How to remove the querystring and get only the URL?

Question

I'm using PHP to build the URL of the current page. Sometimes, URLs in the form of

www.example.com/myurl.html?unwantedthngs

are requested. I want to remove the ? and everything that follows it (querystring), such that the resulting URL becomes:

www.example.com/myurl.html

My current code is this:

<?php
function curPageURL() {
    $pageURL = 'http';
    if ($_SERVER["HTTPS"] == "on") {
        $pageURL .= "s";
    }
    $pageURL .= "://";
    if ($_SERVER["SERVER_PORT"] != "80") {
        $pageURL .= $_SERVER["SERVER_NAME"] . ":" .
            $_SERVER["SERVER_PORT"] . $_SERVER["REQUEST_URI"];
    } else {
        $pageURL .= $_SERVER["SERVER_NAME"] . $_SERVER["REQUEST_URI"];
    }
    return $pageURL;
}
?>

BTW, that's called the "query string". – Evan Mulawski Aug 06 '11 at 23:23 — Evan Mulawski, Aug 06 '11 at 23:23

score 704 · Answer 1 · edited Feb 26 '20 at 22:30

704

You can use strtok to get string before first occurence of ?

$url = strtok($_SERVER["REQUEST_URI"], '?');

strtok() represents the most concise technique to directly extract the substring before the ? in the querystring. explode() is less direct because it must produce a potentially two-element array by which the first element must be accessed.

Some other techniques may break when the querystring is missing or potentially mutate other/unintended substrings in the url -- these techniques should be avoided.

A demonstration:

$urls = [
    'www.example.com/myurl.html?unwantedthngs#hastag',
    'www.example.com/myurl.html'
];

foreach ($urls as $url) {
    var_export(['strtok: ', strtok($url, '?')]);
    echo "\n";
    var_export(['strstr/true: ', strstr($url, '?', true)]); // not reliable
    echo "\n";
    var_export(['explode/2: ', explode('?', $url, 2)[0]]);  // limit allows func to stop searching after first encounter
    echo "\n";
    var_export(['substr/strrpos: ', substr($url, 0, strrpos( $url, "?"))]);  // not reliable; still not with strpos()
    echo "\n---\n";
}

Output:

array (
  0 => 'strtok: ',
  1 => 'www.example.com/myurl.html',
)
array (
  0 => 'strstr/true: ',
  1 => 'www.example.com/myurl.html',
)
array (
  0 => 'explode/2: ',
  1 => 'www.example.com/myurl.html',
)
array (
  0 => 'substr/strrpos: ',
  1 => 'www.example.com/myurl.html',
)
---
array (
  0 => 'strtok: ',
  1 => 'www.example.com/myurl.html',
)
array (
  0 => 'strstr/true: ',
  1 => false,                       // bad news
)
array (
  0 => 'explode/2: ',
  1 => 'www.example.com/myurl.html',
)
array (
  0 => 'substr/strrpos: ',
  1 => '',                          // bad news
)
---

edited Feb 26 '20 at 22:30

mickmackusa

43,625
12
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answered Aug 07 '11 at 19:02

RiaD

46,822
11
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25

+1 for using $_SERVER directly instead of rebuilding the url only to parse it again. would give another +1 if possible, for concision. – ericsoco Sep 30 '12 at 19:48
`explode()` will return the full string if the delimiter is not found. PHP 5.4 `$uri = explode($_SERVER["REQUEST_URI"],'?')[0];` PHP before 5.4 `array_shift(explode($_SERVER["REQUEST_URI"],'?'));` – here Oct 27 '12 at 20:10
8

Oops -- reverse those arguments for explode(), delimiter goes first. `array_shift(explode('?',$_SERVER["REQUEST_URI"]))` – here Oct 27 '12 at 20:36
How about ... (strtok($_SERVER["REQUEST_URI"],'?') !== FALSE) ? strtok($_SERVER["REQUEST_URI"],'?') : $_SERVER["REQUEST_URI"]; I like the array_shift version too (more succinct than my boolean test.) – Bretticus Jan 25 '13 at 19:05
13

It doesn't return bool(false) if ? is not present in the string, it returns the string. – Ben C Jul 31 '13 at 16:48
4

