rewrite or internal redirection cycle Nginx / Apache Origin: Edge & web server OSI layer 7 · Application Last updated 5 Nov 2026

Nginx: [error] rewrite or internal redirection cycle while internally redirecting to "/index.php" (500 Internal Server Error)

Nginx kept internally redirecting (more than 10 times), typically from a try_files or rewrite that points back to itself.

Exact message you may see rewrite or internal redirection cycle while internally redirecting to "/index.php"[error] rewrite or internal redirection cycle while internally redirecting to500 Internal Server Error rewrite or internal redirection cyclerewrite or internal redirection cycle while processingnginx internal redirection cycle index.html
Explore the map of this error Full error map →
Seen on: Nginx PHP Linux

Meaning

Common with try_files $uri $uri/ /index.php; when /index.php doesn't exist at the configured root, or an index directive loop. Check root path, that the file exists, and the order of location blocks (location ~ \.php$ must handle /index.php).

Common causes

  • /index.php missing under the configured root
  • root points to the wrong directory
  • try_files fallback to a non-existing URI
  • Rewrite rule that matches its own output
  • Location for PHP not defined

⚡ Quick fix

  1. Verify root and that index.php exists
  2. Fix fallback: try_files $uri $uri/ /index.php?$query_string; with a working PHP location
  3. Avoid rewriting to a path matched by the same rule

Detailed fix by platform

Linux

  1. sudo nginx -T | grep -nE "root|try_files|index"; ls -l /var/www/app/public/index.php

How to diagnose

  1. File — index.php exists?
  2. Root — Correct path?
  3. Location — PHP block?

🔧 Still not fixed?

Many errors look alike. If the steps above didn’t solve it, one of these is probably what you’re facing:

Where this error sits

Origin: Edge & web server. Errors that are often confused with or caused by this one (click to open):

404 on all routes except home (public folder / .htaccess) — Laravel on shared hosting: homepage works but every other route returns 404 Not Found (Laravel)404 on all routes exc…499 Client Closed Request / client prematurely closed connection — Nginx: [info] client prematurely closed connection while reading response header from upstream / access log status 499 (Nginx / Apache)499 Client Closed Req…AH00124: Request exceeded the limit of 10 internal redirects — Apache: AH00124: Request exceeded the limit of 10 internal redirects due to probable configuration error. Use 'LimitInternalRecursion' to increase the limit if necessary (Nginx / Apache)AH00124: Request exce…directory index of "/var/www/" is forbidden — Nginx: [error] directory index of "/var/www/html/" is forbidden (403 Forbidden) (Nginx / Apache)directory index of "/…ModSecurity: Access denied with code 403 — Nginx/Apache: ModSecurity: Access denied with code 403 (phase 2). Matched "Operator GE matched 5 at TX:anomaly_score" (Nginx / Apache)ModSecurity: Access d…nginx: client intended to send too large body — Nginx: [error] client intended to send too large body: 5242880 bytes (413 Request Entity Too Large) (Nginx / Apache)nginx: client intende…Primary script unknown — FastCGI sent in stderr: "Primary script unknown" (PHP)Primary script unknownrewrite o…

Explore the map of this error Full error map →

🧠 Still stuck? Analyze your error

Paste the full message, response headers or stack trace — we'll detect the platform and point to the most likely cause.

💬 What worked for others

No tips yet — did something else fix this for you?

Share what worked for you

Tips are checked by an editor before they appear. Links are removed.