Example Use Cases

You would probably need a .forgerc file on your site if you want to reuse pages across different URLs or you want better looking links. This can be achieved with Redirect/Rewrite rules.

Pretty URLs with Rewrite

Create clean, SEO-friendly URLs by rewriting to your actual files:

Location /our-team
    Rewrite /our-team.html

External Redirects

Redirect users to external resources while maintaining your URL structure:

Location /terms
    Redirect https://docs.google.com/document/d/1_n1_oiyk0b3x7i69n-iAh4f0UmFbvA 302

We imagine you'd want to give a link to your site with terms and conditions. You're too busy at the moment to design specific page, so instead just redirect users to a Google Doc (replace it with your own page, the link will remain the same!).

Direct Response

You don't even need a page, you can write a quick text placeholder directly in the config file:

Location /terms
    Respond "Oops! Not ready yet, stay tuned." 200

Custom 404 Pages

Use NotFound condition if you want to display custom 404 page (Forge already supports 404.html out of box, but say you need another name):

NotFound
    Rewrite /my-custom-404.html

Single Page Applications

This condition is also useful if you have a single-page application with pushState routing, common in React.js, Vue.js, Angular and many other modern javascript frameworks. In order to make your app work when it refreshes, you need to respond with index.html on any unknown request:

NotFound
    Rewrite /index.html

Common Use Cases

These examples demonstrate the most common scenarios where Forge Server configuration is useful:

• URL Cleanup: Remove .html extensions and create pretty URLs
• External Resources: Redirect to external services while maintaining your domain
• Quick Placeholders: Respond with text directly without creating files
• Custom Error Pages: Serve personalized 404 and error pages
• SPA Support: Enable client-side routing for modern JavaScript frameworks

Benefits

Using these configurations provides several advantages:

• Maintain clean, professional URLs
• Improve SEO with better URL structure
• Integrate external services seamlessly
• Create quick prototypes without building pages
• Support modern web applications
• Provide better user experience with custom error handling