Renaming and redirects

A page's address comes from its file name. Rename setup.md to getting-started.md and the URL moves with it — which means the old address stops working, for everyone who bookmarked it, linked to it, or found it in a search engine.

Markloom notices. Rename a page in a published collection and it offers to keep the old address working. Accept, and the rule is written for you.

Doing it by hand#

The rules live in a _redirects.md in the published folder. One per line: the address that used to work, then where it goes now.

# Redirects

Moved when we reorganised the handbook.

- setup -> getting-started
- old-guide -> getting-started

->, → and => all work, and the list marker is optional. Lines without an arrow are ignored, so headings and notes can sit alongside the rules — the file is meant to be readable.

Both sides are forgiving about form. These all name the same page:

- Setup.md -> getting-started
- /setup -> getting-started
- /u/acme/handbook/setup -> getting-started

What to expect#

• A live page always wins. A rule naming a page that still exists is never used, so you cannot accidentally hijack a working address.
• Renamed twice is fine. a → b and b → c sends a visitor from a straight to c, in one redirect rather than a chain of them.
• The destination has to exist. A rule pointing at a page that is not there is ignored, and the visitor gets an honest 404 rather than being bounced to another dead end.
• Redirects are permanent, which is what tells a search engine to move the old address's ranking to the new one.