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Ashok Mohanakumar
Ashok Mohanakumar

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Stopping .htaccess from handling API route

I am routing all the http requests to a website to the index.php file and then handling it from there in MVC fashion. But, if the request is made /apiroute, then another file Api.php should handle it. How do I make that happen?

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^ this is what I tried, but it just gave me a 500 error

Also, any insight into best practice concerning this is appreciated. I'm trying to write a PHP MVC framework, so I'd also like to know if this is the right way to go about with routing

Top comments (9)

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denzyldick profile image
Denzyl Dick

Just a side note. The best way is not to use .htaccess. (Ignore me if you did know it already) :D

You should avoid using .htaccess files completely if you have access to httpd main server config file. Using .htaccess files slows down your Apache http server. Any directive that you can include in a .htaccess file is better set in a Directory block, as it will have the same effect with better performance.
httpd.apache.org/docs/current/howt...

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coolgoose profile image
Alexandru Bucur

Considering the beginner question I would say using a .htaccess file is a good thing for now. Easier to test and experiment with.

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denzyldick profile image
Denzyl Dick • Edited

I also tell beginners they can use .htaccess but I also say that they (apache2 documentation) don't recommend it. It's something good to know even if you are a beginner :)

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ashokcodes profile image
Ashok Mohanakumar

I have to set it up on a shared hosting, so access to httpd.conf isn't available :) but thanks a lot!! Like I said, I am also trying to write a PHP MVC framework, so every bit of info is useful

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bgadrian profile image
Adrian B.G.

First read the open source code of the most popular PHP MVC frameworks, see how they handled these problems. Most likely you will make the same mistakes like they did 15 years ago, learn from them, it will be quicker.

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nektro profile image
Meghan (she/her)

does changing ^api to api/(.+)$ fix it?

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kamaln7 profile image
Kamal Nasser

To get more info on the 500 error, check Apache's error logs. Usually they're stored in /var/log/apache2/error.log. You can use the following command to print the last 30 lines of that file:

sudo tail -n 30 /var/log/apache2/error.log

I'm going to guess that the Rewrite module isn't enabled. If that's the case, enable it and restart Apache:

sudo a2enmod rewrite
sudo systemctl restart apache2
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devmazee2057282 profile image
dewbiez • Edited

Personally, I'd use a PHP HTTP router instead. Link all requests to something like index.php?uri=$1. That's how most frameworks do it. A lot less rewriting. And then they just pass $_GET['uri'] around.

And if the URI is /api/users/1 get the user by the ID of 1. Pretty simple.

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coolgoose profile image
Alexandru Bucur • Edited

I would say both Meghan and Kamal are right :)

  1. Your rule only matches /api
  2. 500 error looks most likely that your rewrite module isn't up.

As a side note, I usually like debugging my htaccess calls using htaccess.madewithlove.be/ since it explains what it matches based on an url. It's definitely not perfect, but it helped me debug some more complex rewrite rules.

PS:
In the future for easier debugging it would help a lot if you would copy/paste your code as text, not as an image.