The .htaccess Rules for all WordPress Permalinks

♦ Posted by Jeff Starr in .htaccess, WordPress

Updated January 15, 2023 • 96 comments

Updated January 15th 2023: All code in this article is current with WordPress 6 and better. The permalink rules presented below should work with all versions of WordPress. That is, the current rules are backward compatible. </update>

Jump to the Permalink Rules »

I recently performed a series of tests on a fresh installation of WordPress to determine the exact .htaccess rewrite rules that WordPress writes to its .htaccess file for various permalink configurations. In the WordPress General > Permalinks settings, WordPress lists six options for permalink structure:

Plain              http://example.com/?p=123
Day and name       http://example.com/2016/06/30/sample-post/
Month and name     http://example.com/2016/06/sample-post/
Numeric            http://example.com/archives/123
Post name          http://example.com/sample-post/
Custom Structure   http://example.com/%postname%/

These default permalink options employ the following Structure Tags:

Plain              (permalinks disabled)
Day and name       /%year%/%monthnum%/%day%/%postname%/
Month and name     /%monthnum%/%postname%/
Numeric            /archives/%post_id%/
Post name          /%postname%/
Custom Structure   (user-defined structure)

You can read more about WordPress permalinks at WordPress.org.

Testing

For the test, we began by enabling the “Day and name” permalink configuration. After saving our changes, we downloaded the .htaccess file that is located in the root directory of our WordPress installation:

/wordpress/.htaccess

We then copied the rules and recorded them in this post (see next section). To verify that the .htaccess rules are the same for all types of permalinks, we tested each of the different permalink options and compared the results. Further, we tested the site for proper functionality during each round of testing.

Once we had determined the correct permalink rules for WordPress installed in its own directory, we repeated the entire test with WordPress installed in the site’s root directory. This test revealed that the permalink rules are different depending on the location of the WordPress installation. Otherwise, the permalink rules are identical, as explained below.

Results

So after much testing, we conclude the following results:

Given any WordPress installation, the .htaccess rules are identical for all permalink options.
The .htaccess rules only differ when WordPress is installed in its own directory vs. WordPress installed in the site’s root directory.

Surely this information is available elsewhere online, however we were experiencing several inconsistencies related to permalink structure that inspired us to determine for ourselves the precise .htaccess rules for all WordPress permalinks.

The htaccess Rules for all WordPress Permalinks

Without further ado, the .htaccess rules for all WordPress permalinks¹ are either of the following², depending on where WordPress is installed.

1) If WordPress is installed in the site’s root directory:

# BEGIN WordPress
<IfModule mod_rewrite.c>
RewriteEngine On
RewriteRule .* - [E=HTTP_AUTHORIZATION:%{HTTP:Authorization}]
RewriteBase /
RewriteRule ^index\.php$ - [L]
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-f
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-d
RewriteRule . /index.php [L]
</IfModule>
# END WordPress

2) OR, if WordPress is installed in its own directory, /wordpress/:

# BEGIN WordPress
<IfModule mod_rewrite.c>
RewriteEngine On
RewriteRule .* - [E=HTTP_AUTHORIZATION:%{HTTP:Authorization}]
RewriteBase /wordpress/
RewriteRule ^index\.php$ - [L]
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-f
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-d
RewriteRule . /wordpress/index.php [L]
</IfModule>
# END WordPress

Notice the only two differences between these two sets of rules: the value of the RewriteBase and RewriteRule directives. Specifically, when WordPress is installed in the site’s root directory, the value is /. Otherwise, if WordPress is installed in its own directory, the value is the name of the directory, which is /wordpress/ in this example. So if you have WordPress installed in its own directory, make sure to change /wordpress/ to the actual directory name.

Update

WordPress now (finally) has an official page about .htaccess at WordPress.org. There you can find the same permalink rules that are provided above. If they are different in any way, please let me know so I can update the article. Thank you.

Footnotes

¹ These results are valid for standard permalink structures invoked via a standard WordPress install and may not operate effectively for non-standard or highly specialized configurations. We assume that if you are hard at work hacking and tweaking, you must know what you are doing.

² Note that WordPress also adds several of inline comments when it automatically adds its permalink rules to your .htaccess file. The inline comments look like this:

# The directives (lines) between "BEGIN WordPress" and "END WordPress" are
# dynamically generated, and should only be modified via WordPress filters.
# Any changes to the directives between these markers will be overwritten.

The comments are included after the # BEGIN WordPress line. Because they are comments (i.e., begin with a pound sign #), they are ignored by Apache and have no effect on anything.

