diff --git a/apache/conf.d/server.conf b/apache/conf.d/server.conf
index 9981a081..a4d5263e 100644
--- a/apache/conf.d/server.conf
+++ b/apache/conf.d/server.conf
@@ -22,23 +22,41 @@ RewriteEngine on
 
 DocumentRoot "$REMOTE_SRC"
 
-# Direct php requests to the php-X.X container
-RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} totara(\d)(\d)(|\.behat)(|\.localhost)(:[0-9]+)?$
+# Direct php requests to the php-X.X container.
+# Hostname format: [sitename.]totara{major}{minor}[.behat][.debug][.localhost]
+# Apply non-debug first, then override with debug if the host contains .debug.
+RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} totara(\d)(\d)(\.behat)?(\.localhost)?(:[0-9]+)?$
 RewriteRule \.php - [H=proxy:fcgi://php-%1.%2:9000]
 
-# Direct xdebug requests to the php-X.X-debug container
-RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} totara(\d)(\d)(|\.behat)\.debug(|\.localhost)(:[0-9]+)?$
+# Override: direct Xdebug requests to the php-X.X-debug container
+RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} totara(\d)(\d)(\.behat)?\.debug(\.localhost)?(:[0-9]+)?$
 RewriteRule \.php - [H=proxy:fcgi://php-%1.%2-debug:9000]
 
-# Handle if the site name is specified in the host, e.g. sitename.totara73
-RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} ^(.+)\.totara(|\.localhost)
-RewriteRule ^(.*)$ - [E=SITENAME:%1]
+# Capture the optional sitename prefix from the hostname.
+# Matches: sitename.totara84, sitename.totara84.localhost, sitename.totara84.debug, etc.
+RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} ^([\w-]+)\.totara\d
+RewriteRule ^ - [E=SITENAME:%1]
 
-# If the server directory exists, then rewrite it to use it
+# v21+ (public/ directory exists): route all requests through the front controller.
+# The [H=proxy:...] flag is set here (not only for .php URLs) so that requests like /
+# or static-looking URLs are also processed by PHP-FPM via public/index.php.
+RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} totara(\d)(\d)
+RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} !\.debug
+RewriteCond %{DOCUMENT_ROOT}/%{ENV:SITENAME}/public/index.php -f
+RewriteRule ^ %{DOCUMENT_ROOT}/%{ENV:SITENAME}/public/index.php [QSA,L,H=proxy:fcgi://php-%1.%2:9000]
+
+# v21+ (debug variant): same but routes to the debug PHP-FPM container
+RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} totara(\d)(\d).*\.debug
+RewriteCond %{DOCUMENT_ROOT}/%{ENV:SITENAME}/public/index.php -f
+RewriteRule ^ %{DOCUMENT_ROOT}/%{ENV:SITENAME}/public/index.php [QSA,L,H=proxy:fcgi://php-%1.%2-debug:9000]
+
+# If the server directory exists (version 13 to 20), rewrite to use it
+RewriteCond %{DOCUMENT_ROOT}/%{ENV:SITENAME}/public/index.php !-f
 RewriteCond %{DOCUMENT_ROOT}/%{ENV:SITENAME}/server/version.php -f
 RewriteRule ^(.*)$ %{DOCUMENT_ROOT}/%{ENV:SITENAME}/server$1 [QSA]
 
-# Otherwise don't use the server directory
+# Otherwise (version 12 and older) don't use a subdirectory
+RewriteCond %{DOCUMENT_ROOT}/%{ENV:SITENAME}/public/index.php !-f
 RewriteCond %{DOCUMENT_ROOT}/%{ENV:SITENAME}/server/version.php !-f
 RewriteRule ^(.*)$ %{DOCUMENT_ROOT}/%{ENV:SITENAME}$1 [QSA]
 
diff --git a/nginx/config/local-server.conf b/nginx/config/local-server.conf
index c1180ffa..17d764a4 100644
--- a/nginx/config/local-server.conf
+++ b/nginx/config/local-server.conf
@@ -1,6 +1,5 @@
 include totara/server.conf;
 
-
 # Here you can define how you want nginx to handle requests made from your local network.
 # You can do whatever you want here.
 