Great!.. It's still returning the url even if `?` is not present. – Harikrishnan Feb 05 '15 at 07:13
@here it seems `explode` returns the full string as first array key when the delimiter is not found even in old versions. check [here](https://3v4l.org/EaXNJ#v5444) – sepehr Dec 09 '15 at 13:49
@RiaD I prefer `strtok` instead of `explode` because it returns a string and not an array but is there any other reason behind that? Please edit your answer and include your reasoning there so peaple have a better understanding of why to use `strtok`. thanks – sepehr Dec 09 '15 at 13:58
1

@sepehr, I just don't see any point not to use function that does exactly what you need and use another one and parse it result (i.e get [0] after exploding) (unless of course there is a specific reason like better performance, lack of unneeded dependency, etc). – RiaD Dec 10 '15 at 17:53
@RiaD you're right, I think the reason behind my comment was that I didn't like using a less known function over a well known one, but there isn't any logic behind this reasoning. – sepehr Dec 11 '15 at 09:33
What if we are using seo url? – Deepak Dholiyan Jul 17 '16 at 11:07
1

strtok is forgotten because its usage is inconsistent with logic (like only needing to pass arguments on the first usage), just use explode. – Andrew Sep 10 '18 at 18:03
With array destructuring assignment (php ^7.1): `[$url] = explode('?', $_SERVER['REQUEST_URI']);` – Artem Molotov Feb 22 '20 at 22:05
I like this solution, but is there a way to include the first subfolder/page as well? Like: https://www.example.com/subfolder/another-map/?test=test Will return: https://www.example.com/subfolder/ – Loosie94 Aug 11 '20 at 13:01

score 74 · Answer 2 · edited Jun 26 '22 at 00:47

Use PHP Manual - parse_url() to get the parts you need.

Edit (example usage for @Navi Gamage)

You can use it like this:

<?php
function reconstruct_url($url){
    $url_parts = parse_url($url);
    $constructed_url = $url_parts['scheme'] . '://' . $url_parts['host'] . $url_parts['path'];

    return $constructed_url;
}

?>

Edit (second full example):

Updated function to make sure scheme will be attached and none notice msgs appear:

function reconstruct_url($url){
    $url_parts = parse_url($url);
    $constructed_url = $url_parts['scheme'] . '://' . $url_parts['host'] . (isset($url_parts['path'])?$url_parts['path']:'');

    return $constructed_url;
}

$test = array(
    'http://www.example.com/myurl.html?unwan=abc',
    `http://www.example.com/myurl.html`,
    `http://www.example.com`,
    `https://example.com/myurl.html?unwan=abc&ab=1`
);

foreach($test as $url){
    print_r(parse_url($url));
}

Will return:

Array
(
    [scheme] => http
    [host] => www.example.com
    [path] => /myurl.html
    [query] => unwan=abc
)
Array
(
    [scheme] => http
    [host] => www.example.com
    [path] => /myurl.html
)
Array
(
    [scheme] => http
    [host] => www.example.com
)
Array
(
    [path] => example.com/myurl.html
    [query] => unwan=abc&ab=1
)

This is the output from passing example URLs through parse_url() with no second parameter (for explanation only).

And this is the final output after constructing URL using:

foreach($test as $url){
    echo reconstruct_url($url) . '<br/>';
}

Output:

http://www.example.com/myurl.html
http://www.example.com/myurl.html
http://www.example.com
https://example.com/myurl.html

score 67 · Answer 3 · edited Jun 26 '22 at 00:45

67

best solution:

echo parse_url($_SERVER['REQUEST_URI'], PHP_URL_PATH);

No need to include your http://example.com in your <form action=""> if you're submitting a form to the same domain.

edited Jun 26 '22 at 00:45

Stephen Ostermiller

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answered Jul 31 '14 at 03:54