About the Author

Jeff Starr = Fullstack Developer. Book Author. Teacher. Human Being.

96 responses to “The .htaccess Rules for all WordPress Permalinks”

Mike 2008/06/25 12:45 am

I tried the RewriteEngine off in the sub-folders htaccess, but for some reason that doesn’t seem to help – I still keep getting a 404 error…

Perishable 2008/06/25 9:37 am • Post Author

Sounds like it could be just about anything, Mike. Without being able to investigate the situation myself, it is really difficult to determine the source of the issue. If it were me, I would try removing various bits of HTAccess from either file until something clicks. Additionally, depending on the type of script(s) that you are using for content in the subdirectory, you may want to experiment with static content, script isolation, and even directory relocation. Any of these things may help diagnose the cause of the conflict. I hope that helps!

Des 2008/08/14 11:19 am

Perishable, Is it possible to create an .htaccess file that retrieves and inbound URL it is then redirected from the root level (htdocs) to the subdirectory (htdocs/subdir)?

Currently an URL is typed www.someurl.com, and is defaulting to our main site: www.mainsite.com. Is there a way to retrieve the "someurl.com" and redirect it to www.mainsite.com/subdir?

Thanks in advance for any assistance you can provide!

Des

Des 2008/08/14 11:23 am

PS. Perishable, regarding post/question #63, the subdirectory is “wordpress” for our wordpress blog site that was built outside of our hosting provider (network solutions). The version of wordpress being used is 2.5.1. All of this is an FYI if you need to know.

Doug 2008/08/15 11:52 am

I am hoping you can help me with my (similar) problem; it seems that you have helped many others.

My blog is about 3 weeks old. I had “Day and Name” Permalinks and all was working well. However, all of a sudden, I started getting 404s on every page, including the home page. I tried everything from theme changes to disabling plug-ins to checking htaccess files to checking mod_rewrite privileges, etc. but nothing worked. I was told that if I changed to default permalinks, it would work. I did and my site came back, but, as you can see, none of my permalinks work. Everything that I click on from my home page takes me back to the home page.

I am just about to do a clean install and I really don’t want to go back and put all my posts back in, so you could really save me here if you have an answer!

Thanks,

Doug

Jeff Starr 2008/08/17 7:20 am • Post Author

Hi Des, try this:

RewriteEngine on
RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} ^(www.)?someurl\.com$
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_URI} !^/wordpress/
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-f
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-d
RewriteRule ^(.*)$ /wordpress/$1

Replace “someurl.com” with the actual URL. Place in root htaccess file. No other editing is required. Make sure test — the logic is sound, but I have not tested it myself..

Jeff Starr 2008/08/17 7:24 am • Post Author

@Doug: it looks like you beat me to it! I checked your site and the permalinks seem to be working fine. Congrats! :)

Des 2008/08/17 10:50 am

Jeff,

I’m not sure if I’m doing something wrong, but it’s not working correctly. I’m not sure if it has something to do with my wordpress files, permalinks, or something else. Gosh this is frustrating–thanks for your help, if you have any other thoughts, I’m all ears–thanks again!!! :)

Doug 2008/08/17 5:48 pm

Jeff,

Yes, I did beat it! Thanks for checking on me, though! I am almost embarrassed to say what I had done, but, if it helps someone else, I will…

I had, for some stupid reason, changed the URL where my blog is located by adding a /wordpress/ to it, so all my permalinks were citing /wordpress/wordpress/2008/ etc… It took me forever to notice it… oh, well!

Thanks again…

Jeff Starr 2008/08/18 4:51 pm • Post Author

That will snag the best of ‘em, Doug. Glad to hear you knocked it out. And thanks for sharing the lesson learned — it is sure to help others in the same boat.
Cheers,
Jeff

Laurent 2008/09/16 11:26 pm

Hi Jeff,

I have the same problem as Mike on comment 61. What I found out is by turning off the rewrite engine off, it works on the folder itself but not the individual files inside the very folder.

Meaning that if i access the directory manually e.g. my_url/abc it will list the files and then when i click on the files e.g. a photo jpg, it will work. But linking directly the jpg file e.g. my_url/abc/photo.jpg doesn’t work, it will still show the 404 page.

Any workaround on this? I been looking around and even wordpress forums doesn’t have a solution on this.

Jeff Starr 2008/09/17 9:09 am • Post Author

Hi Laurent, I will look into this and see if I can come up with something that works. I have an idea of why this might be happening, but need some time to test it and write it up. I will post back here once I determine the issue and (hopefully) a solution.

