Apache rewriterule assistance needed

I am trying to remove query string: ?id= from this URL:

https://example.com/news-and-events/news/?id=/nodle/nodle-io/ledger-integration-update-compatibility-status-236699676dc6

and keep the page loading/working fine

I tried this:

RewriteEngine On

RewriteCond %{QUERY_STRING} ^(.)?id=(.)?$ [NC]

RewriteRule ^(.*)?$ $1%2? [R=301,L]

it seems to strip the ?id= out fine but the page won't load, just 404s.

My issue is making the content load / carry over on the new URL.

https://example.com/news-and-events/news/nodle/nodle-io/ledger-integration-update-compatibility-status-236699676dc6

Any help appreciated, Thanks Rob

Was expecting URL to load fine and not 404, but with the shorter URL.

Solution

Updated Answer:

The / is missing because you probably have not declared the RewriteBase. As you are using the whole REQUEST_URI this one below in the code should do it.

Additionally the second bracket expression of the RewriteCond needs an * to provide the full QUERY_STRING (reduced by the search pattern id=/).

File: /news-and-events/news/.htaccess:

RewriteEngine On
RewriteBase "/news-and-events/news/"

RewriteCond %{QUERY_STRING} ^(.)?id=/(.*)?$ [NC]
RewriteRule ^(.*)?$ $1%2? [R=301,L]

Simplyfied Version

File: /news-and-events/news/.htaccess:

RewriteBase /news-and-events/news/
RewriteCond "%{QUERY_STRING}" "^id=/(.*)" [NC]
RewriteRule "(.*)" "$1%1?" [R=301,L]

OR within your virtualhost.conf-file:

Here the context is essential:

<VirtualHost *:80>

    DocumentRoot "/var/www/vhosts/myhost/htdoc/"
    # Other directives
    
    # Only required once:
    RewriteEngine On
        
    <Directory "/var/www/vhosts/myhost/htdoc/news-and-events/news/">
        RewriteBase "/news-and-events/news/"
        RewriteCond "%{QUERY_STRING}" "^id=/(.*)" [NC]
        RewriteRule "(.*)" "$1%1?" [R=301,L]
    </Directory>
    
    # More <Directory> container
    
</VirtualHost>

BTW: It is a good habit to enclose the patterns in double quotes, even if not always necessary.

Some Comments

You match against QUERY_STRING:

QUERY_STRING = 'id=/nodle/nodle-io/ledger-integration-update-compatibility-status-236699676dc6'

It will always begin with the character after the ? in the URL. So the match in the RewriteCond does not

As the regex is greedy and you select the whole string forcing the ^ start and $stop of the string is obsolete. Also making it optional by ? is unnecessary, as (.*) may evaluate to empty by itself.

Notes

Meanwhile you've disclosed, that the code shall reside in a virtualhost.conf-file of the apache server.
Also the configuration is not standalone but a sub-directory of a Wordpress installation, that also uses some Rewrite rules. As you have enabled the directive for .htaccess, but want to write the rules in the virtualhost.conf-file.
Using the propper container is essential to prohibit cross-influences with your Wordpress installation (in both directions).

AllowOverride All

you should first cleanup all possibly still existing previous "experiments" within .htaccess files to solve your problem. — Really important!

But obviously your intent has been the inverse of that what has been your question:

So besides the fact, the presented solution does what you've asked, there is obviously no content at the rewritten URL and you end up with a 404 · Not found. HTML client error.

Doing something like this has its sense, when it comes to a changed URI-structure (i.e. because of a change of the serving software) and you want your visitors to be able to follow the content. Also by the HTML status code 301 · Moved permanently the search engines will quickly learn to use the new URI logic and keep the SEO up.