Prevent direct access to a php include file

Question

I have a php file which I will be using as exclusively as an include. Therefore I would like to throw an error instead of executing it when it\'s accessed directly by typing

Answer 1

The best way to prevent direct access to files is to place them outside of the web-server document root (usually, one level above). You can still include them, but there is no possibility of someone accessing them through an http request.

I usually go all the way, and place all of my PHP files outside of the document root aside from the bootstrap file - a lone index.php in the document root that starts routing the entire website/application.