Software⏱️ 2 min read📅 2026-05-31

How to Fix: (13: Permission denied) while connecting to upstream:[nginx]

Permission denied error while connecting to upstream in Nginx server.

Quick Answer: Check the Gunicorn process ownership and ensure it matches the Nginx user. Run `gunicorn --workers 3 --bind 0.0.0.0:8001 mysite.wsgi:application` with elevated privileges using `sudo` or change the ownership of the Gunicorn process to the Nginx user.

To resolve the '(13: Permission denied) while connecting to upstream:[nginx]' error, you need to ensure that the Gunicorn process has the necessary permissions to bind to port 8001.

🔧 Proven Troubleshooting Steps

Method 1: Run Gunicorn with elevated privileges

  1. Step 1: Run the command `sudo gunicorn mysite.wsgi:application --bind=127.0.0.1:8001` to execute Gunicorn with superuser privileges.

Method 2: Configure Nginx to use a different port

  1. Step 1: Update the `nginx.conf` file by changing the `server` block to bind to port 8000 instead of port 8001.

💡 Conclusion

By following these steps, you should be able to resolve the '(13: Permission denied) while connecting to upstream:[nginx]' error and successfully access your Django application through Nginx.

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