---
url: https://docs.w3id.org/rules/files/htaccess-required.md
---

# `files/htaccess-required`

**Severity:** warning · **Status:** enforced · **Applies to:** `ids/**`

## What

A directory under `ids/` must contain an `.htaccess`, or contain a
sub-directory that does.

## Why

The `.htaccess` is the only thing that makes an identifier resolve. Without
one — anywhere in the directory or below it — `https://w3id.org/my-project/`
returns 404, and the directory is doing nothing but occupying a name.

A directory that exists only to group sub-identifiers is fine and is not
reported:

```
ids/my-org/
├── project-a/.htaccess
└── project-b/.htaccess
```

`ids/my-org/` has no rules of its own, but everything under it resolves.

## Wrong

```
ids/my-project/
└── README.md
```

Nothing here answers a request.

## Right

```
ids/my-project/
├── .htaccess
└── README.md
```

## How to fix

Add the file. The smallest useful one:

```apache
RewriteEngine on
RewriteRule ^$ https://example.org/my-project/ [R=302,L]
```

If the directory was left behind by a change that removed its rules, remove
the directory too.

## How to check

Run `w3id-check` with `--rule files/htaccess-required` to check this rule on
its own; without it the tool runs every rule, as the pull request checks do.

```sh
node tools/check/bin/w3id-check.js --rule files/htaccess-required ids/my-project
```

[Testing your changes](/guides/testing) covers installing the tool, and what
else is worth checking by hand.

## See also

* [`files/no-empty-htaccess`](./no-empty-htaccess)
* [`htaccess/rewrite-engine-required`](../htaccess/rewrite-engine-required)
* [Report a false positive or a missing check](https://github.com/perma-id/w3id.org/issues)