<p>It depends on how you run Craft.
I use Valet which doesn't work with Apache.</p>

<p>It's basically there if you need it, but it's not mandatory.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-02-06T13:32:53.493Z
Thanks for your reply. Of course, it's only there for if you need it. But it's named incorrectly **if** needed. If you don't need it then it's ignored anyway…
Arvid
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-02-06T13:28:19.353Z
2017-02-06T13:28:19.353Z
Thomas Claessens
<p>Because files that start with a <code>.</code> are considered "hidden" by many file systems (specifically OSX default).</p>

<p>If the file is hidden, then there's a good chance that the user won't know about it, and won't be able to FTP it to the server. It's better for the file to be intentionally misnamed, rather than accidentally hidden. </p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-02-06T18:02:41.037Z
Thanks for your answer, but that's actually exactly the point I don't agree to.  Especially as a developer I should be aware of hidden files since this is what I am doing for a living. And Craft is in fact a CMS for professionals, not like let's say WordPress which is also for professionals but also for all people who like to own a website (with or without a weblog). (Not to mention that .htaccess files for WP are named correctly.) Renaming files that I expect to be named properly is somehow "unprofessional" and absolutely annoying, because it could be avoided. …to be continued…
Arvid
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-02-06T18:02:45.277Z
…continuation… It's pointless if you ask me. In general I copy the whole folder including hidden files and not each file one by one. And to be honest: What professional developer is working with FTP nowadays? …in times of deployment processes? … Don't get me wrong. Alright, this intentionally misnaming is made for non-professionals. But even them or let's say: Especially them trying to setup their website with Craft **will** run into the problem I always run into by my bad memory. I might find the reason easily and fast. Do they either?
Arvid
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-02-06T18:07:23.440Z
I'm simply answering the question as asked... I'm not attempting to justify it on a "big picture" level. If you want to put in a formal feature request, I'd recommend contacting support@craftcms.com directly.
Lindsey D
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-02-06T18:08:26.653Z
Keep in mind, there are _many_ different skill levels between developers... I don't think it's fair to assume that "all developers know X". As most good companies do, they're trying to lower the barrier for entry to use their product.
Lindsey D
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-02-06T18:21:13.573Z
Exactly. They try to lower the barrier. But do they lower it by delivering files that don't work due to misnaming? … I know, you could also talk to a wall right now because I am such an ignorant who is resistant to all feedback. But I just don't get the point of trying to create a "thing" (a CMS in this case) whose usage is as easy as possible. A thing that works out of the box for both professionals and non-prefessionals regardless of their skill set. And then it **doesn't** work out of the box. I think this should not the way to be. … Nevertheless CraftCMS is awesome, I love working with it.
Arvid
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-02-06T18:22:16.010Z
If you want to discuss the philosophy behind the choice, I'd recommend taking the conversation over to the Craft Slack channel.
Lindsey D
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-02-06T19:18:27.420Z
I don't know if this is the actual reason these days - but as someone who has done quite a lot of support for PHP/MySQL CMS' - leaving the period in the .htaccess about quadruples the support requests. If not more.

For people who know what they're doing it is a 1 second change. For everyone else - with that period in front - it is a HUMONGOUS obstacle to adoption and a very frustrating user experience.
Lisa
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-02-07T12:14:46.210Z
Ah. Didn't think about support issues… That makes indeed some sense. Alright, before getting you guys even more on your nerves (just kidding, I could do that all day long) I better mark the answer above as accepted since this actually **is** the answer. I just hoped there would be some other answer beyond the simple and obvious explanation that hidden files make unexperienced people to not copy them. Lisa made a valid point to me. It's not a good way in the end but it seems to be a better way from a support point of view.
Arvid
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-02-07T18:25:12.707Z
It stinks.  But the number of web devs that can't figure it out and give up is almost none.  The number of very new people that are just stepping into this and give up - sometimes without even asking for help - is pretty high.

Some things are a matter of who will be less inconvenienced/frustrated vs who is most likely to figure it out quickly with only a minimal eyeroll.

Losing customers over a stupid hidden file completely stinks - so yea.  Support load and customer retention/training all play into it.  And other things.  Etc? :)
Lisa
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-02-06T15:31:05.830Z
2017-02-06T15:31:05.830Z
Lindsey D
<p>I run into the same error on each project setup with CraftCMS. So did I this time… again…</p>

<p>First of all: Yes, I seem to be a slow learner. And therefore I can't memorize to rename the htaccess file before calling the Craft installer page. ;)</p>

<p>When downloading CraftCMS the <code>.htaccess</code> file is called <code>htaccess</code> (without leading dot).
So, whenever I setup my Craft projects I have to rename the file that is located in /public.</p>

<p>But I always forget about that. I always run into the problem that I get a "503 Service Unavailable" on requesting my new website using Craft. On requesting the admin panel (to start the installer) I get a "404 Not Found". Then I only wonder and ask myself if I have made something terribly wrong…</p>

<p>Only after some hard thinking about what's going on there I come accross the solution:
<strong>Rename <code>htaccess</code> to <code>.htaccess</code>.</strong> Apache is not recognizing the one without dot. </p>

<p>This is happening always (and by "always" I mean each and every single time I start working on a new Craft project) to me and it's totally bothering me.</p>

<p><strong>Why can't Craft jsut come with a correctly named <code>.htaccess</code> file?</strong></p>

<p>Is the public <code>htaccess</code> file maybe named without the leading dot to not be hidden on operating systems like MacOSX? So you can copy files from folder to folder without missing hidden ones?
I mean, Craft is made for developers. Come on, guys. Developers should know to have in mind hidden files when copying them to a new project's destination.</p>

<p>So, why just not delivering Craft with <code>.htaccess</code> in /public folder instead of <code>htaccess</code>?</p>

<p>I guarantee you guys that I will forget about the renaming again before calling the URL of my next Craft project.</p>

<install><htaccess>
Why is htaccess file not named ".htaccess" on fresh install?
# Why is htaccess file not named ".htaccess" on fresh install?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2017-02-06)

I run into the same error on each project setup with CraftCMS. So did I this time… again…

First of all: Yes, I seem to be a slow learner. And therefore I can't memorize to rename the htaccess file before calling the Craft installer page. ;)

When downloading CraftCMS the `.htaccess` file is called `htaccess` (without leading dot).
So, whenever I setup my Craft projects I have to rename the file that is located in /public.

