Using .htaccess

.htaccess file is a configuration file used by the Apache Web Server to manage server settings on a per-directory basis. The name htaccess stands for “hypertext access,” and it allows you to control the behavior of your website without modifying the main server configuration files. This article explains how you can use .htaccess file in your website.

Options directive

The Options directive is both complicated and important. Please see Options Directive for more information.

Example

This simple line of code will prevent users from seeing the contents of directories without an index file.

Edit .htaccess


# This simple line of code will prevent users from seeing
# the contents of directories without an index file.
Options -Indexes

#
# Possible values for the Options directive are "None", "All",
# or any combination of:
#   Options None
#   Options All
#   Options Indexes Includes FollowSymLinks SymLinksifOwnerMatch ExecCGI MultiViews
#

RewriteEngine

The RewriteEngine directive used in Apache’s mod_rewrite module allows you to rewrite URLs on your server, which can be useful for a variety of tasks such as:

  • Improving SEO: By making URLs more readable and keyword-friendly.
  • Redirecting URLs: Sending traffic from an old URL to a new one.
  • Access Control: Blocking certain requests based on their patterns.
  • URL Simplification: Converting complex query strings into cleaner, more user-friendly URLs.

When you turn on the RewriteEngine in your .htaccess file, you can start using rewrite rules to transform incoming requests.

Example

This rule redirect requests from old-page to new-page with a 301 (permanent) redirect

Edit .htaccess

<IfModule mod_rewrite.c>

# Turn on engine
RewriteEngine On

# return 301 for old-page to new-page
RewriteRule ^old-page$ /new-page [R=301,L]

</IfModule>

mod_rewrite: is the name of the Apache module used for URL rewriting; to check if the mod_rewrite module is enabled before executing the enclosed directives.

mod_rewrite.c: specifically refers to the C source file that implements the mod_rewrite module in Apache; a conditional context to check the presence of the mod_rewrite module in Apache configuration, whether mod_rewrite module is loaded and available. It is more of a technical reference to the underlying implementation file of the mod_rewrite module.

RewriteEngine On: enables the rewrite engine.

RewriteRule

RewriteRule: uses regular expressions to match URL patterns.

RewriteRule ^ -: ^ matches any URL, then - does not rewrite it.

RewriteRule .: will match any URL that contains at least one character.

RewriteRule ^: will match any URL including an empty string.

R=404: returns a 404 error not found.

R=301: redirect request with a 301 (permanent) redirect.

The L flag indicates that this is the last rule to be processed.

RewriteCond

This examples shows few other conditions to use with RewriteCond.

Edit .htaccess

<IfModule mod_rewrite.c>

# Turn on engine
RewriteEngine On

# This rule return 404 on all request for forbidden directory
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_URI} ^/forbidden/ [NC]
RewriteRule ^ - [R=404,L]

# This rule return 404 if the requested resource is not an existing file.
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-f
RewriteRule ^ - [R=404,L]

# This rule redirects to index.php if the requested resource is not an existing directory.
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-d
RewriteRule ^ /index.php

# This rule redirects all requests to index.php
RewriteRule ^ /index.php

# This rule return 404 on all request
RewriteRule ^ - [R=404,L]

</IfModule>

RewriteCond %{REQUEST_URI} ^/forbidden/: will match all request for forbidden directory.

[NC]: is a flag for (case-insensitive).

RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-f: checks if the requested resource is not an existing file.

RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-d: checks if the requested resource is not an existing directory.

More examples

<IfModule mod_rewrite.c>

# Turn on engine
RewriteEngine On

## more ..

# forces all requests to use HTTPS, enhancing the security of your website.
RewriteCond %{HTTPS} !=on RewriteRule ^ https://%{HTTP_HOST}%{REQUEST_URI} [L,R=301]

# removes the "www" from URLs, redirecting www.example.com to example.com.
RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} ^www\.(.*)$ [NC] RewriteRule ^(.*)$ http://%1/$1

# adds "www" to URLs, redirecting example.com to www.example.com.
RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} !^www\..*$ [NC] RewriteRule ^(.*)$ http://www.%{HTTP_HOST}/$1 [R=301,L]

# redirects all incoming requests to a maintenance.html page, except for requests to maintenance.html itself.
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_URI} !/maintenance.html$ RewriteRule ^(.*)$ /maintenance.html

# removes trailing slashes from URLs, which can be useful for consistent URL formatting.
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-d RewriteCond %{REQUEST_URI} (.+)/$ RewriteRule ^ %1 [R=301,L]

</IfModule>

 

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