1<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" 2 "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd"> 3<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" 4 "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"> 5 6<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"> 7 <head> 8 <meta name="generator" content="HTML Tidy, see www.w3.org" /> 9 10 <title>Configuration Files</title> 11 </head> 12 <!-- Background white, links blue (unvisited), navy (visited), red (active) --> 13 14 <body bgcolor="#FFFFFF" text="#000000" link="#0000FF" 15 vlink="#000080" alink="#FF0000"> 16 <div align="CENTER"> 17 <img src="images/sub.gif" alt="[APACHE DOCUMENTATION]" /> 18 19 <h3>Apache HTTP Server</h3> 20 </div> 21 22 23 24 <h1 align="CENTER">Configuration Files</h1> 25 26 <ul> 27 <li><a href="#main">Main Configuration Files</a></li> 28 29 <li><a href="#syntax">Syntax of the Configuration 30 Files</a></li> 31 32 <li><a href="#modules">Modules</a></li> 33 34 <li><a href="#scope">Scope of Directives</a></li> 35 36 <li><a href="#htaccess">.htaccess Files</a></li> 37 </ul> 38 <hr /> 39 40 <h2><a id="main" name="main">Main Configuration Files</a></h2> 41 42 <table border="1"> 43 <tr> 44 <td valign="top"><strong>Related Modules</strong><br /> 45 <br /> 46 <a href="mod/mod_mime.html">mod_mime</a><br /> 47 </td> 48 49 <td valign="top"><strong>Related Directives</strong><br /> 50 <br /> 51 <a 52 href="mod/core.html#accessconfig">AccessConfig</a><br /> 53 <a 54 href="mod/core.html#ifdefine"><IfDefine></a><br /> 55 <a href="mod/core.html#include">Include</a><br /> 56 <a 57 href="mod/core.html#resourceconfig">ResourceConfig</a><br /> 58 <a 59 href="mod/mod_mime.html#typesconfig">TypesConfig</a><br /> 60 </td> 61 </tr> 62 </table> 63 64 <p>Apache is configured by placing <a 65 href="mod/directives.html">directives</a> in plain text 66 configuration files. The main configuration file is usually 67 called <code>httpd.conf</code>. The location of this file is 68 set at compile-time, but may be overridden with the 69 <code>-f</code> command line flag. Some sites also have 70 <code>srm.conf</code> and <code>access.conf</code> files for <a 71 href="http://httpd.apache.org/info/three-config-files.html">historical 72 reasons</a>. In addition, other configuration files may be 73 added using the <code><a 74 href="mod/core.html#include">Include</a></code> directive. Any 75 directive may be placed in any of these configuration files. 76 Changes to the main configuration files are only recognized by 77 Apache when it is started or restarted.</p> 78 79 <p>New with Apache 1.3.13 is a feature where if any 80 configuration file is actually a directory, Apache will enter 81 that directory and parse any files (and subdirectories) found 82 there as configuration files. One possible use for this would 83 be to add VirtualHosts by creating small configuration files 84 for each host, and placing them in such a configuration 85 directory. Thus, you can add or remove VirtualHosts without 86 editing any files at all, simply adding or deleting them. This 87 makes automating such processes much easier.</p> 88 89 <p>The server also reads a file containing mime document types; 90 the filename is set by the <a 91 href="mod/mod_mime.html#typesconfig">TypesConfig</a> directive, 92 and is <code>mime.types</code> by default.</p> 93 <hr /> 94 95 <h2><a id="syntax" name="syntax">Syntax of the Configuration 96 Files</a></h2> 97 98 <p>Apache configuration files contain one directive per line. 99 The back-slash "\" may be used as the last character on a line 100 to indicate that the directive continues onto the next line. 101 There must be no other characters or white space between the 102 back-slash and the end of the line.</p> 103 104 <p>Directives in the configuration files are case-insensitive, 105 but arguments to directives are often case sensitive. Lines 106 which begin with the hash character "#" are considered 107 comments, and are ignored. Comments may <strong>not</strong> be 108 included on a line after a configuration directive. Blank lines 109 and white space occurring before a directive are ignored, so 110 you may indent directives for clarity.</p> 111 112 <p>You can check your configuration files for syntax errors 113 without starting the server by using <code>apachectl 114 configtest</code> or the <code>-t</code> command line 115 option.</p> 116 <hr /> 117 118 <h2><a id="modules" name="modules">Modules</a></h2> 119 120 <table border="1"> 121 <tr> 122 <td valign="top"><strong>Related Modules</strong><br /> 123 <br /> 124 <a href="mod/mod_so.html">mod_so</a><br /> 125 </td> 126 127 <td valign="top"><strong>Related Directives</strong><br /> 128 <br /> 129 <a href="mod/core.html#addmodule">AddModule</a><br /> 130 <a 131 href="mod/core.html#clearmodulelist">ClearModuleList</a><br /> 132 <a 133 href="mod/core.html#ifmodule"><IfModule></a><br /> 134 <a href="mod/mod_so.html#loadmodule">LoadModule</a><br /> 135 </td> 136 </tr> 137 </table> 138 139 <p>Apache is a modular server. This implies that only the most 140 basic functionality is included in the core server. Extended 141 features are available through <a 142 href="mod/index-bytype.html">modules</a> which can be loaded 143 into Apache. By default, a <a 144 href="mod/module-dict.html#Status">base</a> set of modules is 145 included in the server at compile-time. If the server is 146 compiled to use <a href="dso.html">dynamically loaded</a> 147 modules, then modules can be compiled separately and added at 148 any time using the <a 149 href="mod/mod_so.html#loadmodule">LoadModule</a> directive. 