Comments are closed for this post. Something to add? Let me know.

Mike 2008/06/25 12:45 am

I tried the RewriteEngine off in the sub-folders htaccess, but for some reason that doesn’t seem to help – I still keep getting a 404 error…
Perishable 2008/06/25 9:37 am • Post Author

Sounds like it could be just about anything, Mike. Without being able to investigate the situation myself, it is really difficult to determine the source of the issue. If it were me, I would try removing various bits of HTAccess from either file until something clicks. Additionally, depending on the type of script(s) that you are using for content in the subdirectory, you may want to experiment with static content, script isolation, and even directory relocation. Any of these things may help diagnose the cause of the conflict. I hope that helps!
Des 2008/08/14 11:19 am

Perishable, Is it possible to create an .htaccess file that retrieves and inbound URL it is then redirected from the root level (htdocs) to the subdirectory (htdocs/subdir)?

Currently an URL is typed www.someurl.com, and is defaulting to our main site: www.mainsite.com. Is there a way to retrieve the "someurl.com" and redirect it to www.mainsite.com/subdir?

Thanks in advance for any assistance you can provide!

Des
Des 2008/08/14 11:23 am

PS. Perishable, regarding post/question #63, the subdirectory is “wordpress” for our wordpress blog site that was built outside of our hosting provider (network solutions). The version of wordpress being used is 2.5.1. All of this is an FYI if you need to know.
Doug 2008/08/15 11:52 am

I am hoping you can help me with my (similar) problem; it seems that you have helped many others.

My blog is about 3 weeks old. I had “Day and Name” Permalinks and all was working well. However, all of a sudden, I started getting 404s on every page, including the home page. I tried everything from theme changes to disabling plug-ins to checking htaccess files to checking mod_rewrite privileges, etc. but nothing worked. I was told that if I changed to default permalinks, it would work. I did and my site came back, but, as you can see, none of my permalinks work. Everything that I click on from my home page takes me back to the home page.

I am just about to do a clean install and I really don’t want to go back and put all my posts back in, so you could really save me here if you have an answer!

Thanks,

Doug
Jeff Starr 2008/08/17 7:20 am • Post Author

Hi Des, try this:

RewriteEngine on
RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} ^(www.)?someurl\.com$
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_URI} !^/wordpress/
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-f
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-d
RewriteRule ^(.*)$ /wordpress/$1

Replace “someurl.com” with the actual URL. Place in root htaccess file. No other editing is required. Make sure test — the logic is sound, but I have not tested it myself..
Jeff Starr 2008/08/17 7:24 am • Post Author

@Doug: it looks like you beat me to it! I checked your site and the permalinks seem to be working fine. Congrats! :)
Des 2008/08/17 10:50 am

Jeff,

I’m not sure if I’m doing something wrong, but it’s not working correctly. I’m not sure if it has something to do with my wordpress files, permalinks, or something else. Gosh this is frustrating–thanks for your help, if you have any other thoughts, I’m all ears–thanks again!!! :)
Doug 2008/08/17 5:48 pm

Jeff,

Yes, I did beat it! Thanks for checking on me, though! I am almost embarrassed to say what I had done, but, if it helps someone else, I will…

I had, for some stupid reason, changed the URL where my blog is located by adding a /wordpress/ to it, so all my permalinks were citing /wordpress/wordpress/2008/ etc… It took me forever to notice it… oh, well!

Thanks again…
Jeff Starr 2008/08/18 4:51 pm • Post Author

That will snag the best of ‘em, Doug. Glad to hear you knocked it out. And thanks for sharing the lesson learned — it is sure to help others in the same boat.
Cheers,
Jeff
Laurent 2008/09/16 11:26 pm

Hi Jeff,

I have the same problem as Mike on comment 61. What I found out is by turning off the rewrite engine off, it works on the folder itself but not the individual files inside the very folder.

Meaning that if i access the directory manually e.g. my_url/abc it will list the files and then when i click on the files e.g. a photo jpg, it will work. But linking directly the jpg file e.g. my_url/abc/photo.jpg doesn’t work, it will still show the 404 page.

Any workaround on this? I been looking around and even wordpress forums doesn’t have a solution on this.
Jeff Starr 2008/09/17 9:09 am • Post Author

Hi Laurent, I will look into this and see if I can come up with something that works. I have an idea of why this might be happening, but need some time to test it and write it up. I will post back here once I determine the issue and (hopefully) a solution.

« Previous Comments • 1…45678 • Newer Comments »