htaccess files in all higher-level directories, in order to have a full complement of directives that it must apply. htaccess file is loaded every time a document is requested.įurther note that httpd must look for. htaccess files causes a performance hit, whether or not you actually even use them! Also, the. htaccess files, httpd will look in every directory for. When AllowOverride is set to allow the use of. There are two main reasons to avoid the use of. htaccess file, can just as effectively be made in a section in your main server configuration file. Any configuration that you would consider putting in a. htaccess files should be avoided when possible. This is particularly true, for example, in cases where ISPs are hosting multiple user sites on a single machine, and want their users to be able to alter their configuration.
In the event that the server administrator is not willing to make frequent configuration changes, it might be desirable to permit individual users to make these changes in. htaccess files should be used in a case where the content providers need to make configuration changes to the server on a per-directory basis, but do not have root access on the server system. Likewise, mod_rewrite directives work better, in many respects, in the main server configuration. You can put user authentication configurations in the main server configuration, and this is, in fact, the preferred way to do things. htaccess files, and, in more recent years, another misconception that mod_rewrite directives must go in. There is, for example, a common misconception that user authentication should always be done in. htaccess files when you don't have access to the main server configuration file. htaccess file, look at the documentation for that directive, and check the Context line for ".htaccess". If you are unsure whether a particular directive is permitted in a. Thus, you must have at least AllowOverride FileInfo in order for this directive to be honored in. (See the Context line in the directive summary.) The Override line reads FileInfo. htaccess file, the documentation for that directive will contain an Override section, specifying what value must be in AllowOverride in order for that directive to be permitted.įor example, if you look at the documentation for the AddDefaultCharset directive, you will find that it is permitted in. This directive specifies, in categories, what directives will be honored if they are found in a. What you can put in these files is determined by the AllowOverride directive. htaccess files use the same syntax as the main configuration files. config then you can put the following in your server configuration file: For example, if you would rather call the file. htaccess file something else, you can change the name of the file using the AccessFileName directive.