.htaccess not working - Removing .php File Extensions from URLs

Question

I'm having trouble removing the .php file extensions from URLs using the .htaccess file.

Previously, all pages were HTML and I had successfully rewritten URLs to drop the .html extensions, but it just doesn't seem to be working for .php — I'm just getting 404 errors.

.htaccess Contents

ErrorDocument 404 http://www.brianglassmandesign.com/404.php

RewriteEngine on
RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} ^brianglassmandesign.com [NC]
RewriteRule ^(.*)$ http://www.brianglassmandesign.com/$1 [L,R=301,NC]

# Remove file extension
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-d
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-f
RewriteRule (.*) $1.php [L]

The last line is matching on .* which includes the extension. What happens when you replace that with something that matches up to, but not including, the extension? Like RewriteRule ^([^\.]+)$ $1.php [NC,L] — Anton
– Anton, Commented Apr 25, 2016 at 16:04
@Anton, if the OP requests /something, surely it should resolve to /something.php anyway? The only change (seemingly) the OP made was from .html to .php... — Mike Rockétt
– Mike Rockétt, Commented Apr 25, 2016 at 17:08

Mike Rockétt · Accepted Answer · 2016-04-25 17:17:32Z

1

There is no reason as to why the files are not being picked up, giving consideration to the fact that the only change you made was the extension. As such, I recommend that you double-check to see if the file being requested actually exists, and has been renamed from the old .html equivalent.

The only .htaccess suggestion I can offer that is an alternative to what you have is the following:

RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME}.php -f
RewriteRule (.+) $1.php [L]

This means that the rewrite will only occur if the file exists. So, if you request /something and /something.php exists on the file-system, then it will be served accordingly.

Failing which, you'll need to check the relevant logs to determine what the problem may be.

answered Apr 25, 2016 at 17:17

Mike Rockétt

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2 Comments

Brian Over a year ago

You've solved the riddle, my friend.After creating /something and updating .htaccess with your modifications — everything seems to be working properly. Thank you!

Mike Rockétt Over a year ago

Great! Please accept this answer for the benefit of others.

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