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Apache mod_rewrite and examples

What is mod_rewrite? Mod Rewrite allows you to change the URL that everyone sees when they visit your domain or a specific address. Just add the code to your .htaccess file (typically the one inside public_html).

Please remember we do not offer support to code this, nor do we promise to make your code work. Some of these codes work in combination, and some do not.

EXAMPLES

#Specify a default home page (index page)
DirectoryIndex home.html
#Allow only specified IPs to access your site
deny from all
allow from 64.95.219.140
allow from 210.23.45.67
# Redirect all pages from olddomain.com
# to newdomain.com
Options +FollowSymLinks
RewriteEngine on
RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} ^www.olddomain.com$[OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} ^olddomain.com$
RewriteRule ^(.*)$ http://www.newdomain.com/$1 [R=301,L]
#Prevent subfolder loading. This goes
# in htaccess for the primary domain
RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} ^primary\.com$ [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} ^www\.primary\.com$
RewriteRule ^addon\.com\/?(.*)$ "http\:\/\/www\.addon\.com\/$1" [R=301,L]
#Prevent subdomain name loading.
#This goes in htaccess for the primary domain
RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} ^subname\.primary\.com$ [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} ^www\.subname\.primary\.com$
RewriteRule ^(.*)$ "http\:\/\/www\.addon\.com\/$1" [R=301,L]
# Never use www in the domain
# Replace 'example.com' with your domain name
RewriteEngine on
RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} ^www\.(([a-z0-9_]+\.)?example\.com)$ [NC]
RewriteRule .? http://%1%{REQUEST_URI} [R=301,L]
# Always use www in the domain
# Replace 'example.com' with your domain name
RewriteEngine on
RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} ^([a-z.]+)?example\.com$ [NC]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} !^www\. [NC]
RewriteRule .? http://www.%1example.com%{REQUEST_URI} [R=301,L]
# Set a default home directory, (this subfolder always loads)
# Replace 'folder' with your subfolder name
<IfModule mod_rewrite.c>
RewriteEngine On
RewriteRule ^$ /folder/ [R=301,L]
</IfModule>
# Rename a directory and force visitors to the new name
# Replace 'old' with your old folder name
# Replace 'new' with your new folder name
RewriteEngine on
RewriteRule ^/?old([a-z/.]*)$ /new$1 [R=301,L]
# Always use https for secure connections
# Replace 'www.example.com' with your domain name
# (as it appears on your SSL certificate)
RewriteEngine On
RewriteCond %{SERVER_PORT} 80
RewriteRule ^(.*)$ https://www.example.com/$1 [R=301,L]
# Block traffic from multiple referrers
RewriteEngine on
Options +FollowSymlinks
RewriteCond %{HTTP_REFERER} badsite\.com [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_REFERER} badforum\.com [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_REFERER} badsearchengine\.com[NC]
RewriteRule .* - [F]
#Do not allow these file types to be called
RewriteEngine on
RewriteRule .*\.(jpg|jpeg|gif|png|bmp|exe|swf)$ - [F,NC]

Guides to dot-htaccess coding:
javascriptkit.com
apache.org
modrewrite.com
Great resource for mod rewrite lessons.
Great resource for mod rewrite examples.


Article Comments

Martijn
RewriteRules work. But when porting RewriteRules to Hostgator, drop any leading '/' the rule might have to make them work. I found this out (painfully) while moving an old site to Hostgator.

RewriteRule ^/english/(.*)\.php

becomes

RewriteRule ^english/(.*)\.php.



notsean
Is anyone else having problems with mod rewrite? I moved from one host to host gator and now my rewrites don't work

RewriteRule ^design/(.*)\.php design.php?set=$1

Eugene Muzychenko
I noticed that "HotLink protection" feature in cPanel can cause mod_rewrite to be turned off for a site. When you enable HotLink protection, cPanel adds "RewriteEngine on" directive to .htaccess files for every site included in the list. When you disable HotLink protection, cPanel removes "RewriteEngine on" directive regardless of was it there earlier or not. So you must add this directive you all appropriate .htaccess files if you have disabled HotLink protection at least once.

HostGator
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