Caddy: [Feature] http.rewrite - FallbackResource

[magikstm]

I think Apache's mod_dir FallbackResource feature would be a nice addition to Caddy's http.rewrite directive.

Ref: https://httpd.apache.org/docs/trunk/en/mod/mod_dir.html#fallbackresource
Ref: https://caddyserver.com/docs/rewrite

Something like:

rewrite [basepath] {
fallbackresource
to destinations
}

It was first requested here in the forum: https://caddy.community/t/what-is-the-equivalent-of-apaches-fallbackresource/1309

[magikstm]

I'm testing an Ember.js application on Caddy.

Ref: https://emberjs.com/
Ref: https://guides.emberjs.com/v2.17.0/tutorial/deploying/#toc_apache
Ref: https://guides.emberjs.com/v2.17.0/getting-started/quick-start/#toc_building-for-production
(*) Ember.js is a javascript Single Page Application framework

These Apache rewrites are suggested:

<IfModule mod_rewrite.c>
RewriteEngine On
RewriteRule ^index\.html$ - [L]
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-f
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-d
RewriteRule (.*) index.html [L]
</IfModule>

Or:
FallbackResource index.html

I'm currently using this block in Caddy, but it's not perfect and it'll need adjustments from time to time:

rewrite {
    ext !.css !.js !.woff !.ttf !.gif !.jpg !.mp4
    to /
}

Is there a better option at the moment?

Could this feature be considered to better support such use-cases?

[lbguilherme]

You can already specify multiple values to to. It will try in order and use the first one for which the file exists, or the last one. This is what I do for React applications:

  rewrite {
    to {path} {path}/ /
  }

See https://caddyserver.com/docs/rewrite

[abiosoft]

If I get you right, you want to rewrite everything that is not a static file to the index page.

rewrite {
  to {path} /index.html
}

And like @lbguilherme pointed out, you can have multiple values under to.

I'll be closing this until we can ascertain your request is indeed not possible yet.

[magikstm]

@lbguilherme thanks a lot. It works perfectly with my app. The {path} {path}/ is really powerful and I didn't know it could be used that way.

@abiosoft thanks for this example. this one doesn't retain location. It might be useful in the member's area or to ensure a proper workflow if needed. I'll possibly use it in that project.

I would suggest adding @lbguilherme example to the http.rewrite Examples section.