Ludo - Off the record

5,153
4
31
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1

Note that parse_url expects an absolute URL, so you will get incorrect results in some cases, e.g. if your REQUEST_URL starts with multiple consecutive slashes. Those will be interpreted as a protocol-relative URI. – NikiC Dec 21 '15 at 21:27
@AndyLorenz have you even tried it? because it actually does remove the querystring. – Ludo - Off the record Apr 24 '21 at 16:14
@Ludo-Offtherecord you are right - I've deleted my comment. apologies! – Andy Lorenz Apr 24 '21 at 16:52

score 16 · Answer 4 · answered Aug 06 '11 at 23:23

16

$val = substr( $url, 0, strrpos( $url, "?"));

answered Aug 06 '11 at 23:23

zellio

31,308
1
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Guys cording to your answers Im done..thanks for your help..It cleas query section in the url... – Navi Gamage Aug 07 '11 at 00:10
> www.mydomain.com/myurl.html?unwantedthings result is Okay! > www.mydomian.com/myurl.html Done... But when it comes with normal url > www.mydomain.com/myurl.html result is nothing..Empty – Navi Gamage Aug 07 '11 at 00:11
New php code `code` `code` – Navi Gamage Aug 07 '11 at 00:11
2

I think this is a rather sweet and simple solution to the problem. No need for loads of extentions or functions. I used this to get the current called file name. $base = basename($_SERVER['REQUEST_URI']); $page = substr($base, 0, strrpos($base, "?")); – Rob May 20 '13 at 14:26
As stated by Navi, this answer is not reliable. https://3v4l.org/nhVii If the querystring is absent in the url, the entire url is removed! This technique is not url-component-aware. **This answer is inadvisable.** – mickmackusa Feb 26 '20 at 22:03
You could wrap the whole function in `if (strrpos( $requestString, "?") !== false) { ... }`. This works fine for me. – Earlee Apr 02 '20 at 08:07

score 9 · Answer 5 · answered Sep 09 '16 at 15:53

9

Most Easiest Way

$url = 'https://www.youtube.com/embed/ROipDjNYK4k?rel=0&autoplay=1';
$url_arr = parse_url($url);
$query = $url_arr['query'];
print $url = str_replace(array($query,'?'), '', $url);

//output
https://www.youtube.com/embed/ROipDjNYK4k

answered Sep 09 '16 at 15:53

Mukesh Saxena

146
2
7

I disagree that this is the Most Easiest Way. No, bold text doesn't make your statement more compelling. This answer is lacking an explanation. – mickmackusa Feb 26 '20 at 12:06
@mickmackusa Could you please elaborate your comment? Where do I need to explain my answer? I will grateful to you. – Mukesh Saxena Feb 26 '20 at 14:01
All answers on Stackoverflow should include an explanation of how the solution works and why you feel it is an ideal technique. Links to documentation are also welcome. I fully understand your solution, but other researcher may not. Code-only answers are low value on Stackoverflow because they do very little to educate/empower thousands of future researchers. About not being simplest -- https://3v4l.org/RE0GD would be a simpler version of your answer because it has fewer declared variables and makes just one replacement instead of two. The accepted answer is simplest of all. – mickmackusa Feb 26 '20 at 20:23
Another difference is that the accepted answer also takes care of a possible fragment, but yours will not. https://3v4l.org/ERr4V or worse it could mangle the url to the left of the querystring https://3v4l.org/L61q1 – mickmackusa Feb 26 '20 at 20:24

score 8 · Answer 6 · answered Mar 23 '16 at 18:57

You'll need at least PHP Version 5.4 to implement this solution without exploding into a variable on one line and concatenating on the next, but an easy one liner would be:

$_SERVER["HTTP_HOST"].explode('?', $_SERVER["REQUEST_URI"], 2)[0];

Server Variables: http://php.net/manual/en/reserved.variables.server.php
Array Dereferencing: https://wiki.php.net/rfc/functionarraydereferencing

score 8 · Answer 7 · answered May 25 '19 at 16:11

8

You can use the parse_url build in function like that:

$baseUrl = $_SERVER['SERVER_NAME'] . parse_url($_SERVER['REQUEST_URI'], PHP_URL_PATH);

answered May 25 '19 at 16:11

Muho

3,188
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score 5 · Answer 8 · answered Sep 03 '22 at 08:45

5

explode('?', $_SERVER['REQUEST_URI'])[0]

answered Sep 03 '22 at 08:45

Андрей Рабой

51
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1

In keeping with SO's style, please add some English description of what it's doing. (Like your answer, btw.) – Topological Sort Sep 05 '22 at 13:12

score 2 · Answer 9 · answered Oct 09 '13 at 04:49

If you want to get request path (more info):

echo parse_url($_SERVER["REQUEST_URI"])['path']

