.Htaccess - Remove trailing slash, whilst all pages still go to index.php - apache

Question

I've searched over previously asked questions but none have the same problem as me. I'm wanting to remove the trailing slash, whilst still sending all pages to index.php (or if the file actually exists, use that.)
I'd like a solution that I don't have to fiddle with between server and localhost.
So localhost/pages/to/file/ and http://example.com/pages/to/file/, go to ... /pages/to/file
My current htaccess file:
RewriteEngine on
# removes www.
RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} ^www\.(.*)$ [NC]
RewriteRule ^(.*)$ http://%1%{REQUEST_URI} [R=301,QSA,NC,L]
# if file exists, ignore the index.php re-write
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-f
# send everything to index.php
RewriteRule . index.php

Answer 1

Give the following a try:
RewriteEngine on
# Remove the trailing slash, if not in a directory
# DirectorySlash off can be used instead.
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-d
RewriteRule ^(.*)/$ /$1 [L,R=301]
# Remove www. (generic method with HTTPS support)
RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} ^www\.
RewriteCond %{HTTPS}s ^on(s)|off
RewriteCond http%1://%{HTTP_HOST} ^(https?://)(www\.)?(.+)$
RewriteRule ^ %1%3%{REQUEST_URI} [R,L]
# Send everything (except existing files) to index.php
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-f
RewriteRule ^ index.php [L]
If this works for you, change the R flag to R=301 to make the redirect permanent.

Answer 2

You can add an extra condition to your existing rule to remove www and remove any trailing slash in that rule too.
RewriteEngine on
# removes www. and trailing slash
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_URI} /$ [OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} ^www\.(.*)$ [NC]
RewriteRule ^(.*?)/?$ http://%1/$1 [R=301,QSA,NC,L]
# if file exists, ignore the index.php re-write
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-f
# send everything to index.php
RewriteRule . index.php
See the documentation for clarification.

Answer 3

Have a separate rule for removal of trailing slash:
RewriteEngine on
# removes www.
RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} ^www\.(.+)$ [NC]
RewriteRule ^ http://%1%{REQUEST_URI} [R=301,NE,L]
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-f
RewriteCond %{THE_REQUEST} \s/+(.*?)[^/][?\s]
RewriteRule [^/]$ %{REQUEST_URI}/ [L,NE,R=301]
# if file/directory exists, ignore the index.php re-write
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-f
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-d
# send everything to index.php
RewriteRule . index.php [L]