Cloudflare retires Page Rules

Cloudflare this month announced the retirement of their legacy Page Rules functionality. This change will be phased in over the next 18 months, with a complete shutdown of creating new Page Rules for all accounts by January 6, 2025. Existing Page Rules will be automatically migrated to Cloudflare's new "Rules" features throughout 2025.

According to Cloudflare, Page Rules have several limitations. They can only be triggered by URL patterns and are restricted to a maximum of 125 rules per zone for performance reasons. Additionally, troubleshooting complex configurations with multiple Page Rules can be challenging.

In 2022, Cloudflare announced a suite of dedicated "Rules" products designed to address these limitations and offer more granular control. These new Rules features are now generally available and include:

• Configuration Rules: Manage various website settings.
• Compression Rules: Optimize website content for faster loading.
• Origin Rules: Modify how requests are handled by the origin server.
• Redirects: Create custom redirects for specific URLs.
• Transform Rules: Modify the content of web pages on the fly.

The new Rules features offer several advantages over Page Rules:

• New Engine: Powered by the Ruleset Engine, which provides a robust language for handling various HTTP request and response fields.
• Improved Scalability: Increased quotas for rules allow for more complex configurations.
• Easier Troubleshooting: Independent rule execution simplifies debugging complex configurations. Cloudflare Trace further helps visualize rule interactions.
• Improved Consistency: Shared fields and functionalities across all Rules features ensure a seamless user experience and predictable configurations.

All Cloudflare users will be impacted by this change. Here's a breakdown of the timeline and key points:

• Timeline:
  • July 1, 2024: New accounts (Free, Pro, and Business plans) can no longer create new Page Rules.
  • August 1, 2024: New Enterprise plan accounts can no longer create new Page Rules.
  • January 6, 2025: Existing accounts can no longer create new Page Rules (all plans).
  • Throughout 2025: Automatic migration of existing Page Rules to new Rules features.
• Action Required: Cloudflare recommends users begin transitioning from Page Rules to the new Rules features as soon as possible.

Migration Details: Cloudflare will migrate most Page Rule settings to the new Rules features. However, some deprecated settings, such as "Disable Performance" or "Auto Minify," will not be migrated. Users who rely on these functionalities will need to implement them using the new Rules features.

Communication: Cloudflare users will receive email notifications before their existing Page Rules are migrated.

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