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<title>apachectl - Apache HTTP Server Control Interface - Apache HTTP Server Version 2.4</title>
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<a href="https://www.apache.org/">Apache</a> &gt; <a href="https://httpd.apache.org/">HTTP Server</a> &gt; <a href="https://httpd.apache.org/docs/">Documentation</a> &gt; <a href="../">Version 2.4</a> &gt; <a href="./">Programs</a></div><div id="page-content"><div id="preamble"><h1>apachectl - Apache HTTP Server Control Interface</h1>
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     <p><code class="program"><a href="../programs/apachectl.html">apachectl</a></code> is a front end to the Apache HyperText
     Transfer Protocol (HTTP) server.  It is designed to help the
     administrator control the functioning of the Apache
     <code class="program"><a href="../programs/httpd.html">httpd</a></code> daemon.</p>

     <p>The <code class="program"><a href="../programs/apachectl.html">apachectl</a></code> script can operate in two modes.
     First, it can act as a simple front-end to the <code class="program"><a href="../programs/httpd.html">httpd</a></code>
     command that simply sets any necessary environment variables and
     then invokes <code class="program"><a href="../programs/httpd.html">httpd</a></code>, passing through any command line
     arguments.  Second, <code class="program"><a href="../programs/apachectl.html">apachectl</a></code> can act as a SysV init
     script, taking simple one-word arguments like <code>start</code>,
     <code>restart</code>, and <code>stop</code>, and translating them
     into appropriate signals to <code class="program"><a href="../programs/httpd.html">httpd</a></code>.</p>

     <p>If your Apache installation uses non-standard paths, you will
     need to edit the <code class="program"><a href="../programs/apachectl.html">apachectl</a></code> script to set the
     appropriate paths to the <code class="program"><a href="../programs/httpd.html">httpd</a></code> binary.  You can also
     specify any necessary <code class="program"><a href="../programs/httpd.html">httpd</a></code> command line arguments.
     See the comments in the script for details.</p>

     <p>The <code class="program"><a href="../programs/apachectl.html">apachectl</a></code> script returns a 0 exit value on
     success, and &gt;0 if an error occurs.  For more details, view
     the comments in the script.</p>
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<div id="quickview"><ul id="toc"><li><img alt="" src="../images/down.gif"> <a href="#synopsis">Synopsis</a></li>
<li><img alt="" src="../images/down.gif"> <a href="#options">Options</a></li>
<li><img alt="" src="../images/down.gif"> <a href="#files">Files</a></li>
</ul><h3>See also</h3><ul class="seealso"><li><a href="../invoking.html">Starting Apache</a></li><li><a href="../stopping.html">Stopping Apache</a></li><li><a href="../configuring.html">Configuration Files</a></li><li><a href="../platform/">Platform Docs</a></li><li><code class="program"><a href="../programs/httpd.html">httpd</a></code></li></ul></div>
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<h2 id="synopsis">Synopsis <a title="Permanent link" href="#synopsis" class="permalink">&para;</a></h2>

<p>When acting in pass-through mode, <code class="program"><a href="../programs/apachectl.html">apachectl</a></code> can take
all the arguments available for the <code class="program"><a href="../programs/httpd.html">httpd</a></code>
binary.</p>

<p><code><strong>apachectl</strong> [ <var>httpd-argument</var> ]</code></p>

<p>When acting in SysV init mode, <code class="program"><a href="../programs/apachectl.html">apachectl</a></code> takes simple,
one-word commands, defined below.</p>

<p><code><strong>apachectl</strong> <var>command</var></code></p>

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<div class="section">
<h2 id="options">Options <a title="Permanent link" href="#options" class="permalink">&para;</a></h2>

<p>Only the SysV init-style options are defined here.  Other arguments
are defined on the <code class="program"><a href="../programs/httpd.html">httpd</a></code> manual page.</p>

<dl>

<dt><code>start</code></dt>

<dd>Start the Apache <code class="program"><a href="../programs/httpd.html">httpd</a></code> daemon.  Gives an error if it
is already running.  This is equivalent to <code>apachectl -k
start</code>.</dd>

<dt><code>stop</code></dt>

<dd>Stops the Apache <code class="program"><a href="../programs/httpd.html">httpd</a></code> daemon.  This is equivalent to
<code>apachectl -k stop</code>.</dd>

<dt><code>restart</code></dt>

<dd>Restarts the Apache <code class="program"><a href="../programs/httpd.html">httpd</a></code> daemon.  If the daemon is
not running, it is started.  This command automatically checks the
configuration files as in <code>configtest</code> before initiating
the restart to make sure the daemon doesn't die.  This is equivalent
to <code>apachectl -k restart</code>.</dd>

<dt><code>fullstatus</code></dt>

<dd>Displays a full status report from <code class="module"><a href="../mod/mod_status.html">mod_status</a></code>.
For this to work, you need to have <code class="module"><a href="../mod/mod_status.html">mod_status</a></code> enabled
on your server and a text-based browser such as <code>lynx</code>
available on your system.  The URL used to access the status report
can be set by editing the <code>STATUSURL</code> variable in the
script.</dd>

<dt><code>status</code></dt>

<dd>Displays a brief status report.  Similar to the
<code>fullstatus</code> option, except that the list of requests
currently being served is omitted.</dd>

<dt><code>graceful</code></dt>

<dd>Gracefully restarts the Apache <code class="program"><a href="../programs/httpd.html">httpd</a></code> daemon.  If the
daemon is not running, it is started.  This differs from a normal
restart in that currently open connections are not aborted.  A side
effect is that old log files will not be closed immediately.  This
means that if used in a log rotation script, a substantial delay may
be necessary to ensure that the old log files are closed before
processing them.  This command automatically checks the configuration
files as in <code>configtest</code> before initiating the
restart to make sure Apache doesn't die.  This is equivalent to
<code>apachectl -k graceful</code>.</dd>

<dt><code>graceful-stop</code></dt>

<dd>Gracefully stops the Apache <code class="program"><a href="../programs/httpd.html">httpd</a></code> daemon.
This differs from a normal stop in that currently open connections are not
aborted.  A side effect is that old log files will not be closed immediately.
This is equivalent to <code>apachectl -k graceful-stop</code>.</dd>

<dt><code>configtest</code></dt>

<dd>Run a configuration file syntax test. It parses the configuration
files and either reports <code>Syntax Ok</code>
or detailed information about the particular syntax error.  This is
equivalent to <code>apachectl -t</code>.</dd>

</dl>

<p>The following option was available in earlier versions but has been removed.</p>

<dl>

<dt><code>startssl</code></dt>

<dd>To start <code class="program"><a href="../programs/httpd.html">httpd</a></code> with SSL support, you should edit
your configuration file to include the relevant directives and then
use the normal <code>apachectl start</code>.</dd>

</dl>

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<div class="section">
<h2 id="files">Files <a title="Permanent link" href="#files" class="permalink">&para;</a></h2>

<p>The default paths listed below may be changed at compile time.
Consult your local installation for the actual locations.</p>

<dl>
<dt><code>/usr/local/apache2/bin/envvars</code></dt>
<dd>Environment variable settings sourced at startup.</dd>

<dt><code>/usr/local/apache2/bin/httpd</code></dt>
<dd>The httpd binary invoked by apachectl.</dd>
</dl>

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