.htaccess file in the root
in mac you can put the file in the xampp/htdocs/.htaccess

containing the following: (to remove and rewrite index.php)

RewriteEngine On
RewriteBase /

# Remove index.php
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-f
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-d
RewriteRule ^api/index\.php/(.*)$ /api/$1 [L,R=301]
RewriteRule ^api/index\.php$ /api/ [L,R=301]

# Rewrite API URLs to remove index.php
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-f
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-d
RewriteRule ^api/(.*)$ /api/index.php/$1 [L,QSA]