Directory-level configuration file found mostly on Apache web servers
The .htaccess
file is a configuration file for the Apache web server, allowing configuration settings to be made at a directory-specific level, overriding the server-wide or site-level settings in the main Apache config.
Most (though not all) Apache settings can be configured in .htaccess
. One of the most common usages for it is URL redirection using mod_rewrite, which is used by many sites for SEO purposes and to provide easier-to-read URLs. The Apache documentation also has further information about mod_rewrite.
.htaccess
files can also be used for specifying custom error pages (e.g. for 404 errors); directory-specific security and user authentication; configuring the PHP installation; file handlers and MIME types; output compression, and more.
The htaccess file is used by the mod_rewrite module of the Apache webserver. It allows URLs to be rewritten for scenarios such as the following
- Shortcuts such as example.com/info to redirect to another page
- Redirects from old pages to new pages
- Password protection of directories and files
For full documentation see the mod_rewrite documentation. For more information on .htaccess
files and how to use them, see the Apache documentation.