[SOLVED] Using RedirectMatch with HTTP

Using RedirectMatch with HTTP_HOST in the destination

I keep reading that, where possible, I should not be using mod_rewrite. As such, I am trying to do a http to https rewrite with RedirectMatch.

Question: How can I use RedirectMatch and use Apache server variables (such as %{HTTP_HOST}) in the URL parameter?

This code fails to return a response to the client (Chrome):

RedirectMatch ^(.*) https://%{HTTP_HOST}/$1

I recently asked a similar question to this, but it may have been too wordy and lacks direction for an answer: Redirecting http traffic to https in Apache without using mod_rewrite

Solution

No, You can't use variables of that type with Redirect/RedirectMatch. If you need variables, such as %{HTTP_HOST}, use mod_rewrite.

Note: I commend you for not trying to use mod_rewrite right away, because most people will go for mod_rewrite even for the simplest of redirections, which is clearly overkill and most times it is just looking to complicate things unnecessarily.