxproxymanager systemd[1]: openresty.service: Control process exited, code=exited, status=1/FAILURE
Apr 04 21:47:14 nginxproxymanager systemd[1]: openresty.service: Failed with result 'exit-code'.
Apr 04 21:47:14 nginxproxymanager systemd[1]: Failed to start openresty.service - The OpenResty Application Platform.

Maybe this helps someone :-)