How to Fix Apache 2.4 Broken Directory Requests

I’m currently re-architecting my non-profit accounting SaaS ( Treasurer’s Briefcase) to use Docker containers for a portable development environment and eventually for running under Kubernetes. The current architecture designed in 2012 uses an EC2 based environment for both development and run-time execution.

As part of that effort I’m migrating from Apache 2.2 to 2.4. In the new development environment I’m using my Chromebook to access the containerized application running on the EC2 dev server. I described that setup in my previous blog. In that setup I’m accessing the application on port 8080 as http://local-dev.treasurersbriefcase.com:8080.

If, as in the setup describe in my blog, you are running Apache on a non-standard port (e.g., :8080) - perhaps in Docker, EC2, or via an SSH tunnel you may have noticed an annoying issue after migrating from Apache 2.2 to Apache 2.4 ...

Apache 2.4 Drops the Port When Redirecting Directories!

Previously, when requesting a directory without a trailing slash (e.g.,/setup), Apache automatically redirected to while preserving the port. However, in Apache 2.4, the redirect is done externally AND drops the port, breaking relative URLs and form submissions.

For example let’s suppose you have a form under the /setup directory that has as its action "next-step.html". The expected behavior on that page would be to post to the page/setup/next-step.html. But what…