How do I start apache in OSX Mountain Lion / Mavericks?

Solution 1:

The LaunchDaemon for Apache is still there as well, so all you have to do it load it:

sudo launchctl load -w /System/Library/LaunchDaemons/org.apache.httpd.plist

The -w makes it permanent, i.e. it'll be reloaded when you reboot.

Solution 2:

Terminal Commands

Starting: "sudo apachectl start"

Stopping: "sudo apachectl stop"

Restarting: "sudo apachectl restart"

Launching on Startup

(See the marked answer in this thread)

Solution 3:

sudo apachectl start also enables the launchd daemon. It overrides the Disabled key in /System/Library/LaunchDaemons/org.apache.httpd.plist by modifying /private/var/db/launchd.db/com.apple.launchd/overrides.plist, just like launchctl load -w.

For http://localhost/~username/ to work, you have to create /etc/apache2/users/username.conf and add a <Directory> directive like this:

<Directory "/Users/username/Sites/">
Options Indexes MultiViews
AllowOverride All
Order allow,deny
Allow from all
</Directory>

Solution 4:

Slifty and Lauri hint at an important concept without clearly saying it.

"sudo apachectl start" will not only start apache but will also modify /private/var/db/launchd.db/com.apple.launchd/overrides.plist so that apache will automatically restart each time the system is rebooted.

Similarly, "sudo apachectl stop" will stop apache and modify the above file so that apache won't start when the system is rebooted.

This seems to be the simplest way to control whether the service starts automatically.