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URL Rewrites in Umbraco

With the release of Umbraco 9 and the change of the underlying web framework that is decoupled from the webserver, the way that you configure rewrites has changed as well.

Instead of the URL Rewriting extension in IIS you can use the URL Rewriting Middleware in ASP.NET Core, which needs to be added to your project startup code first.

If you are running Umbraco 9 on IIS you can still add a web.config file to configure IIS features such as URL rewrites.

When to use the URL Rewriting Middleware

Make sure to check the official URL Rewriting Middleware in ASP.NET Core documentation for more information about when you should or should not use the URL Rewriting Middleware.

Using the URL Rewriting Middleware

To use rewrites with Umbraco 9 you have to register the middleware in your Startup.cs by using the UseRewriter extension method and then configure the rewrite options.

Example

  • Create an IISUrlRewrite.xml file in the root of your project (next to your Startup.cs file) containing:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" ?>
<rewrite>
  <rules>
    <rule name="Redirect umbraco.io to preferred domain" stopProcessing="true">
      <match url=".*" />
      <conditions>
        <add input="{HTTP_HOST}" pattern="\.umbraco\.io$" />
        <add input="{REQUEST_URI}" pattern="^/App_Plugins/" negate="true" />
        <add input="{REQUEST_URI}" pattern="^/umbraco" negate="true" />
      </conditions>
      <action type="Redirect" url="https://example.com/{R:0}" />
    </rule>
  </rules>
</rewrite>

  • In the Startup.cs file you can add the URL Rewriting Middleware just before the call to app.UseUmbraco() and use AddIISUrlRewrite) to add the rewrite rules from the XML file:

using Microsoft.AspNetCore.Rewrite;

var rewriteOptions = new RewriteOptions()
    .AddIISUrlRewrite(env.ContentRootFileProvider, "IISUrlRewrite.xml");

app.UseRewriter(rewriteOptions);

// This line is needed for the rewrites to take effect.
app.UseStaticFiles();

On Linux, make sure to place the app.UseStaticFiles() after the app.UseUmbraco() statements for the redirect to work as intended.

  • In your csproj file add the XML file to a new item group and set CopyToOutputDirectory to Always:

<ItemGroup>
  <Content Include="IISUrlRewrite.xml">
    <CopyToOutputDirectory>Always</CopyToOutputDirectory>
  </Content>
</ItemGroup>

On Umbraco Cloud the item group needs to be set to <CopyToPublishDirectory>Always</CopyToPublishDirectory> for the file to be published to your deployed site.

Rewrite rule shortcuts

RewriteOptions has a number of "shortcut" methods to implement commonly used rewrites including:

  • AddRedirectToNonWww()

  • AddRedirectToWww()

  • AddRedirectToNonWwwPermanent()

  • AddRedirectToWwwPermanent()

  • AddRedirectToHttps()

For more details and other examples, take a look at the URL Rewriting Middleware in ASP.NET Core and RewriteOptions Class documentation.

Examples of rewrite rules

External Resources

If you are looking for additional inspiration or examples for creating IIS Rewrite rules, these external resources are a great starting point:

Example: Remove a Trailing Slash

The following rule removes any trailing slashes from the URL.

<rule name="Remove trailing slash" stopProcessing="true">
  <match url="(.*)/+$" />
  <conditions>
    <add input="{REQUEST_URI}" pattern="^/umbraco" negate="true" />
    <add input="{REQUEST_FILENAME}" matchType="IsFile" negate="true" />
    <add input="{REQUEST_FILENAME}" matchType="IsDirectory" negate="true" />
  </conditions>
  <action type="Redirect" url="/{R:1}" />
</rule>

Ensure Umbraco does not add a trailing slash by setting AddTrailingSlash to false in your RequestHandler settings.

Example: Enforce HTTPS

The following rule ensures your site only runs on HTTPS:

<rule name="Redirect to HTTPS" stopProcessing="true">
  <match url=".*" />
  <conditions>
    <add input="{HTTPS}" pattern="^OFF$" />
    <add input="{HTTP_HOST}" pattern="^localhost(:[0-9]+)?$" negate="true" />
  </conditions>
  <action type="Redirect" url="https://{HTTP_HOST}/{R:0}" />
</rule>

Example: Redirect Non-www to www

The following rule redirects traffic from non-www to www (excluding the Umbraco Cloud project hostname):

<rule name="Redirect to www prefix" stopProcessing="true">
  <match url=".*" />
  <conditions>
    <add input="{HTTP_HOST}" pattern="^www\." negate="true" />
    <add input="{HTTP_HOST}" pattern="^localhost(:[0-9]+)?$" negate="true" />
    <add input="{HTTP_HOST}" pattern="\.umbraco\.io$" negate="true" />
  </conditions>
  <action type="Redirect" url="https://www.{HTTP_HOST}/{R:0}" />
</rule>

Example: Remove the .aspx Extension

The following rule redirects .aspx URLs to their extensionless counterparts.

<configuration>
  <system.webServer>
    <rewrite>
      <rules>
        <!-- Redirect .aspx URLs to their extensionless counterparts -->
        <rule name="Remove ASPX extension" stopProcessing="true">
          <match url="^(.*)\.aspx$" />
          <conditions logicalGrouping="MatchAll">
            <add input="{REQUEST_FILENAME}" matchType="IsFile" negate="true" />
            <add input="{REQUEST_FILENAME}" matchType="IsDirectory" negate="true" />
          </conditions>
          <action type="Redirect" url="{R:1}" redirectType="Permanent" />
        </rule>
      </rules>
    </rewrite>
  </system.webServer>
</configuration>

Example: Custom Rewrite Rules for Umbraco Cloud

An example configuration to help ensure your custom rules integrate properly:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<configuration xmlns:xdt="http://schemas.microsoft.com/XML-Document-Transform">
  <location path="." inheritInChildApplications="false">
    <system.webServer>
      <rewrite xdt:Transform="Insert">
        <rules>
          <!-- Add your custom rules here -->
        </rules>
      </rewrite>
    </system.webServer>
  </location>
</configuration>

If you use Umbraco Cloud, check the Rewrite Rules article.

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