Knowledge Base

Showing or Hiding Directory Listings

Control whether visitors can see file listings when there's no index file.

What is Directory Indexing?

When someone visits a folder without an index.html/index.php, they either:

• See a list of files (indexing enabled)
• See a 403 Forbidden error (indexing disabled)

Disabling Directory Indexing (Recommended)

For security, disable indexing. Add to .htaccess:

Options -Indexes

Enabling Directory Indexing

If you want to allow file browsing:

Options +Indexes

Custom Index Files

Tell the server which files to use as index:

DirectoryIndex index.html index.php home.html

Security Recommendation

Always disable directory indexing unless you specifically need it. Enabled indexing can expose:

• Backup files
• Configuration files
• Development files
• Your site structure

Per-Directory Settings

You can have different settings for different folders by placing .htaccess files in each directory.