Starting Apache

On Windows, Apache is normally run as a service. For details, see Running Apache as a Service.

program is run as a daemon that executes continuously in the background to handle requests. This document describes how to invoke httpd

specified in the configuration file is default of 80 (or any other port below 1024), then it is necessary to have root privileges in order to start apache, so that it can bind to this privileged port. Once the server has started and performed a few preliminary activities such as opening its log files, it will launch several Listenchild processes which do the work of listening for and answering requests from clients. The main httpd

process continues to run as the root user, but the child processes run as a less privileged user. This is controlled by the selected Multi-Processing Module.

The recommended method of invoking the

control script. This script sets certain environment variables that are necessary for apache2ctl

to function correctly under some operating systems, and then invokes the httpd

will pass through any command line arguments, so any apache2ctl

options may also be used with httpd

. You may also directly edit the apache2ctl

script by changing the apache2ctlHTTPD

variable near the top to specify the correct location of the

binary and any command-line arguments that you wish to be httpdalways present.

The first thing that

does when it is invoked is to locate and read the httpdconfiguration file apache2.conf

. The location of this file is set at compile-time, but it is possible to specify its location at run time using the -f

If all goes well during startup, the server will detach from the terminal and the command prompt will return almost immediately. This indicates that the server is up and running. You can then use your browser to connect to the server and view the test page in the

For further trouble-shooting instructions, consult the Apache FAQ.

directory). This will start Apache as root. Before doing this ensure that your server is properly configured for security and access restrictions.

script is designed to act like a standard SysV init script; it can take the arguments apache2ctlstart

and translate them into the appropriate signals to

. So you can often simply link httpd

into the appropriate init directory. But be sure to check the exact requirements of your system.apache2ctl

as well as other support programs included with the server is available on the apache2ctlServer and Supporting Programs page. There is also documentation on all the modules included with the Apache distribution and the directives that they provide.

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Apache HTTP Server Version 2.4