150 Otherwise, Apache must be recompiled to add or remove modules. 151 Configuration directives may be included conditional on a 152 presence of a particular module by enclosing them in an <a 153 href="mod/core.html#ifmodule"><IfModule></a> block.</p> 154 155 <p>To see which modules are currently compiled into the server, 156 you can use the <code>-l</code> command line option.</p> 157 <hr /> 158 159 <h2><a id="scope" name="scope">Scope of Directives</a></h2> 160 161 <table border="1"> 162 <tr> 163 <td valign="top"><strong>Related Directives</strong><br /> 164 <br /> 165 <a 166 href="mod/core.html#directory"><Directory></a><br /> 167 <a 168 href="mod/core.html#directorymatch"><DirectoryMatch></a><br /> 169 <a href="mod/core.html#files"><Files></a><br /> 170 <a 171 href="mod/core.html#filesmatch"><FilesMatch></a><br /> 172 <a 173 href="mod/core.html#location"><Location></a><br /> 174 <a 175 href="mod/core.html#locationmatch"><LocationMatch></a><br /> 176 <a 177 href="mod/core.html#virtualhost"><VirtualHost></a><br /> 178 </td> 179 </tr> 180 </table> 181 182 <p>Directives placed in the main configuration files apply to 183 the entire server. If you wish to change the configuration for 184 only a part of the server, you can scope your directives by 185 placing them in <code><a 186 href="mod/core.html#directory"><Directory></a>, <a 187 href="mod/core.html#directorymatch"><DirectoryMatch></a>, 188 <a href="mod/core.html#files"><Files></a>, <a 189 href="mod/core.html#filesmatch"><FilesMatch></a>, <a 190 href="mod/core.html#location"><Location></a>,</code> and 191 <code><a 192 href="mod/core.html#locationmatch"><LocationMatch></a></code> 193 sections. These sections limit the application of the 194 directives which they enclose to particular filesystem 195 locations or URLs. They can also be nested, allowing for very 196 fine grained configuration.</p> 197 198 <p>Apache has the capability to serve many different websites 199 simultaneously. This is called <a href="vhosts/">Virtual 200 Hosting</a>. Directives can also be scoped by placing them 201 inside <code><a 202 href="mod/core.html#virtualhost"><VirtualHost></a></code> 203 sections, so that they will only apply to requests for a 204 particular website.</p> 205 206 <p>Although most directives can be placed in any of these 207 sections, some directives do not make sense in some contexts. 208 For example, directives controlling process creation can only 209 be placed in the main server context. To find which directives 210 can be placed in which sections, check the <a 211 href="mod/directive-dict.html#Context">Context</a> of the 212 directive. For further information, we provide details on <a 213 href="sections.html">How Directory, Location and Files sections 214 work</a>.</p> 215 <hr /> 216 217 <h2><a id="htaccess" name="htaccess">.htaccess Files</a></h2> 218 219 <table border="1"> 220 <tr> 221 <td valign="top"><strong>Related Directives</strong><br /> 222 <br /> 223 <a 224 href="mod/core.html#accessfilename">AccessFileName</a><br /> 225 <a 226 href="mod/core.html#allowoverride">AllowOverride</a><br /> 227 </td> 228 </tr> 229 </table> 230 231 <p>Apache allows for decentralized management of configuration 232 via special files placed inside the web tree. The special files 233 are usually called <code>.htaccess</code>, but any name can be 234 specified in the <a 235 href="mod/core.html#accessfilename"><code>AccessFileName</code></a> 236 directive. Directives placed in <code>.htaccess</code> files 237 apply to the directory where you place the file, and all 238 sub-directories. The <code>.htaccess</code> files follow the 239 same syntax as the main configuration files. Since 240 <code>.htaccess</code> files are read on every request, changes 241 made in these files take immediate effect.</p> 242 243 <p>To find which directives can be placed in 244 <code>.htaccess</code> files, check the <a 245 href="mod/directive-dict.html#Context">Context</a> of the 246 directive. The server administrator further controls what 247 directives may be placed in <code>.htaccess</code> files by 248 configuring the <a 249 href="mod/core.html#allowoverride"><code>AllowOverride</code></a> 250 directive in the main configuration files.</p> 251 252 <p>For more information on <code>.htaccess</code> files, see 253 Ken Coar's tutorial on <a 254 href="http://apache-server.com/tutorials/ATusing-htaccess.html"> 255 Using .htaccess Files with Apache</a>, or the <a 256 href="http://httpd.apache.org/docs/howto/htaccess.html">.htaccess 257 tutorial</a> in the Apache docs.</p> 258 <hr /> 259 260 <h3 align="CENTER">Apache HTTP Server</h3> 261 <a href="./"><img src="images/index.gif" alt="Index" /></a> 262 263 </body> 264</html> 265 266 267
