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Boldewyn
Asked: 2009-10-27 12:29:07 +0800 CST

Apache: Send pre-packed gzip'ed files

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I want Apache to send static files gzip'ed over the wire, but also want Apache to not always gzip them over and over again. So I thought if it wouldn't be possible to deliver an .gz file if it exists. This set-up:

File structure:

static/
|
|--- style.css
|
\--- style.css.gz

And the following in an .htaccess:

mod_rewrite rule:

RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME}.gz -s
RewriteRule ^(.+) $1.gz [L]

And this setting:

AddEncoding x-gzip .gz

Actually, this works insofar as the .gz file is sent instead of the .css, if the request goes to /static/style.css. The problem is only, that the file is delivered as "application/x-gzip" and not as "text/css". Using mod_rewrite's T flag doesn't alter this. Neither does an explicit

AddType text/css .css

Has anyone an idea, how I could achieve the desired behaviour? Or is it unnecessary for some reason I didn't reckon?

EDIT: There is an additional difficulty: Sending the original file to clients without gzip support. Has anyone an idea how this could work?

apache-2.2

2 Answers

  1. Best Answer

    A solution for sending the correct version to browsers that don't accept gzip would be something along the lines of:

    RewriteCond %{HTTP:Accept-Encoding} !gzip
...your rules here...

    Also, there is another way to change the type, namely:

    <FilesMatch .*\.css.gz>
    ForceType text/css
</FilesMatch>

<FilesMatch .*\.js.gz>
    ForceType text/javascript
</FilesMatch>

    HTH.

    • 5

  2. Ah, it seems I found a solution: The T flag does not work if set on the same rule, but it sure does, if you spend it a rule of its own:

    RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME}.gz -s
RewriteRule ^(.+) $1.gz

RewriteRule \.css\.gz$ - [T=text/css]
RewriteRule \.js\.gz$ - [T=text/javascript]

    Still I would like to hear others' solutions and opinions.

    • 3