basepath

Basepath is a term used in computing to denote the root path used to resolve relative paths to resources, either in a filesystem or a web URL. In a filesystem context, base path refers to the absolute directory that forms the starting point for path operations, often the project's root. It is used by build tools, scripts, and runtime libraries to compute full paths from relative inputs.

In web development, base path commonly means a URL prefix that prepends to all relative links within an application. When an app is deployed under a subpath, such as https://example.com/app/, a base path ensures assets and routes resolve correctly. Several mechanisms exist: the HTML base element can set a base URL for the document, affecting all relative links; configuration options in web frameworks (for example, a base_path or basePath setting) specify the server path or public URL prefix; and router or static file servers can mount a sub-application at a path prefix.

Examples: basePath='/app' means a relative link 'styles.css' resolves to '/app/styles.css'. In Laravel, base_path() returns the filesystem path to the project root, while asset URLs use the configured base path. In Express, app.use('/app', express.static('public')) serves static files under the /app prefix.

Security considerations include validating and sanitizing base paths when constructing paths from user input to prevent directory traversal or misrouting. When using a base path, ensure link generation and redirects consistently reference the same base to avoid broken links or open redirects.