But I always forget about that. I always run into the problem that I get a "503 Service Unavailable" on requesting my new website using Craft. On requesting the admin panel (to start the installer) I get a "404 Not Found". Then I only wonder and ask myself if I have made something terribly wrong…

Only after some hard thinking about what's going on there I come accross the solution:
**Rename `htaccess` to `.htaccess`.** Apache is not recognizing the one without dot.

This is happening always (and by "always" I mean each and every single time I start working on a new Craft project) to me and it's totally bothering me.

**Why can't Craft jsut come with a correctly named `.htaccess` file?**

Is the public `htaccess` file maybe named without the leading dot to not be hidden on operating systems like MacOSX? So you can copy files from folder to folder without missing hidden ones?
I mean, Craft is made for developers. Come on, guys. Developers should know to have in mind hidden files when copying them to a new project's destination.

So, why just not delivering Craft with `.htaccess` in /public folder instead of `htaccess`?

I guarantee you guys that I will forget about the renaming again before calling the URL of my next Craft project.

**Tags:** install, htaccess

---

## 2 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2017-02-06. Score: 9 | Accepted answer

Because files that start with a `.` are considered "hidden" by many file systems (specifically OSX default).

If the file is hidden, then there's a good chance that the user won't know about it, and won't be able to FTP it to the server. It's better for the file to be intentionally misnamed, rather than accidentally hidden.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: Thanks for your answer, but that's actually exactly the point I don't agree to.  Especially as a developer I should be aware of hidden files since this is what I am doing for a living. And Craft is in fact a CMS for professionals, not like let's say WordPress which is also for professionals but also for all people who like to own a website (with or without a weblog). (Not to mention that .htaccess files for WP are named correctly.) Renaming files that I expect to be named properly is somehow "unprofessional" and absolutely annoying, because it could be avoided. …to be continued…  
> **username_0**: …continuation… It's pointless if you ask me. In general I copy the whole folder including hidden files and not each file one by one. And to be honest: What professional developer is working with FTP nowadays? …in times of deployment processes? … Don't get me wrong. Alright, this intentionally misnaming is made for non-professionals. But even them or let's say: Especially them trying to setup their website with Craft **will** run into the problem I always run into by my bad memory. I might find the reason easily and fast. Do they either?  
> **username_2**: I'm simply answering the question as asked... I'm not attempting to justify it on a "big picture" level. If you want to put in a formal feature request, I'd recommend contacting support@craftcms.com directly.  
> **username_2**: Keep in mind, there are _many_ different skill levels between developers... I don't think it's fair to assume that "all developers know X". As most good companies do, they're trying to lower the barrier for entry to use their product.  
> **username_0**: Exactly. They try to lower the barrier. But do they lower it by delivering files that don't work due to misnaming? … I know, you could also talk to a wall right now because I am such an ignorant who is resistant to all feedback. But I just don't get the point of trying to create a "thing" (a CMS in this case) whose usage is as easy as possible. A thing that works out of the box for both professionals and non-prefessionals regardless of their skill set. And then it **doesn't** work out of the box. I think this should not the way to be. … Nevertheless CraftCMS is awesome, I love working with it.  
> **username_2**: If you want to discuss the philosophy behind the choice, I'd recommend taking the conversation over to the Craft Slack channel.  
> **username_3**: I don't know if this is the actual reason these days - but as someone who has done quite a lot of support for PHP/MySQL CMS' - leaving the period in the .htaccess about quadruples the support requests. If not more.  For people who know what they're doing it is a 1 second change. For everyone else - with that period in front - it is a HUMONGOUS obstacle to adoption and a very frustrating user experience.  
> **username_0**: Ah. Didn't think about support issues… That makes indeed some sense. Alright, before getting you guys even more on your nerves (just kidding, I could do that all day long) I better mark the answer above as accepted since this actually **is** the answer. I just hoped there would be some other answer beyond the simple and obvious explanation that hidden files make unexperienced people to not copy them. Lisa made a valid point to me. It's not a good way in the end but it seems to be a better way from a support point of view.  
> **username_3**: It stinks.  But the number of web devs that can't figure it out and give up is almost none.  The number of very new people that are just stepping into this and give up - sometimes without even asking for help - is pretty high.  Some things are a matter of who will be less inconvenienced/frustrated vs who is most likely to figure it out quickly with only a minimal eyeroll.  Losing customers over a stupid hidden file completely stinks - so yea.  Support load and customer retention/training all play into it.  And other things.  Etc? :)  

---

### Answer by username_1 on 2017-02-06. Score: 2

It depends on how you run Craft.
I use Valet which doesn't work with Apache.

It's basically there if you need it, but it's not mandatory.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: Thanks for your reply. Of course, it's only there for if you need it. But it's named incorrectly **if** needed. If you don't need it then it's ignored anyway…  

---