@@ -9,7 +8,11 @@ include totara/server.conf;
 client_max_body_size 1G;
 
 location / {
-    autoindex on;
+    # Redirect non-existing files to index.php for "pretty" URLs
+    # For v21+ installs (public/ webroot), all PHP requests are routed through
+    # public/index.php (the front controller). 
+    # For v13-20 installs the real script exists under server/ and is served directly.
+    try_files $uri $uri/ /index.php?$query_string;
 }
 
 location ~ [^/]\.php(/|$) {
@@ -23,9 +26,15 @@ location ~ [^/]\.php(/|$) {
     fastcgi_split_path_info ^(.+\.php)(/.+)$;
 
     fastcgi_param PATH_INFO       $fastcgi_path_info;
-    fastcgi_param SCRIPT_FILENAME $document_root/$fastcgi_script_name;
     fastcgi_param SCRIPT_NAME     $fastcgi_script_name;
 
+    # For v21+ installs (public/ webroot), route all PHP through the front controller.
+    set $script_filename $document_root$fastcgi_script_name;
+    if ($use_front_controller) {
+        set $script_filename $document_root/index.php;
+    }
+    fastcgi_param SCRIPT_FILENAME $script_filename;
+
     fastcgi_buffers 16 16k;
     fastcgi_buffer_size 32k;
 }
diff --git a/nginx/config/remote-server.conf b/nginx/config/remote-server.conf
index 5ad6ca25..8f15d9d0 100644
--- a/nginx/config/remote-server.conf
+++ b/nginx/config/remote-server.conf
@@ -27,14 +27,18 @@ error_page 403 =404 /404.html;
 error_page 501 502 503 =500 /500.html;
 
 location / {
-    try_files $uri $uri/ =404;
+    # Redirect non-existing files to index.php for "pretty" URLs
+    # For v21+ installs (public/ webroot), all PHP requests are routed through
+    # public/index.php (the front controller). 
+    # For v13-20 installs the real script exists under server/ and is served directly.
+    try_files $uri $uri/ /index.php?$query_string;
 }
 
 location ~ ^.*\/(cli|tests|db|classes|amd\/src|rb_sources|yui\/src)\/.*$ {
     deny all;
 }
 
-if (!-f "$document_root/version.php") {
+if (!-f $base_rootdir/server/version.php) {
     # No version.php exists, so the site isn't set up properly or the forwarding host is incorrect
     return 404;
 }
@@ -50,9 +54,15 @@ location ~ [^/]\.php(/|$) {
     fastcgi_split_path_info ^(.+\.php)(/.+)$;
 
     fastcgi_param PATH_INFO       $fastcgi_path_info;
-    fastcgi_param SCRIPT_FILENAME $document_root/$fastcgi_script_name;
     fastcgi_param SCRIPT_NAME     $fastcgi_script_name;
 
+    # For v21+ installs (public/ webroot), route all PHP through the front controller.
+    set $script_filename $document_root$fastcgi_script_name;
+    if ($use_front_controller) {
+        set $script_filename $document_root/index.php;
+    }
+    fastcgi_param SCRIPT_FILENAME $script_filename;
+
     fastcgi_buffers 16 16k;
     fastcgi_buffer_size 32k;
 }
@@ -68,4 +78,4 @@ location ~ .*\.(txt|md|json|xml|mustache)$ {
     location ~ ^/lib/yui/build/moodle-core-checknet/assets/checknet.txt$ {
         allow all;
     }
-}
\ No newline at end of file
+}
diff --git a/nginx/config/server.conf b/nginx/config/server.conf
index d3593f45..227e061e 100644
--- a/nginx/config/server.conf
+++ b/nginx/config/server.conf
@@ -25,16 +25,28 @@ if ($debug = "debug") {
 }
 
 # Default root
-set $rootdir "$REMOTE_SRC";
+set $base_rootdir "$REMOTE_SRC";
 
 if ($sitename != "") {
-    set $rootdir "$rootdir/$sitename";
+    set $base_rootdir $base_rootdir/$sitename;
 }
 
+set $use_front_controller 0;
+set $rootdir $base_rootdir;
+
 # If we have the server directory (version 13 and newer) use this as the wwwroot
 if (-f "$rootdir/server/version.php") {
     # in which case, set that directory as the root
-    set $rootdir "$rootdir/server";
+    set $rootdir $base_rootdir/server;
+}
+
+
+# If we have the public directory (version 21 and newer) it is a sibling of server/,
+# so check from the original sitename root. Re-check against REMOTE_SRC base.
+# We use a separate variable to avoid double-appending on the server/ branch.
+if (-f $base_rootdir/public/index.php) {
+    set $rootdir $base_rootdir/public;
+    set $use_front_controller 1;
 }
 
 root $rootdir;