How to enable mod_rewrite for Apache 2.2

I've got fresh install of Apache 2.2 on my Vista machine, everything works fine, except mod rewrite.

I've uncommented

LoadModule rewrite_module modules/mod_rewrite.s

but none of my rewrite rules works, even simple ones like

RewriteRule not_found %{DOCUMENT_ROOT}/index.php?page=404

All the rules I'm using are working on my hosting, so they should be ok, so my question is, is there any hidden thing in apache configuration, that could block mod rewrite?

In order to use mod_rewrite you can type the following command in the terminal:

sudo a2enmod rewrite

Restart apache2 after

sudo /etc/init.d/apache2 restart

or

sudo service apache2 restart

or as per new unified System Control Way

sudo systemctl restart apache2

Then, if you'd like, you can use the following .htaccess file.

<IfModule mod_rewrite.c>
    RewriteEngine On
    RewriteBase /
    RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-f
    RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-d
    RewriteRule . /index.php [L]
</IfModule>

The above .htaccess file (if placed in your DocumentRoot) will redirect all traffic to an index.php file in the DocumentRoot unless the file exists.

So, let's say you have the following directory structure and httpdocs is the DocumentRoot

httpdocs/
    .htaccess
    index.php
    images/
        hello.png
    js/
        jquery.js
    css/
        style.css
includes/
    app/
        app.php

Any file that exists in httpdocs will be served to the requester using the .htaccess shown above, however, everything else will be redirected to httpdocs/index.php. Your application files in includes/app will not be accessible.

For my situation, I had

RewriteEngine On

in my .htaccess, along with the module being loaded, and it was not working.

The solution to my problem was to edit my vhost entry to inlcude

AllowOverride all

in the <Directory> section for the site in question.

Try setting: AllowOverride All.

---

Second most common issue is not having mod rewrite enabled: a2enmod rewrite and then restart apache.

If non of the above works try editing /etc/apache2/sites-enabled/000-default

almost at the top you will find

<Directory /var/www/>
	Options Indexes FollowSymLinks MultiViews
	AllowOverride None
	Order allow,deny
	allow from all
</Directory>

Change the AllowOverride None to AllowOverride All

this worked for me

New apache version has change in some way. If your apache version is 2.4 then you have to go to /etc/apache2/. There will be a file named apache2.conf. You have to edit that one(you should have root permission). Change directory text like this

<Directory /var/www/>
    Options Indexes FollowSymLinks
    AllowOverride All
    Require all granted
</Directory>

Now restart apache.

service apache2 reload

Hope it works.

In Ubuntu:

Run:

a2enmod rewrite

and then:

service apache2 restart

mod_rewrite will now be enabled!

There are many ways how you can fix this issue, if you know the root of the issue.

Problem 1

Firstly, it may be a problem with your apache not having the mod_rewrite.c module installed or enabled.

For this reason, you would have to enable it as follows

1. Open up your console and type into it, this:

   sudo a2enmod rewrite

2. Restart your apache server.

   service apache2 restart

Problem 2

1. You may also, in addition to the above, if it does not work, have to change the override rule from the apache conf file (either apache2.conf, http.conf , or 000-default file).

2. Locate "Directory /var/www/"

3. Change the "Override None" to "Override All"

Problem 3

If you get an error stating rewrite module is not found, then probably your userdir module is not enabled. For this reason you need to enable it.

1. Type this into the console:

   sudo a2enmod userdir

2. Then try enabling the rewrite module if still not enabled (as mentioned above).

To read further on this, you can visit this site: http://seventhsoulmountain.blogspot.com/2014/02/wordpress-permalink-ubuntu-problem-solutions.html

Open terminal and typin a2enmod rewrite, It will enable your mod_rewrite module for Apache.

Then go to /etc/apache2/sites-available and edit default file. (For this you must have writable permissions to this file and sites-available folder.)

Replace below with existing lines 4 to 14

DocumentRoot /var/www
<Directory />
Options FollowSymLinks
AllowOverride All
</Directory>
<Directory /var/www/>
Options Indexes FollowSymLinks MultiViews
AllowOverride All
Order allow,deny
allow from all
</Directory>

Now restart your apache by /etc/init.d/apache2 restart or service apache2 restart

Take clean URL test again and this time it will be passed.

<edit>

Just noticed you said mod_rewrite.s instead of mod_rewrite.so - hope that's a typo in your question and not in the httpd.conf file! :)

</edit>

I'm more used to using Apache on Linux, but I had to do this the other day.

First off, take a look in your Apache install directory. (I'll be assuming you installed it to "C:\Program Files" here)

Take a look in the folder: "C:\Program Files\Apache Software Foundation\Apache2.2\modules" and make sure that there's a file called mod_rewrite.so in there. (It should be, it's provided as part of the default install.

Next, open up "C:\Program Files\Apache Software Foundation\Apache2.2\conf" and open httpd.conf. Make sure the line:

#LoadModule rewrite_module modules/mod_rewrite.so

is uncommented:

LoadModule rewrite_module modules/mod_rewrite.so

Also, if you want to enable the RewriteEngine by default, you might want to add something like

<IfModule mod_rewrite>
    RewriteEngine On
</IfModule>

to the end of your httpd.conf file.

If not, make sure you specify

RewriteEngine On

somewhere in your .htaccess file.

I just did this

sudo a2enmod rewrite

then you have to restart the apache service by following command

sudo service apache2 restart

Old thread, just want to put that don't set AllowOverride to all instead use specific mod you want to use,

AllowOverride mod_rewrite mod_mime

And this line should be un-commented

LoadModule rewrite_module modules/mod_rewrite.so

Refrences

• http://www.eschrade.com/page/why-you-should-not-use-htaccess-allowoverride-all-in-production/
• https://httpd.apache.org/docs/2.4/misc/security_tips.html
• https://httpd.apache.org/docs/2.4/rewrite/avoid.html

Use below command

sudo a2enmod rewrite

And the restart apache through below command

sudo service apache2 restart

There's obviously more than one way to do it, but I would suggest using the more standard:

ErrorDocument 404 /index.php?page=404

What worked for me (in ubuntu):

sudo su
cd /etc/apache2/mods-enabled
ln ../mods-available/rewrite.load rewrite.load

Also, as already mentioned, make sure AllowOverride all is set in the relevant section of /etc/apache2/sites-available/default

The first time I struggled with mod_rewrite rules ignoring my traffic, I learned (frustratingly) that I had placed them in the wrong <VirtualHost>, which meant that my traffic would ignore all of them no matter how well-written they were. Make sure this isn't happening to you:

# Change the log location to suit your system. RewriteLog /var/log/apache-rw.log RewriteLogLevel 2

These parameters will activate if you perform a graceful restart of Apache, so you can recycle them in and closely monitor the mod_rewrite behavior. Once your problem is fixed, turn the RewriteLogLevel back down and celebrate.

In 100% of my experience, I've found that the RewriteLog has helped me discover the problem with my rewrite rules. I can't recommend this enough. Good luck in your troubleshooting!

Also, this bookmark is your best friend: http://httpd.apache.org/docs/2.2/mod/mod_rewrite.html#rewritelog