Where does the _redirects file go?

At the root of your Pages build output directory, the same place as _headers. Cloudflare Pages reads it automatically on deploy, no build step or Cloudflare dashboard configuration required.

What's the SPA fallback rule actually for?

Single-page apps handle routing client-side, so a direct request to a path like /settings that isn't a real static file would otherwise 404. The rule `/* /index.html 200` tells Cloudflare Pages to serve index.html (with a 200, not a redirect) for any path that doesn't match a real file, letting your client-side router take over.

Can _redirects redirect an entire old domain to a new one?

Yes, if the old domain is also served by this same Pages project (or another Cloudflare zone you control), a rule like `https://old-domain.com/* https://new-domain.com/:splat 301` forwards every path with its splat preserved, which is exactly what the domain-level example toggle generates.

What's the difference between a 301, 302, and 200 status here?

301 is a permanent redirect (browsers and search engines cache it long-term), 302 is temporary (re-checked each time), and 200 is a rewrite, the browser's URL bar doesn't change and no redirect happens, the content at the "to" path is simply served in its place, which is what the SPA fallback relies on.

Cloudflare _redirects Generator - Build a Pages Redirects File

Overview

Introduction

A Cloudflare Pages _redirects file is plain text, but its column-based from/to/status syntax and the distinction between a 200 rewrite and a 301/302 redirect are easy to mix up, especially the first time.

This tool builds the file from a list of rows you fill in, plus two ready-made examples (an SPA fallback and a whole-domain redirect) you can drop in with one toggle each.

What Is Cloudflare Pages _redirects File Generator?

A generator for Cloudflare Pages' _redirects file: repeatable rows for a source path, a destination, and a status code (301, 302, or 200), plus two optional canned examples for the two most common special cases.

The output is plain text, ready to save as _redirects at the root of your Pages build output.

How Cloudflare Pages _redirects File Generator Works

Each row becomes one line of `from to status`, matched against incoming request paths in the order Cloudflare evaluates them (first matching rule wins).

The SPA fallback toggle appends a commented `/* /index.html 200` rule, and the domain redirect toggle appends a commented `https://old/* https://new/:splat 301` rule using the domains you provide, with the `:splat` placeholder carrying over the matched path.

When To Use Cloudflare Pages _redirects File Generator

Use it when migrating a site to a new domain and needing every old URL to 301 to its equivalent new one, or when deploying a client-side-routed SPA that needs a catch-all fallback.

It's also useful for consolidating a handful of one-off legacy redirects (old blog slugs, renamed pages) into a single well-formatted file.

Often used alongside Cloudflare Pages _headers File Generator, Cloudflare Staging Domain Blocker and pages.dev Duplicate Content Checker.

Features

Advantages

Outputs the exact from/to/status column format Cloudflare Pages expects, with consistent spacing.
Includes the two most commonly needed special-case redirects as one-toggle examples instead of requiring you to remember their exact syntax.
Supports any number of custom rows alongside the canned examples.

Limitations

Cloudflare Pages evaluates _redirects rules top-to-bottom and stops at the first match, this tool preserves your row order but doesn't warn you about a broad early rule shadowing a narrower later one.
Doesn't validate that destination paths or domains actually exist, only that both a "from" and "to" value were entered.

Examples

A single legacy redirect plus the SPA fallback

Input

row: /old-blog/post-1 -> /blog/post-1, status 301; SPA fallback: enabled

Output

/old-blog/post-1  /blog/post-1  301

# SPA fallback: unmatched paths serve index.html so client-side routing can take over.
/*  /index.html  200

The specific redirect is listed first so it's matched before the catch-all SPA fallback rule further down.

Best Practices & Notes

Best Practices

List more specific redirect rows before broader catch-all ones, since Cloudflare stops at the first match.
Prefer 301 for permanent moves you want search engines to re-index under the new URL, and 302 only for genuinely temporary redirects.
Keep the SPA fallback rule (if used) as the very last rule in the file, so it only catches paths nothing else matched.

Developer Notes

Cloudflare Pages' _redirects parser reads each non-comment, non-blank line as whitespace-separated `from to [status]` columns and evaluates rules top-to-bottom, stopping at the first match; this generator preserves the row order you build in the form and appends the two canned examples (each prefixed with an explanatory `#` comment) after your custom rows.

Cloudflare Pages _redirects File Generator Use Cases

Migrating a site to a new domain with permanent redirects for every old path
Adding a catch-all SPA fallback so a client-side router handles deep links correctly
Consolidating scattered legacy URL redirects into one reviewable file

Common Mistakes

Placing a broad `/*` rule before more specific rules, causing the specific ones to never be reached.
Using a 301 for a redirect that's still being tested, permanent redirects get cached aggressively by browsers, making later changes hard to see take effect.

Tips

Pair the domain-level redirect example with the Staging Domain Blocker tool if the domain you're redirecting away from is a pages.dev staging subdomain you want de-indexed too.

Cloudflare Pages _redirects File Generator