.htaccess Rule Explainer
Paste any .htaccess block and instantly get a plain-English breakdown of every directive. Know exactly what your Apache rules do before you deploy them.
Paste your .htaccess content on the left to see an explanation here.
About this tool
The .htaccess Rule Explainer parses any Apache .htaccess file and translates each directive into plain English. Paste your rules into the left panel and the explanation appears instantly on the right. No content is sent to any server; everything runs entirely in your browser.
What is .htaccess?
An .htaccess file is a per-directory configuration file read by the Apache web server. It lets you control URL rewrites, redirects, access control, caching headers, MIME types, authentication, and many other server behaviours without touching the main Apache configuration. WordPress uses it heavily to route all requests through index.php.
When should you edit it?
Common reasons to edit .htaccess include: setting up custom redirect rules, enabling gzip compression, adding security headers, protecting directories with a password, blocking bad bots or IP addresses, and fixing permalink structures. Many WordPress plugins (Rank Math, W3 Total Cache, Wordfence) write to .htaccess automatically.
Warning: back up before editing
A syntax error in .htaccess causes Apache to return a 500 Internal Server Error for every request to that directory, taking your site offline. Always download a copy of the working file before making changes. If you lock yourself out, you can restore it via FTP, SFTP, or your hosting control panel's file manager.