If you want to remove the query and (and maybe fragment also):

function strposa($haystack, $needles=array(), $offset=0) {
        $chr = array();
        foreach($needles as $needle) {
                $res = strpos($haystack, $needle, $offset);
                if ($res !== false) $chr[$needle] = $res;
        }
        if(empty($chr)) return false;
        return min($chr);
}
$i = strposa($_SERVER["REQUEST_URI"], ['#', '?']);
echo strrpos($_SERVER["REQUEST_URI"], 0, $i);

score 2 · Answer 10 · answered Apr 04 '19 at 07:12

could also use following as per the php manual comment

$_SERVER['REDIRECT_URL']

Please note this is working only for certain PHP environment only and follow the bellow comment from that page for more information;

Purpose: The URL path name of the current PHP file, path-info is N/A and excluding URL query string. Includes leading slash.

Caveat: This is before URL rewrites (i.e. it's as per the original call URL).

Caveat: Not set on all PHP environments, and definitely only ones with URL rewrites.

Works on web mode: Yes

Works on CLI mode: No

score 2 · Answer 11 · answered Aug 06 '11 at 23:23

2

You can try:

<?php
$this_page = basename($_SERVER['REQUEST_URI']);
if (strpos($this_page, "?") !== false) $this_page = reset(explode("?", $this_page));
?>

answered Aug 06 '11 at 23:23

ysrb

6,693
2
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30

score 1 · Answer 12 · answered May 02 '13 at 18:58

1

To remove the query string from the request URI, replace the query string with an empty string:

function request_uri_without_query() {
    $result = $_SERVER['REQUEST_URI'];
    $query = $_SERVER['QUERY_STRING'];
    if(!empty($query)) {
        $result = str_replace('?' . $query, '', $result);
    }
    return $result;
}

answered May 02 '13 at 18:58

Ryan Prechel

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I think there would be a potential problem with `www.example.com/myurl.html?`. – Earlee Apr 02 '20 at 08:20

score 1 · Answer 13 · answered Feb 10 '15 at 23:01

Because I deal with both relative and absolute URLs, I updated veritas's solution like the code below.
You can try yourself here: https://ideone.com/PvpZ4J

function removeQueryStringFromUrl($url) {
    if (substr($url,0,4) == "http") {
        $urlPartsArray = parse_url($url);
        $outputUrl = $urlPartsArray['scheme'] . '://' . $urlPartsArray['host'] . ( isset($urlPartsArray['path']) ? $urlPartsArray['path'] : '' );
    } else {
        $URLexploded = explode("?", $url, 2);
        $outputUrl = $URLexploded[0];
    }
    return $outputUrl;
}

score 0 · Answer 14 · edited Jun 26 '22 at 01:00

0

Try this

$url_with_querystring = 'www.example.com/myurl.html?unwantedthngs';
$url_data = parse_url($url_with_querystring);
$url_without_querystring = str_replace('?'.$url_data['query'], '', $url_with_querystring);

edited Jun 26 '22 at 01:00

Stephen Ostermiller

23,933
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answered Jul 14 '14 at 09:38

kwelsan

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score 0 · Answer 15 · answered Oct 19 '19 at 19:38

Assuming you still want to get the URL without the query args (if they are not set), just use a shorthand if statement to check with strpos:

$request_uri = strpos( $_SERVER['REQUEST_URI'], '?' ) !== false ? strtok( $_SERVER["REQUEST_URI"], '?' ) : $_SERVER['REQUEST_URI'];

score -3 · Answer 16 · answered Jan 23 '16 at 13:45

-3

Try this:

$urrl=$_SERVER['HTTP_HOST'] . $_SERVER['SCRIPT_NAME']

or

$urrl=$_SERVER['HTTP_HOST'] . $_SERVER['PHP_SELF']

answered Jan 23 '16 at 13:45

HRALDA

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Sorry but this is wrong - URI can be rewritten by htaccess - this would result in returning the script name but not the current URI. – Hexodus Feb 01 '16 at 18:16
Dangerous as it can be spoofed. – tim Dec 06 '16 at 23:45

How to remove the querystring and get only the URL?

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