--- title: "[Contentstack Launch] - Edge URL Redirects" description: Manage high-performance, edge-based URL redirects in Contentstack Launch using launch.json. url: https://www.contentstack.com/docs/developers/launch/edge-url-redirects product: Contentstack Launch doc_type: guide audience: - developers version: current last_updated: 2026-03-25 --- # [Contentstack Launch] - Edge URL Redirects This page explains how to configure and deploy Edge URL Redirects in Contentstack Launch using a `launch.json` file. It is intended for developers who need to manage high-performance, edge-based redirects (static or pattern-based) in source control and deploy them through Launch. ## Edge URL Redirects Redirects are used in most websites to achieve use cases such as redirecting users to the updated URLs or domains, temporary redirects during site maintenance or downtime, providing short vanity URLs, etc. With the Edge URL redirects, Contentstack Launch allows you to manage high-performance, edge-based redirects in your source code. While, in most cases, redirects can be managed in the framework-specific code, you may come across use cases where a few redirects are required to be set up for high performance. For example, you may want to add a trailing slash (`/`) to all URL paths if it is not specified. This is where Launch Edge redirects will be useful. The redirects are executed at the nearest edge point-of-presence for the visitor, ensuring that they see the least amount of latency. You can specify both static and pattern-based URLs for redirects. Add your redirects to the `launch.json` file and then check-in the file to your Git repository. This step-by-step guide will help you create a project in Launch that configures the Edge URL redirects. ## Prerequisites - [Contentstack account](https://www.contentstack.com/login/) - Access to Launch for your organization ## Steps for Execution - [Create the launch.json file](#create-the-launch-json-file) - [Deploy your project in Launch](#deploy-your-project-in-launch) ### Create the launch.json File Follow the steps to create the `launch.json` file for URL redirects: Open your source code folder. - Create a JSON file named `launch.json` inside the folder, and paste the following code into it: ``` { "redirects": [ { "source": "/source", "destination": "/destination", "statusCode": 308, "response": { "headers": { "x-powered-by": "launch" } } } ] } ``` - Replace `/source` in the code with your source route. - Replace `/destination` in the code with your destination route.**Note:** The source and destination URLs must not exceed **512** characters each. - Based on the type of redirection you require, add one of the following status codes in the `statusCode` field:For permanent redirection: `301` or `308`. - For temporary redirection: `302` or `307`.**Note:** By default, the `statusCode` value is set to `308` if you do not specify the `statusCode` field. You can use the `headers` field in the `response` object to set custom headers for the redirect response. The `response` field is optional; you can skip it if setting custom headers is not required. - Save the `launch.json` file.**Note:** The **file size** must be limited to **5MB**. To optimize performance and minimize latency during processing, use regular expressions to keep the configuration compact and efficient. #### Examples for the uses of Edge URL Redirects - Using path variables allows you to capture dynamic segments of the source URL and re-use them to construct the destination URL. **Example:** ``` { "redirects": [ { "source": "/blog/:slug", "destination": "/news/:slug", "statusCode": 308 } ] } ``` The above example uses a path variable `slug` to redirect requests to any path (including subdirectories) under `/blog/` to a corresponding path under `/news/`. The redirection is done with a `308` status code. - Path variables can also be captured with a [regular expression](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Guide/Regular_expressions). A regular expression allows you to pattern match on any given text, including URLs. The resulting path variable captures a part of the URL that matches the regular expression, and can then be re-used to construct the destination URL. **Example:** ``` { "redirects": [ { "source": "/blogs/:category(product-updates|announcements)/:postId(.*)", "destination": "/product-updates/:postId", "statusCode": 301 } ] } ``` In the above example, we have redirected all blogs that fall under the “product-updates” or “announcements” categories to a separate `/product-updates` section in the website. Note how we're defining two different regular expressions for capturing path variables, `category` and `postId`. In the destination, we're using only the `postId` path variable to construct the final URL. Given a URL like `/blogs/product-updates/march-updates`, the destination URL will be `/product-updates/march-updates`. - Using an absolute path, you can redirect your sites to external links. **Example:** ``` { "redirects": [ { "source": "/blog/post", "destination": "https://example.com/news/page", "statusCode": 308 } ] } ``` In the above example, the requests to the path `/blog/post` from the root of your website are redirected to the absolute path of an external site `https://example.com/news/page`. - You can also capture specific query parameters in URLs and use those parameters in the destination. **Example:** ``` { "redirects": [ { "source": "/blogs/:category((?!product-updates|announcements).+)\\?(.*)postId=:postId(.+)", "destination": "/blogs/:category/:postId", "statusCode": 301 } ] } ``` With this configuration, requests like `/blogs/insights?postId=321` redirects to `/blogs/insights/321`. The query parameter `postId` is captured with the given regular expression and used as a path parameter in the destination URL. We also see here the usage of the negative lookahead regular expression, which allows you to exclude categories such as "product-updates" and "announcements" from being matched. ### Deploy your Project in Launch Deploy your project in Launch by [importing the source code from GitHub](/docs/developers/launch/import-project-using-github/) or by [uploading the source code folder](/docs/developers/launch/import-project-using-file-upload/). After successful deployment, the `Logs` section displays the count of redirects as follows: ## Limitations - Adding a `launch.json` file to an app within a monorepo is currently not supported. - Launch does not support complete URLs in the source. However, you can use [Launch Edge Functions](/docs/developers/launch/edge-functions) to redirect traffic based on the hostname when multiple domains point to the same environment. ## Common questions ### Where do I define Edge URL Redirects for a Launch project? Add your redirects to the `launch.json` file and then check-in the file to your Git repository. ### What redirect status codes can I use? For permanent redirection: `301` or `308`. For temporary redirection: `302` or `307`. ### Are there limits on redirect configuration size and URL length? The source and destination URLs must not exceed **512** characters each, and the **file size** must be limited to **5MB**. ### Can I redirect based on hostname or use complete URLs in the source? Launch does not support complete URLs in the source. However, you can use [Launch Edge Functions](/docs/developers/launch/edge-functions) to redirect traffic based on the hostname when multiple domains point to the same environment.