Apache on Localhost

Apache HTTP Server is the world's most popular web server, powering millions of websites. It's included in XAMPP, MAMP, and WAMP, making it the default choice for PHP development on localhost.

Apache in Local Dev Stacks

Install Apache (Standalone)

Ubuntu/Debian

sudo apt update
sudo apt install apache2
sudo systemctl start apache2
sudo systemctl enable apache2

# Check status
sudo systemctl status apache2

macOS (Homebrew)

brew install httpd
brew services start httpd

Key Configuration Files

Enable mod_rewrite

Required for WordPress, Laravel, and most PHP frameworks:

# Ubuntu/Debian
sudo a2enmod rewrite
sudo systemctl restart apache2

# XAMPP (httpd.conf)
# Uncomment this line:
LoadModule rewrite_module modules/mod_rewrite.so

# Also change AllowOverride None to:
AllowOverride All

Virtual Hosts

# /etc/apache2/sites-available/mysite.conf
<VirtualHost *:80>
    ServerName mysite.local
    DocumentRoot /var/www/mysite
    
    <Directory /var/www/mysite>
        AllowOverride All
        Require all granted
    </Directory>
    
    ErrorLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/mysite-error.log
    CustomLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/mysite-access.log combined
</VirtualHost>

# Enable site
sudo a2ensite mysite.conf
sudo systemctl reload apache2

# Add to /etc/hosts
127.0.0.1 mysite.local

.htaccess Examples

# WordPress/Laravel pretty URLs
<IfModule mod_rewrite.c>
    RewriteEngine On
    RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-f
    RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-d
    RewriteRule ^(.*)$ index.php/$1 [L]
</IfModule>

# Force HTTPS
RewriteEngine On
RewriteCond %{HTTPS} off
RewriteRule ^(.*)$ https://%{HTTP_HOST}%{REQUEST_URI} [L,R=301]

# Custom error pages
ErrorDocument 404 /404.html
ErrorDocument 500 /500.html

Common Commands

# Start/stop/restart
sudo systemctl start apache2
sudo systemctl stop apache2
sudo systemctl restart apache2
sudo systemctl reload apache2

# XAMPP (Windows)
xampp-control.exe  # Use GUI

# Test configuration
sudo apachectl configtest
sudo apache2ctl -t

# View error logs
sudo tail -f /var/log/apache2/error.log

Troubleshooting