We are excited to announce the general availability of F5 NGINX Plus Release 37.2.
NGINX Plus 37.2 is the latest delivery in our Continuous Release (CR) track, giving enterprise teams access to new capabilities and enhancements between annual LTS milestones.
This release brings new capabilities for API-aware request handling, Redis-backed data lookups, and improved OIDC session synchronization. NGINX Plus 37.2 is built on NGINX Open Source 1.31.6, which means it also includes functional updates introduced in NGINX Open Source since version 1.31.3, including predicate locations, early request body inspection, and native JSON parsing.
Key Capabilities in NGINX Plus 37.2
1. Predicate Locations
NGINX Plus 37.2 includes predicate locations, inherited from NGINX Open Source 1.31.5.
Traditionally, NGINX location matching is based primarily on URI paths, such as /api, /login, or /checkout. Predicate locations expand that model by allowing evaluated variables to be used in location matching.
This enables NGINX to route requests based on more than just the URI. Operators can define routing behavior using request attributes, headers, mapped values, extracted fields, or other variables available during request processing.
Why it matters:
-
Route API traffic based on evaluated request conditions.
-
Reduce the need for external application logic for simple routing decisions.
-
Build more expressive traffic policies directly in NGINX configuration.
-
Support modern API patterns where many different operations share the same URI, such as /api or /mcp.
Predicate locations are especially useful when paired with early body read and JSON parsing, allowing NGINX to make routing decisions based on both request metadata and payload content.
2. Early Request Body Inspection
NGINX Plus 37.2 includes early request body inspection through the client_body_early_read directive, inherited from NGINX Open Source 1.31.5.
By default, NGINX selects a location before reading and buffering the request body. With client_body_early_read, NGINX can read the request body earlier in the request lifecycle, before location matching occurs.
Why it matters:
-
Inspect request payloads before routing decisions are made.
-
Route requests based on body content, not only URI and headers.
-
Support API and agentic workloads where multiple operations are sent to a shared endpoint.
-
Enable more precise request handling for JSON-based APIs.
This is particularly valuable for modern API patterns where different operations are sent to the same endpoint but identified inside the request body.
3. Native JSON Parsing
NGINX Plus 37.2 also includes native JSON parsing capabilities through the ngx_http_json_module, inherited from NGINX Open Source.
The JSON module allows NGINX to extract values from JSON request bodies into NGINX variables. When combined with client_body_early_read, those variables can be populated early enough to influence routing and request handling.
This enables use cases such as:
-
Extracting an operation, method, tenant, or account value from a JSON request.
-
Routing requests based on JSON fields.
-
Enriching request handling logic without external scripting.
-
Supporting API gateway patterns directly in NGINX configuration.
Together, predicate locations, early request body inspection, and native JSON parsing give NGINX Plus more flexibility for handling API traffic directly in the request path.
Additional resources:
4. DB Connector with Redis Support
NGINX Plus 37.2 introduces DB Connector, starting with support for Redis.
DB Connector allows NGINX Plus to retrieve values from Redis during request processing. This brings simple, read-only data lookups closer to the request path and can reduce the need for application services that only perform a Redis GET and return the result.
DB Connector supports two primary modes:
-
Direct response mode: NGINX retrieves a value from Redis and returns it directly as the HTTP response body.
-
Variable mode: NGINX retrieves a value from Redis and assigns it to an NGINX variable, which can then be used during request processing.
Common use cases include:
-
Serving application configuration documents or public metadata.
-
Serving precomputed responses such as dashboard summaries or statistics.
-
Looking up account, tenant, or request metadata and passing it to an upstream application.
-
Using Redis-backed values as inputs to routing, header enrichment, or request handling logic.
DB Connector also supports optional local caching to reduce repeated Redis lookups, connection reuse, Redis authentication and database selection, and TLS/mTLS connectivity options.
The initial implementation is focused on read-only Redis GET lookups: one key and one scalar value per lookup. Writes, deletes, arbitrary Redis commands, Redis Cluster, Sentinel, and redirects are not supported in this release.
5. OIDC Session Sync Leeway
NGINX Plus 37.2 adds configurable leeway for OIDC session synchronization.
If a session cookie is present but the session is not yet available in the keyval zone, NGINX Plus can now wait for the configured leeway time and poll the zone before falling back to authentication.
This helps reduce timing-related authentication issues in distributed environments where session state may take a short amount of time to synchronize across nodes.
6. Additional Enhancements and Bug Fixes
NGINX Plus 37.2 also includes multiple bug fixes and minor enhancements across NGINX Plus and inherited NGINX Open Source functionality.
Changes Inherited from NGINX Open Source
NGINX Plus 37.2 is built on NGINX Open Source 1.31.6 and inherits all functional changes since NGINX OSS 1.31.3, which was the base for NGINX Plus 37.1.
This includes the major NGINX Open Source 1.31.5 request-processing enhancements highlighted above:
-
Predicate locations
-
Early request body inspection with client_body_early_read
-
Native JSON parsing with ngx_http_json_module
For detailed information on open-source core changes, see the official NGINX CHANGES file.
Platform Updates
NGINX Plus 37.2 includes the following platform changes:
-
Added platforms: No new OS versions added.
-
Removed platforms: Debian 11.
-
Deprecated platforms: Alpine 3.21 is deprecated. Support is planned to be removed in the next continuous release.
Upgrade Today
NGINX Plus 37.2 is available immediately for all current subscribers via standard operating system package repositories.
Ready to get started or test the new release?
-
Explore the Documentation: Review full release details, directive specifications, and configuration parameters in the NGINX Documentation.
-
Test NGINX Plus: Request a 30-day free trial to evaluate enterprise-grade traffic management, API routing, and high-availability application delivery in your own environment.
-
Installation & Deployment Guide: Follow the installation guide for step-by-step instructions on deploying NGINX Plus or NGINX Open Source.
F5 NGINX in F5’s Application Delivery & Security Platform
NGINX One is part of F5’s Application Delivery & Security Platform. It helps organizations deliver, improve, and secure applications and APIs across cloud, hybrid, and edge architectures.
NGINX One is the all-in-one, subscription-based package that unifies NGINX capabilities across NGINX Plus, F5 NGINX App Protect, Kubernetes, and management solutions. NGINX Plus, a key component of NGINX One, adds enterprise-grade capabilities to open-source NGINX for performance, scalability, observability, and operational control.