How to Manage Redirects in Hugo Using a Single File

When building a Hugo site, you might need to manage redirects, especially if you’re restructuring content or moving pages. While it’s common to define redirects in the frontmatter of each page, there’s a more efficient way to handle them using a single file. This article will show you how to set up redirects in Hugo using a _redirects file or custom server configurations.

Method 1: Using a _redirects File (e.g., for Netlify)

If you’re deploying your Hugo site to Netlify, you can easily manage all your redirects in a single _redirects file.

1. Create a _redirects File:

   • In the root directory of your Hugo site, or in the static folder, create a file named _redirects.

2. Define Your Redirects:

   • Inside the _redirects file, list your redirects using the following format:

     1 2	/old-url /new-url 301 /another-old-url /another-new-url 302

   • Each line should contain the old path, the new path, and the status code (301 for permanent redirects, 302 for temporary).

Example _redirects File:

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/old-page /new-page 301
/old-blog-post /new-blog-post 302

Method 2: Using Custom Server Configuration

If you’re hosting your Hugo site on a platform other than Netlify, such as an Apache or Nginx server, you can manage redirects through server configuration files.

For Apache:

• Create a .htaccess file in the root directory of your Hugo site.
• Define your redirects using the Redirect directive:

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Redirect 301 /old-url /new-url
Redirect 302 /another-old-url /another-new-url

For Nginx:

• Open your Nginx configuration file (usually found in /etc/nginx/sites-available/).

• Add your redirects within the server block:

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location /old-url {
    return 301 /new-url;
}

location /another-old-url {
    return 302 /another-new-url;
}

Conclusion

By managing your redirects in a single file, you simplify the process of updating and maintaining your Hugo site. Whether you use a _redirects file for Netlify or custom server configurations for other hosting environments, this approach centralizes your redirects and keeps your project organized.

-MB