CodeIgniter: Is it possible to remove index.php without using .htaccess?

Question

For technical reasons, I don't want to use .htaccess to remove index.php from URL in CodeIgniter. I have seen the route section. I also tried with a route like this:

$route['(:any)'] = 'index.php/$1';

But it is not working.

Is it possible to remove index.php using the router in CodeIgniter?

Wino

yes you can using routes,it will still work, BUT index.php will still appear on the url, htaccess gives you the pretty url you want and removes the index.php on every request depending on what is defined on you're htaccess rules – Hangover

What exactly is the technical limitation to which you're referring? – Crossed

if i change the server or path then i need to change RewriteBase property in .htaccess. sometimes i dont have authority to change that :( @Crossed – Wino

thanks @tomexsans. Then i can not remove index.php from URL by routes? And my routes is not working. for example, i have a controller home and i will browse it like sitename/home. but it showing not found message. :( – Wino

you can't remove it from url without .htaccess, it is the entry point, actually .htaccess not remove it, just hide it from the url – Gules

removing the index.php from url can be done ONLY with htaccess – Maroney

check my answer, you may not use .htaccess, then you will need a virtual host, or to edit your DNS to point to index.php ! its a server thing not php/framework thing – Coppock

Answer 1

Is it possible to remove index.php without using .htaccess?

No. it is something beyond php or codeigniter, its a server thing.

Why ?

What happens when user try to go to localhost/codeigniter/welcome/index ?

MVC basically hide all your php files inside its folders. and present only one way for any user to interact with your code through index.php

what happen is

1. HTTP request to your website directed to index.php
2. index.php load codeigniter bootstrap and call codeigniter router
3. router look up the url typed (welcome/index) then go fetch the file welcome from inside controller folder and call index function.

this is plain simple what all MVC frameworks do, hide your code and use a single front file to handle all requests and redirect them using a router class.

so if you want to hide index.php then you need to find a way to tell your server to simply redirect any call to index.php.

index.php is the access door for your website, and your server need to know that all requests must be sent to it. some way or another, and thats why index.php/ must exisit in ur url or use some server configuration to redirect calls to it. but it is always loaded

Coppock

Answer is great, but not cleared. What actually do the CodeIgniter router? I have some apps with lots of custom routing using CodeIgniter router. Can you mention about why i can not remove index.php but others string from URL. – Wino

route is a class.. all it do is get PHP $_SERVER['url'] and explode it to find the correct controller. i think you are missing one thing.. every page you open in your codeigniter project is opened inside index.php .. index.php is the only public file. other files are Included inside index.php, so all your controllers etc are included include('controller/welcome)` inside index.php , and the class that handle this include.. is route class – Coppock

Now i got your point, the router class is also inside index.php. After running index.php, the router class works. Thank you. – Wino

Answer 2

I have done the following to work with routes that do not require to have index.php in your url.

1. I have renamed index.php in index_ci.php for security reasons.

2. In .htaccess file I have the following:

   DirectoryIndex index_ci.php index.html
   RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-f  
   RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-d  
   RewriteCond $1 !^(index_ci\.php) # do not allow direct access  
   RewriteRule ^(.*)$ index_ci.php/$1 [L,QSA]
   

3. My routes.php now accepts urls without index.php prefix. Example:

   $route['welcome'] = "welcome";
   

Maroney

@lighta: reading his question the second I saw what you said :D – Maroney

@machineaddict: thanks. but i can do it with .htaccess, i just need to know the way of without using .htaccess and only with CodeIgniter router :) – Wino

There is just not possible. It doesn't matter if its CodeIgniter, other framework or pure php scripts. Url rewrite happens at apache level, you cannot do it in php. – Maroney