Apache mod_rewrite: return a specific file if no file/directory exists

Question

I'm writing a CMS that uses JavaScript to load the content of a page from the database. But I don't want hashes # in my URLs.

When a path is requested /cms/post/123 , Apache should load the file /cms/index.html . But if there's already a file under the path, for example /cms/image.png , Apache should return the file. Another point is that when for example /cms/admin or /cms/admin/post/123 is requested the file /cms/admin.html should be returned. The directory of the CMS may be different.

Answer 1

You can try using these rules in an htaccess file in your /cms/ directory

Options -Multiviews
RewriteEngine On

# if file exists, serve the file
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} -f [OR]
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} -d [OR]
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} -l
RewriteRule ^ - [L]

# if request is for admin, load admin.html
RewriteRule ^admin/ admin.html [L]

# everything else gets routed to index.html
RewriteRule ^ index.html [L]

You can place this in any directory that the CMS is in.