URL Rewrites in Umbraco
Since the release of Umbraco v9 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.
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 v9+ you have to register the middleware in your Program.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 yourProgram.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$" />
<add input="{REQUEST_URI}" pattern="^/App_Plugins/" negate="true" />
<add input="{REQUEST_URI}" pattern="^/umbraco" negate="true" />
</conditions>
<action type="Redirect" url="https://example.com/{R:0}" />
</rule>
</rules>
</rewrite>
In the
Program.cs
file you can add the URL Rewriting Middleware before the call toapp.UseUmbraco()
and useAddIISUrlRewrite
to add the rewrite rules from the XML file:
using Microsoft.AspNetCore.Rewrite;
var rewriteOptions = new RewriteOptions()
.AddIISUrlRewrite(builder.Environment.ContentRootFileProvider, "IISUrlRewrite.xml");
app.UseRewriter(rewriteOptions);
// This line is needed for the rewrites to take effect.
app.UseStaticFiles();
In your csproj file add the XML file to a new item group and set
CopyToOutputDirectory
toAlways
:
<ItemGroup>
<Content Include="IISUrlRewrite.xml">
<CopyToOutputDirectory>Always</CopyToOutputDirectory>
</Content>
</ItemGroup>
Rewrite rule shortcuts
RewriteOptions
has a number of "shortcut" methods to implement commonly used rewrites including:
AddRedirectToNonWww()
AddRedirectToWww()
AddRedirectToNonWwwPermanent()
AddRedirectToWwwPermanent()
AddRedirectToHttps()
For more details and other examples, take a look at the URL Rewriting Middleware in ASP.NET Core and RewriteOptions Class documentation.
Examples of rewrite rules
External Resources
If you are looking for additional inspiration or examples for creating IIS Rewrite rules, these external resources are a great starting point:
A great site showing 10 handy IIS Rewrite rules: URL rewriting tips and tricks
Another site showing some handy examples of IIS Rewrite rules: Some useful IIS rewrite rules
If you needed to a lot of static rewrites using rewrite maps: Rule with rewrite map rule template
Example: Remove a Trailing Slash
The following rule removes any trailing slashes from the URL.
<rule name="Remove trailing slash" stopProcessing="true">
<match url="(.*)/+$" />
<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>
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