docs/man/apachectl.8

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.TH "APACHECTL" 8 "2026-10-26" "Apache HTTP Server" "apachectl"

.SH NAME
apachectl \- Apache HTTP Server Control Interface

.SH "SYNOPSIS"
 
.PP
When acting in pass-through mode, \fBapachectl\fR can take all the arguments available for the \fBhttpd\fR binary\&.
 
.PP
\fB\fBapachectl\fR [ \fIhttpd-argument\fR ]\fR
 
.PP
When acting in SysV init mode, \fBapachectl\fR takes simple, one-word commands, defined below\&.
 
.PP
\fB\fBapachectl\fR \fIcommand\fR\fR
 

.SH "SUMMARY"
 
.PP
\fBapachectl\fR 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 \fBhttpd\fR daemon\&.
 
.PP
The \fBapachectl\fR script can operate in two modes\&. First, it can act as a simple front-end to the \fBhttpd\fR command that simply sets any necessary environment variables and then invokes \fBhttpd\fR, passing through any command line arguments\&. Second, \fBapachectl\fR can act as a SysV init script, taking simple one-word arguments like \fBstart\fR, \fBrestart\fR, and \fBstop\fR, and translating them into appropriate signals to \fBhttpd\fR\&.
 
.PP
If your Apache installation uses non-standard paths, you will need to edit the \fBapachectl\fR script to set the appropriate paths to the \fBhttpd\fR binary\&. You can also specify any necessary \fBhttpd\fR command line arguments\&. See the comments in the script for details\&.
 
.PP
The \fBapachectl\fR script returns a 0 exit value on success, and >0 if an error occurs\&. For more details, view the comments in the script\&.
 

.SH "OPTIONS"
 
.PP
Only the SysV init-style options are defined here\&. Other arguments are defined on the \fBhttpd\fR manual page\&.
 
 
.TP
\fBstart\fR
Start the Apache \fBhttpd\fR daemon\&. Gives an error if it is already running\&. This is equivalent to \fBapachectl -k start\fR\&.  
.TP
\fBstop\fR
Stops the Apache \fBhttpd\fR daemon\&. This is equivalent to \fBapachectl -k stop\fR\&.  
.TP
\fBrestart\fR
Restarts the Apache \fBhttpd\fR daemon\&. If the daemon is not running, it is started\&. This command automatically checks the configuration files as in \fBconfigtest\fR before initiating the restart to make sure the daemon doesn't die\&. This is equivalent to \fBapachectl -k restart\fR\&.  
.TP
\fBfullstatus\fR
Displays a full status report from mod_status\&. For this to work, you need to have mod_status enabled on your server and a text-based browser such as \fBlynx\fR available on your system\&. The URL used to access the status report can be set by editing the \fBSTATUSURL\fR variable in the script\&.  
.TP
\fBstatus\fR
Displays a brief status report\&. Similar to the \fBfullstatus\fR option, except that the list of requests currently being served is omitted\&.  
.TP
\fBgraceful\fR
Gracefully restarts the Apache \fBhttpd\fR 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 \fBconfigtest\fR before initiating the restart to make sure Apache doesn't die\&. This is equivalent to \fBapachectl -k graceful\fR\&.  
.TP
\fBgraceful-stop\fR
Gracefully stops the Apache \fBhttpd\fR 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 \fBapachectl -k graceful-stop\fR\&.  
.TP
\fBconfigtest\fR
Run a configuration file syntax test\&. It parses the configuration files and either reports \fBSyntax Ok\fR or detailed information about the particular syntax error\&. This is equivalent to \fBapachectl -t\fR\&. Further arguments are passed on to \fBhttpd\fR, so \fBapachectl configtest -f \fIfile\fR\fR tests the given configuration file\&.  
 
.PP
The following option was available in earlier versions but has been removed\&.
 
 
.TP
\fBstartssl\fR
To start \fBhttpd\fR with SSL support, you should edit your configuration file to include the relevant directives and then use the normal \fBapachectl start\fR\&.  
 
.SH "FILES"
 
.PP
The default paths listed below may be changed at compile time\&. Consult your local installation for the actual locations\&.
 
 
.TP
\fB/usr/local/apache2/bin/envvars\fR
Environment variable settings sourced at startup\&.  
.TP
\fB/usr/local/apache2/bin/httpd\fR
The httpd binary invoked by apachectl\&.