Configuring URL Aliases

Pathauto uses patterns to automatically generate URL aliases for new and updated content. Each pattern defines a template that Pathauto uses to construct the alias, using tokens to insert dynamic values such as the content title, content type, or date.

Accessing Pathauto Patterns

Navigate to Configuration > URL aliases > Patterns in the Drupal admin interface, or go directly to:

/admin/config/search/path/patterns

Creating a Pathauto Pattern

1. Navigate to Configuration > URL aliases > Patterns.

2. Click Add Pathauto pattern.

3. Select the pattern type (Content, Taxonomy term, User, or other entity type).

4. Enter the path pattern using tokens.

5. Optionally restrict the pattern to specific bundles (for example, a specific content type).

6. Set the label for the pattern.

7. Save the pattern.

Common Token Patterns

Pathauto uses the Drupal token system to insert dynamic values into URL aliases. Some commonly used patterns include:

Content (Nodes)

Pattern	Example Output
[node:title]	my-page-title
blog/[node:title]	blog/my-blog-post
[node:content-type]/[node:title]	article/my-article
[node:created:custom:Y]/[node:created:custom:m]/[node:title]	2026/01/my-page

Taxonomy Terms

Pattern	Example Output
[term:vocabulary]/[term:name]	tags/drupal
category/[term:name]	category/technology

Users

Pattern	Example Output
users/[user:account-name]	users/admin
team/[user:account-name]	team/john-doe

Browsing Available Tokens

When creating or editing a pattern, click the Browse available tokens link below the pattern field. This opens a token browser that lists all available tokens organized by category.

Pattern Precedence

When multiple patterns could apply to the same entity (for example, one pattern for all content and another for a specific content type), Pathauto evaluates patterns based on their weight. More specific patterns should be placed above more general patterns so they take precedence.

You can reorder patterns by dragging them on the patterns administration page.

Transliteration and Cleaning

Pathauto automatically cleans generated aliases by:

• Converting text to lowercase

• Replacing spaces with hyphens

• Removing special characters and punctuation

• Transliterating non-ASCII characters to their ASCII equivalents

These settings can be adjusted under Configuration > URL aliases > Settings:

/admin/config/search/path/settings