The .htaccess file in Magento is a powerful configuration file used on Apache servers to control how directories and subdirectories behave. Magento uses this file to manage:
- Search Engine Friendly (SEO) URLs
- Performance optimization settings
- Web server and PHP configuration directives
- Security and directory access control
Magento also includes a default backup file named .htaccess.sample which you can use to restore original configurations if something breaks after modifying the .htaccess file.
Note: Too many directives inside .htaccess may slightly slow down Apache, so keep changes minimal.
Main Use Cases of .htaccess in Magento
1)Protect Website Directories
Deny access to all
deny from all
Allow access only to specific IPs
order deny,allow deny from all allow from xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx
Blacklist specific IPs
order deny,allow allow from all deny from xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx
2)Password-Protect a Directory
Add the following to .htaccess:
require valid-user Authname "Password Required" Authtype Basic AuthUserFile "/www/pwd/.htpasswd"
Then create an .htpasswd file that stores encoded passwords:
user1:encodedpassword user2:encodedpassword