Pretty URLs

Learn how to setup pretty URLs for your CMS Collections.

_{Clean URL Redirection & Routing with .htaccess}

This guide explains how to use Apache’s .htaccess to:

1. Redirect URLs like /post/?slug=some-post to /post/some-post/

2. Internally rewrite /post/some-post/ to /post/index.php?slug=some-post

3. Support both single-route and multi-route setups

Option 1: Single Route (e.g. /post/ only)

Use this if you’re only applying the redirect/rewrite logic to one route like /post/

.htaccess Example:

RewriteEngine On

# 1. Redirect /post/?slug=some-post to /post/some-post/
RewriteCond %{THE_REQUEST} \s/post/\?slug=([^&\s]+) [NC]
RewriteRule ^post/$ /post/%1/ [R=301,L]

# 2. Internally rewrite /post/some-post/ to /post/index.php?slug=some-post
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-f
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-d
RewriteRule ^post/([^/]+)/?$ /post/index.php?slug=$1 [L,QSA]

How it works:

Redirect Rule (Human-Friendly URLs)

• Matches incoming requests like /post/?slug=some-post

• %{THE_REQUEST} ensures it only triggers on direct browser requests, not rewrites

• Redirects to: /post/some-post/ using captured value %1

Rewrite Rule (Internal Routing)

• Matches URLs like /post/some-post/

• Internally rewrites to index.php?slug=some-post

• Uses !-f and !-d checks to avoid rewriting actual files or directories

• QSA preserves any additional query parameters (like UTM tags)

Option 2: Multi-Route Support (e.g. /post/, /notes/, /blog/, etc.)

Use this if you want the same functionality across multiple sections without duplicating rules.

.htaccess Example:

RewriteEngine On

# 1. Redirect /section/?slug=some-slug → /section/some-slug/
RewriteCond %{THE_REQUEST} \s/([^/?]+)/\?slug=([^&\s]+) [NC]
RewriteRule ^ %1/%2/ [R=301,L]

# 2. Internally rewrite /section/some-slug/ → /section/index.php?slug=some-slug
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-f
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-d
RewriteRule ^([^/]+)/([^/]+)/?$ /$1/index.php?slug=$2 [L,QSA]

How it works:

Redirect Rule (Dynamic Section Matching)

• Matches /something/?slug=some-slug

• ([^/?]+) captures the section name (e.g., post, notes)

• ([^&\s]+) captures the slug

• Redirects to /section/slug/

Rewrite Rule (Flexible Routing)

• Matches /section/slug/

• Internally rewrites to /section/index.php?slug=slug

• Works for any folder that uses index.php to handle dynamic slugs

Example Requests:

Request	Redirected To	Internally Rewritten To
/post/?slug=week-1	/post/week-1/	/post/index.php?slug=week-1
/notes/?slug=update	/notes/update/	/notes/index.php?slug=update
/blog/?slug=first-entry	/blog/first-entry/	/blog/index.php?slug=first-entry

Notes and Best Practices

• Place .htaccess in your site root, unless you’re scoping it to a subfolder.

• Make sure mod_rewrite is enabled on your Apache server.

• Use [R=301,L] for permanent redirects (cached by browsers).

• The QSA flag (Query String Append) ensures extra parameters aren’t lost.

• Ensure your index.php files handle $_GET['slug'] properly.

Debugging Tips

• If you see errors like AH00124: Request exceeded the limit of 10 internal redirects, it likely means you are rewriting the same request repeatedly.

• Use RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-f and !-d to prevent rewriting actual files or folders.