mod_rewrite rules in httpd.conf not working

Question

I am trying to add my rewrite rules to httpd.conf and disable .htaccess in order to improve server performance. For some reason everything I have tried doesn't work.

in my main httpd.conf I have disabled all instances of AllowOverride setting them to none.

I have an include file for each site within its virtual host block

Include "etc/apache2/conf.d/site.com/rewrite.conf"

then in rewrite.conf I have something like this:

 <Directory "/home/shopmobilephones/public_html">
 RewriteEngine On
 ServerSignature off
 # HTTP > HTTPS #########################################################################
 RewriteCond %{HTTPS} off
 RewriteRule (.*) https://shopmobilephones.co.uk%{REQUEST_URI} [L,R=301]
 RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} ^/www.shopmobilephones.co.uk [NC]
 RewriteRule (.*) https://shopmobilephones.co.uk%{REQUEST_URI} [L,R=301]
 RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} libwww-perl.* 
 RewriteRule .* ? [F,L]

 RewriteRule ^/mobiles/deals/cash-back /cashback.php [L]
 RewriteRule ^/mobiles/deals/cheap-mobile-phones /cheapmobilephones.php [L]
 RewriteRule ^/mobiles/deals/clearance-deals /clearance.php [L]
 RewriteRule ^/mobiles/deals/contracts /contractphones.php [L]
 RewriteRule ^/mobiles/deals/12-months-free-line-rental /12month.php [L]
 RewriteRule ^/mobiles/deals/top-deals /dailydeals.php [L]
 RewriteRule ^/mobiles/deals/free-phones /freephones.php [L]
 RewriteRule ^/mobiles/deals/new-mobile-phones /ladeals.php [L]
 RewriteRule ^/mobiles/deals/sim-free-phones /simfree.php [L]
 RewriteRule ^/mobiles/colours/(.*) /colours.php?colour=$1 [L]
 RewriteRule ^/mobiles/(.*)/contract-deals /dealsnew.php?slug=$1&deal-type=1&device-type=Phone&network=all [L]
 RewriteRule ^/mobiles/(.*)/upgrades /dealsnew.php?slug=$1&deal-type=2&device-type=Phone&network=all [L]
 RewriteRule ^/mobiles/(.*)/contract-deals/(.*) /dealsnew.php?slug=$1&deal-type=1&device-type=Phone&NETWORK=$2 [L]

 </Directory>

 <IfModule mod_expires.c>
 ExpiresActive On
 ExpiresByType image/jpg "access plus 1 year"
 ExpiresByType image/jpeg "access plus 1 year"
 ExpiresByType image/gif "access plus 1 year"
 ExpiresByType image/png "access plus 1 year"
 ExpiresByType text/css "access plus 1 month"
 ExpiresByType application/pdf "access plus 1 month"
 ExpiresByType text/x-javascript "access plus 1 month"
 ExpiresByType application/x-shockwave-flash "access plus 1 month"
 ExpiresByType image/x-icon "access plus 1 year"
 ExpiresDefault "access plus 2 days"
 </IfModule>

 # php -- BEGIN cPanel-generated handler, do not edit
 # Set the “ea-php56” package as the default “PHP” programming language.
 <IfModule mime_module>
  AddType application/x-httpd-ea-php56 .php .php5 .phtml
 </IfModule>
 # php -- END cPanel-generated handler, do not edit

I have tried adding RewriteBase / and removing all prefixing / this doesn't work I have also taken the rules out of the directory blocks this doesn't work, I have even added the rules in the main httpd.conf inside and out of directory blocks but nothing works, where am I going wrong?

Answer 1

Inside the http servers host configuration you need to keep the leading slash in path notations, a RewriteBase does not make any sense and the rules need to be placed outside some <Directory> or <Location> section. You have to remove the leading slash in the RewriteCond testing the %{HTTP_HOST}, but you have to escape the dot characters in there. It seems some current versions of the apache http server do not always define the %{HTTPS} variable as claimed in the documentation, you can test for the port instead:

<VirtualHost *:443>
  ServerName example.com
  ServerAlias www.example.com
  ServerAdmin webmaster@example.com
  # ...
  ServerSignature off
  DocumentRoot "/home/shopmobilephones/public_html"

  RewriteEngine On
  # HTTP > HTTPS & www host
  RewriteCond %{SERVER_PORT} !^443$
  RewriteRule ^ https://shopmobilephones.co.uk%{REQUEST_URI} [R=301]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} ^www\.shopmobilephones\.co\.uk$
  RewriteRule ^ https://shopmobilephones.co.uk%{REQUEST_URI} [R=301]
  RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} libwww-perl.* 
  RewriteRule .* ? [F,L]

  RewriteRule ^/mobiles/deals/cash-back /cashback.php [L]
  RewriteRule ^/mobiles/deals/cheap-mobile-phones /cheapmobilephones.php [L]
  RewriteRule ^/mobiles/deals/clearance-deals /clearance.php [L]
  RewriteRule ^/mobiles/deals/contracts /contractphones.php [L]
  RewriteRule ^/mobiles/deals/12-months-free-line-rental /12month.php [L]
  RewriteRule ^/mobiles/deals/top-deals /dailydeals.php [L]
  RewriteRule ^/mobiles/deals/free-phones /freephones.php [L]
  RewriteRule ^/mobiles/deals/new-mobile-phones /ladeals.php [L]
  RewriteRule ^/mobiles/deals/sim-free-phones /simfree.php [L]
  RewriteRule ^/mobiles/colours/(.*) /colours.php?colour=$1 [L]
  RewriteRule ^/mobiles/(.*)/contract-deals /dealsnew.php?slug=$1&deal-type=1&device-type=Phone&network=all [L]
  RewriteRule ^/mobiles/(.*)/upgrades /dealsnew.php?slug=$1&deal-type=2&device-type=Phone&network=all [L]
  RewriteRule ^/mobiles/(.*)/contract-deals/(.*) /dealsnew.php?slug=$1&deal-type=1&device-type=Phone&NETWORK=$2 [L]

  <Directory "/home/shopmobilephones/public_html">
    # .....
  </Directory>
</VirtualHost>

If you operate a recent version of the apache http server you probably also want to replace the [L] flag with the [END] flag which typically increases performance slightly since it prevents an additional loop through the rewriting engine when there is no need for that.

You can move the rewriting rules into a separate file as you suggest in your question, that is fine, just include it where the rules are placed inline in the example above.