Removing index.php from URLs¶

New in version 2.2: Official support, limited to the scope of the recommendations provided here, if now available for removing index.php from your URLs.

The “index.php” appears in your URLs because it is the file responsible for processing all requests to the system. In a URL such as http://yourdomain.com/index.php/template_group/template the template_group/template segments are simply information passed to index.php and do not refer to actual files or folders on the server.

Many servers support a technique called URL rewriting, which allows you to hide the index.php portion of the URL behind the scenes.

Requirements¶

UNIX-based hosting
Apache 2.x or later with mod_rewrite installed and enabled
ExpressionEngine 2.2 or later

1. Create an .htaccess file¶

Using your FTP client, create a new file named .htaccess (including the leading period) in the same folder as your site’s main index.php file.

Note

Files beginning with a period are hidden by default on some operating systems, including Mac OS X. Ensure your FTP client is set to show all files, including hidden ones.

Then add the following code to this newly created .htaccess file:

<IfModule mod_rewrite.c>
        RewriteEngine On

        # Removes index.php from ExpressionEngine URLs
        RewriteCond $1 !\.(gif|jpe?g|png)$ [NC]
        RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-f
        RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-d
        RewriteRule ^(.*)$ /index.php/$1 [L]
</IfModule>

Exceptions¶

If you are running EE from a sub-directory rather from the root of your domain (e.g. http://example.com/myeesite/ instead of http://example.com/), just remove the slash preceeding index.php in the RewriteRule line above, like so:
```
RewriteRule ^(.*)$ index.php/$1 [L]
```
If your host requires forcing query strings, try adding a question mark following index.php in the RewriteRule line above, like so:
```
RewriteRule ^(.*)$ /index.php?/$1 [L]
```

2. Update General Configuration¶

In the Control Panel, go to Admin ‣ General Configuration, set the Name of your site’s index page to blank (empty), and click Submit.

3. Test¶

Test your site’s links to ensure they are working properly with index.php removed.

Some common problems include links returning 404s, a “No Input File Specified” error, or all links returning the same content. This can often be the case with hosts (such as GoDaddy) that require you to force query strings. If this happens, follow the exception above for hosts that force query strings.

If you encounter a problem, you can rename the .htaccess file to something else (it only takes effect when it is named .htaccess) and set the Name of your site’s index page back to index.php.

Finished!¶

Note that Technical Support Staff may, during troubleshooting, ask you to reduce your .htaccess file to only these settings. Any additional content questions may be moved to the Community Help forum.

Note: If using the Multiple Site Manager you can repeat the above steps for each site, assuming each site has its own public_html or webroot folder.