When you are running a Moodle website, there may be times when you have to change
your URL. For example, you may have sold the website, or maybe you purchased a shorter domain name, and want to replace the old one. In this tutorial we will show you how to change your URL in Moodle. We are going to use the replace script, that is included with Moodle. It essentially searches the database for the old URL, and replaces it with the new one. After changing your URL in Moodle, you may still need to move the files to a new location, based on your setup.
Note: Any time you are modifying a database, we recommend performing a backup first.
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Changing your Moodle URL
- Login to the Moodle Dashboard.
- Add /admin/tool/replace/index.php to the end of the URL, and hit Enter on your keyboard. The address will look like this:
https://example.com/admin/tool/replace/index.php
(Be sure to replace example.com with your Moodle site. With older versions of Moodle add /admin/replace.php to the end of the URL.) You will then be on the DB search and replace page. It will look like this:
You will also see a message stating “This script is not supported, always make complete backup before proceeding! This operation can not be reverted! Several tables are not updated as part of the text replacement. This include configuration, log, events, and session tables.“
- In the Search whole database for field, enter your existing URL. in my test I entered:
https://example.com
- In the Replace with this string field, enter the new URL. In my test I entered:
https://newdomain.example.com
- Check the box for Shorten result if necessary. Confirm the change, by checking the box for I understand the risks of this operation, then click the Yes, do it! button.
- It is finished when you see a message stating “…finished” at the bottom. Click the Continue button to return to the Moodle dashboard.
- Using FTP or File Manager, navigate to where Moodle is installed. Open the config.php file, and locate the line starting with:
$CFG->wwwroot - Update the line to your new address, in my test I changed from this:
$CFG->wwwroot = 'https://example.com';
To this:
$CFG->wwwroot = 'https://newdomain.example.com';
Here is a screenshot of the updated line:
- Save your changes and you are done. Now you can move your site (if necessary) to the new folder location.
Congratulations, now you know how to change your URL in Moodle!
