# OpenResty, what it is and how websites use it.

A web platform built on nginx with LuaJIT built in. Server logic can be written in Lua straight in the configuration, which is why API gateways, WAFs and hosting providers that need nginx with custom logic use it.

- **Status:** Modern. Actively developed; the base of Kong, APISIX and many CDNs. A Server: openresty header usually means a hosting provider with its own layer on top of nginx.
- **Category:** [Servers & Hosting](https://be1st.ai/technologies/server)
- **First release:** 2011
- **License:** BSD-2-Clause
- **Official website:** https://openresty.org
- **Documentation:** https://openresty.org/en/getting-started.html
- **GitHub:** https://github.com/openresty/openresty
- **Page:** https://be1st.ai/technologies/server/openresty

## OpenResty on audited websites

1,707 of the 16,845 websites audited by be1st run OpenResty (10%). That ranks it #5 of the 34 technologies in Servers & Hosting we have seen in audits.

### Websites running OpenResty vs all websites

- **Web score:** 68 (all websites 72)
- **SEO:** 78 (all websites 79)
- **Security:** 51 (all websites 59)
- **Performance:** 62 (all websites 72)
- **AI Readiness:** 30 (all websites 31)

### Most used in Servers & Hosting

1. [Cloudflare](https://be1st.ai/technologies/server/cloudflare): 22% (3,772)
2. [Vercel](https://be1st.ai/technologies/server/vercel): 22% (3,635)
3. [Google CDN](https://be1st.ai/technologies/server/google-cdn): 16% (2,700)
4. [nginx](https://be1st.ai/technologies/server/nginx): 14% (2,284)
5. [OpenResty](https://be1st.ai/technologies/server/openresty): 10% (1,707)
6. [Apache HTTP Server](https://be1st.ai/technologies/server/apache-http-server): 9.3% (1,574)
7. [jsDelivr](https://be1st.ai/technologies/server/jsdelivr): 7.2% (1,221)
8. [cdnjs](https://be1st.ai/technologies/server/cdnjs): 6.0% (1,019)
9. [Netlify](https://be1st.ai/technologies/server/netlify): 5.8% (971)
10. [AWS CloudFront](https://be1st.ai/technologies/server/aws-cloudfront): 5.1% (859)

We don't track the release history of OpenResty yet. Its releases are published on GitHub. https://github.com/openresty/openresty/releases

## Other technologies in Servers & Hosting

- [unpkg](https://be1st.ai/technologies/server/unpkg): 2.8% of websites
- [Fastly](https://be1st.ai/technologies/server/fastly): 1.6% of websites
- [BunnyCDN](https://be1st.ai/technologies/server/bunnycdn): 1.2% of websites
- [Microsoft IIS](https://be1st.ai/technologies/server/microsoft-iis): 1.0% of websites
- [LiteSpeed](https://be1st.ai/technologies/server/litespeed): <1% of websites
- [Caddy](https://be1st.ai/technologies/server/caddy): <1% of websites
- [Amazon S3](https://be1st.ai/technologies/server/amazon-s3): <1% of websites
- [Google Cloud](https://be1st.ai/technologies/server/google-cloud): <1% of websites
- [Varnish](https://be1st.ai/technologies/server/varnish): <1% of websites
- [Azure](https://be1st.ai/technologies/server/azure): <1% of websites
- [Hostinger CDN](https://be1st.ai/technologies/server/hostinger-cdn): <1% of websites
- [GitHub Pages](https://be1st.ai/technologies/server/github-pages): <1% of websites

[All 35 in Servers & Hosting](https://be1st.ai/technologies/server)

## Questions about OpenResty

### What is OpenResty?

A web platform built on nginx with LuaJIT built in. Server logic can be written in Lua straight in the configuration, which is why API gateways, WAFs and hosting providers that need nginx with custom logic use it. The be1st catalog lists OpenResty under Servers & Hosting. License of OpenResty: BSD-2-Clause.

### How many websites use OpenResty?

1,707 of the 16,845 websites audited by be1st run OpenResty (10%), as of 8 Nov 2026.

### When was OpenResty first released?

OpenResty was first released in 2011.

### Is OpenResty still a modern choice?

Yes. OpenResty counts as a modern technology. Actively developed; the base of Kong, APISIX and many CDNs. A Server: openresty header usually means a hosting provider with its own layer on top of nginx.

Numbers: latest audit of each of 16,845 websites audited by be1st, as of 8 Nov 2026.