Basic .htaccess Configuration

This guide covers the most common and useful .htaccess commands for Apache web servers. Use these snippets as needed for your site configuration, security, redirects, and optimization.

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1. Enable Rewrite Engine

RewriteEngine On

2. Redirects

• Redirect HTTP to HTTPS:

  RewriteCond %{HTTPS} off
  RewriteRule ^(.*)$ https://%{HTTP_HOST}%{REQUEST_URI} [L,R=301]

• Redirect a specific page:

  Redirect 301 /oldpage.html /newpage.html

• Redirect entire site:

  Redirect 301 / http://newdomain.com/

3. Custom Error Pages

ErrorDocument 400 /400.html
ErrorDocument 401 /401.html
ErrorDocument 403 /403.html
ErrorDocument 404 /404.html
ErrorDocument 500 /500.html

4. Directory Index

DirectoryIndex index.php index.html

5. Prevent Directory Listing

Options -Indexes

6. Deny/Allow Access

• Deny access to a file:

  <Files "config.php">
    Order allow,deny
    Deny from all
  </Files>

• Allow only specific IP:

  Order deny,allow
  Deny from all
  Allow from 123.123.123.123

7. Password Protect a Directory

AuthType Basic
AuthName "Restricted Area"
AuthUserFile /full/path/to/.htpasswd
Require valid-user

8. Set Cache-Control Headers

<FilesMatch "\.(jpg|jpeg|png|gif|css|js)$">
  Header set Cache-Control "max-age=2592000, public"
</FilesMatch>

9. Block Specific User Agents

SetEnvIfNoCase User-Agent "BadBot" bad_bot
Deny from env=bad_bot

10. Prevent Hotlinking

RewriteCond %{HTTP_REFERER} !^$
RewriteCond %{HTTP_REFERER} !^https?://(www\.)?yourdomain.com/ [NC]
RewriteRule \.(jpg|jpeg|png|gif)$ - [F]

11. Force File Download

<FilesMatch "\.(pdf|mp3)$">
  ForceType application/octet-stream
  Header set Content-Disposition attachment
</FilesMatch>

12. Gzip Compression

<IfModule mod_deflate.c>
  AddOutputFilterByType DEFLATE text/html text/plain text/xml text/css text/javascript application/javascript
</IfModule>

13. Set Timezone

SetEnv TZ America/New_York

14. Prevent Image Hotlinking (Alternative)

RewriteEngine On
RewriteCond %{HTTP_REFERER} !^$
RewriteCond %{HTTP_REFERER} !^https?://(www\.)?yourdomain.com/ [NC]
RewriteRule \.(gif|jpg|jpeg|png)$ - [F,NC]

15. Restrict Access by Referrer

RewriteEngine On
RewriteCond %{HTTP_REFERER} !^https?://(www\.)?yourdomain.com/ [NC]
RewriteRule .* - [F]

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Feel free to copy and adapt these rules for your own .htaccess file. Always test changes to avoid misconfigurations.