---
id: sphinx-reredirects
version: "1.1.0"
license: unclear
license_treatment: unclear
maintenance: active
---

# sphinx-reredirects — The extension for Sphinx documentation projects that handle redirects for moved pages. It generates HTML pages with meta refresh redirects to the new page location to prevent 404 errors if you rename or move your documents.

License: unclear · Maintenance: active · Downloads: 894.0K/mo

## What it is and what it does

sphinx-reredirects is a Sphinx extension that automates the creation of redirect pages when you rename or move documentation files. Instead of leaving broken links, it generates lightweight HTML files with meta refresh tags that send visitors to the new location—all configured from a single place in your project's conf.py file. It requires no server-side setup, works across domains, and supports wildcard patterns for bulk redirects.

The extension solves the common problem of maintaining documentation URLs as your site evolves. When you rename a page from `start.html` to `intro.html`, sphinx-reredirects generates a `start.html` that automatically redirects browsers to the new location. This keeps search engine rankings intact and prevents 404 errors for bookmarked or externally linked pages.

Use it for:

- Rename documentation pages without breaking external links or search engine indexing
- Move entire documentation sections to new locations with wildcard redirect rules
- Migrate a documentation site to a different domain while preserving old URLs
- Maintain backward compatibility when reorganizing a large documentation structure
- Centralize all redirect logic in conf.py instead of managing .htaccess or server config

## Worth the install?

AI-flagged interpretation of the facts above — verify before relying.

Sphinx extension that generates HTML redirect pages with meta refresh tags when you rename or move documentation files, preventing 404 errors without server-side configuration.

Yes, if you maintain a Sphinx documentation site and need to handle URL changes. The extension is actively maintained, has low install friction, and solves a real problem with minimal configuration. The only caveat is that license metadata is unclear—verify the MIT claim before use in contexts where license certainty matters.

## Install

pip install sphinx-reredirects
uv add sphinx-reredirects
poetry add sphinx-reredirects

## Installing sphinx-reredirects

Before you install: Low friction install as a pure Python wheel with only Sphinx as a runtime dependency. Actively maintained with recent releases; last commit 2026-02-27 and latest release 2025-12-22.

License in practice: License treatment is unclear in the package metadata, though the description references MIT licensing. Verify the actual license terms before use in proprietary or restricted contexts.

Quickstart:

pip install sphinx-reredirects

# In conf.py:
extensions = ['sphinx_reredirects']
redirects = {
    'old_page': 'new_page.html',
    'docs/old/*': 'docs/new/',
}

Requires Python 3.11 or later and Sphinx as a dependency; client-side redirects require JavaScript enabled in browsers.

Verify before relying:

- Whether the MIT license claim in the description is authoritative or whether metadata omission indicates a different license
- Wildcard matching and cross-domain redirect behavior details beyond the description's summary
- Whether dynamic placeholders support variable substitution or simple string replacement

## Package facts

- License: not declared (unclear)
- Python support: supports_current
- Install friction: low
- Maintenance: active
- Downloads: 894.0K/month (top 5,000 on PyPI)
- Known vulnerabilities: none known

## Tags

sphinx documentation redirects, handle moved pages sphinx, meta refresh redirects, sphinx 404 prevention, document rename management, sphinx url migration, client-side redirects sphinx, sphinx-extension, url-management, documentation-tooling

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