# Routes - Preventing a Match **URL:** \ **Category:** Rails\ **Created:** [June 5, 2009, 10:07pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/routes-preventing-a-match/169612 "2009-06-05T22:07:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![djames](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/d/7ab992/32.png) [@djames](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/djames)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2009, 10:07pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/routes-preventing-a-match/169612/1 "2009-06-05T22:07:43Z")
The result that I’m trying to achieve is that URLs that begin with ‘/ static’ do not get mapped. My thought is that it sure would be nice if I could somehow say that if a URL begins with ‘/static’ simply abandon any further routing tests. How can I best handle this? Thanks for any input. ``` ... doug ``` ---
**Author:** ![djames](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/d/7ab992/32.png) [@djames](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/djames)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2009, 4:51am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/routes-preventing-a-match/169612/2 "2009-06-06T04:51:00Z")
On Fri, Jun 5, 2009 at 10:06 PM, doug[removed\_email\_address@domain.invalid](mailto:removed_email_address@domain.invalid) wrote: > Thanks for any input. > > ``` > ... doug > > ``` Most rails websites are fronted by a different webserver that acts as a proxy. Set that proxy to handle static content and not even pass it to rails. Andrew T. [http://ramblingsonrails.com](http://ramblingsonrails.com) [http://MyMvelope.com](http://MyMvelope.com) - The SIMPLE way to manage your savings ---
**Author:** ![djames](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/d/7ab992/32.png) [@djames](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/djames)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2009, 5:10am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/routes-preventing-a-match/169612/3 "2009-06-06T05:10:52Z")
> Most rails websites are fronted by a different webserver that acts as a proxy. > Set that proxy to handle static content and not even pass it to rails. OK. That’s a good suggestion where there is a front-end proxy. In this case, there isn’t. In any event, I would expect this to be a very simple problem to solve and I only blamed my own ignorance for the fact that I was having any difficulty at all. Am I to understand that this is a problem which does not have a simple solution? Thanks for the input. ``` ... doug ``` ---
**Author:** ![djames](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/d/7ab992/32.png) [@djames](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/djames)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2009, 5:20am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/routes-preventing-a-match/169612/4 "2009-06-06T05:20:48Z")
On Sat, Jun 6, 2009 at 5:09 AM, djolley[removed\_email\_address@domain.invalid](mailto:removed_email_address@domain.invalid) wrote: > Thanks for the input. > > ``` > ... doug > > ``` If you are wanting Rails to stop processing, what should it do? What are you really wanting to achieve? The normal use case is that static files are not served by Rails but in that circumstance, another server would serve them _before_ Rails. If you wanted to serve them _after_ Rails, then Rails shouldn’t stop processing but pass the request on somehow. Andrew T. [http://ramblingsonrails.com](http://ramblingsonrails.com) [http://MyMvelope.com](http://MyMvelope.com) - The SIMPLE way to manage your savings ---
**Author:** ![djames](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/d/7ab992/32.png) [@djames](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/djames)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2009, 8:03am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/routes-preventing-a-match/169612/5 "2009-06-06T08:03:15Z")
> If you are wanting Rails to stop processing, what should it do? > What are you really wanting to achieve? I just want the URL to be served-up as a static page. > The normal use case is that static files are not served by Rails but > in that circumstance, another server would serve them _before_ Rails. I don’t understand that. As configured out-of-the-box Rails serves the static page public/index.html as a home page. Although I have never done it, I assume that I could simply modify that static page and use it as the home page for a site. I just want to accomplish essentially the same thing. I want to be able to have a few static .html pages in public/static, e.g. public/static/test1.html. In the case of this example, I don’t want ‘static’ to map to a controller and ‘test1’ map to an action. It would be my understanding that that is what would happen if there were some sort of beginning instruction in the routes.rb file to the effect that if a URL begins with /static there should be no further processing thus the standard mappings to a controller and an action would just not be invoked WRT that particular URL. Anyway, I didn’t mean to get carried away here. I believed that I was just missing some minor point and that someone would square me away with ease. Apparently the point isn’t as trivial as I had thought. Thanks for the input. ``` ... doug ``` ---
**Author:** ![djames](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/d/7ab992/32.png) [@djames](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/djames)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2009, 2:32pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/routes-preventing-a-match/169612/6 "2009-06-06T14:32:36Z")
2009/6/6 djolley [removed\_email\_address@domain.invalid](mailto:removed_email_address@domain.invalid): > the static page public/index.html as a home page. Â Although I have > that particular URL. > I think the point is that requests for the static pages never get as > far as routes.rb. They are handled before the processing gets to this > file so there is nothing that can be done in routes.rb to affect how > they are handled. Colin ---
**Author:** ![djames](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/d/7ab992/32.png) [@djames](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/djames)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2009, 4:19pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/routes-preventing-a-match/169612/7 "2009-06-06T16:19:39Z")
I believe you could use rails new feature which is rails metal, it makes rails served the requested content without even touching the routing mechanism. I never use it though, maybe you can find the documentation on the rails site. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![djames](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/d/7ab992/32.png) [@djames](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/djames)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2009, 2:10pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/routes-preventing-a-match/169612/8 "2009-06-06T14:10:18Z")
You don’t need to change anything in your routes file for that to work. Any static files that exist in the public folder (eg all your images/ js/css or public/static/test1.html) will be served as static files. Don’t forget that the url to browse to these files is /static/ test1.html and not /public/static/test1.html since it is the public folder and not the rails root that is the webserver root directory. Cheers, Jeremy ---
**Author:** ![djames](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/d/7ab992/32.png) [@djames](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/djames)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2009, 5:53pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/routes-preventing-a-match/169612/9 "2009-06-06T17:53:12Z")
> Any static files that exist in the public folder (eg all your images/ > js/css or public/static/test1.html) will be served as static files. Well I’ll be darned! 🙂 It works great. How do these files escape being mapped by routes.rb? I notice that if I stick a file named index.html in /static and then try to proceed to the /static URL in a browser, Rails gives me a routing error. However, as you say, the file /static/test.html serves up just fine. Now, if I could just understand specifically why that is I think that I’d be finished with this topic. > Don’t forget that the url to browse to these files is /static/ > test1.html and not /public/static/test1.html since it is the public > folder and not the rails root that is the webserver root directory. Yep, I totally have that. Thaks for pointing it out though as I do often make stupid mistakes. Thanks very much for the input. ``` .... doug ```