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<?xml version='1.0' encoding='UTF-8' ?>
<!DOCTYPE manualpage SYSTEM "./style/manualpage.dtd">
<?xml-stylesheet type="text/xsl" href="./style/manual.en.xsl"?>
<!--
Copyright 2002-2004 Apache Software Foundation
Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
You may obtain a copy of the License at
http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
limitations under the License.
-->
<manualpage metafile="configuring.xml.meta">
<title>Configuration Files</title>
<summary>
<p>This document describes the files used to configure the Apache
HTTP server.</p>
</summary>
<section id="main">
<title>Main Configuration Files</title>
<related>
<modulelist>
<module>mod_mime</module>
</modulelist>
<directivelist>
<directive module="core" type="section">IfDefine</directive>
<directive module="core">Include</directive>
<directive module="mod_mime">TypesConfig</directive>
</directivelist>
</related>
<p>Apache is configured by placing <a
href="mod/directives.html">directives</a> in plain text
configuration files. The main configuration file is usually called
<code>httpd.conf</code>. The location of this file is set at
compile-time, but may be overridden with the <code>-f</code>
command line flag. In addition, other configuration files may be
added using the <directive module="core">Include</directive>
directive, and wildcards can be used to include many configuration
files. Any directive may be placed in any of these configuration
files. Changes to the main configuration files are only
recognized by Apache when it is started or restarted.</p>
<p>The server also reads a file containing mime document types;
the filename is set by the <directive
module="mod_mime">TypesConfig</directive> directive,
and is <code>mime.types</code> by default.</p>
</section>
<section id="syntax">
<title>Syntax of the Configuration Files</title>
<p>Apache configuration files contain one directive per line.
The back-slash "\" may be used as the last character on a line
to indicate that the directive continues onto the next line.
There must be no other characters or white space between the
back-slash and the end of the line.</p>
<p>Directives in the configuration files are case-insensitive,
but arguments to directives are often case sensitive. Lines
that begin with the hash character "#" are considered
comments, and are ignored. Comments may <strong>not</strong> be
included on a line after a configuration directive. Blank lines
and white space occurring before a directive are ignored, so
you may indent directives for clarity.</p>
<p>You can check your configuration files for syntax errors
without starting the server by using <code>apachectl
configtest</code> or the <code>-t</code> command line
option.</p>
</section>
<section id="modules">
<title>Modules</title>
<related>
<modulelist>
<module>mod_so</module>
</modulelist>
<directivelist>
<directive module="core" type="section">IfModule</directive>
<directive module="mod_so">LoadModule</directive>
</directivelist>
</related>
<p>Apache is a modular server. This implies that only the most
basic functionality is included in the core server. Extended
features are available through <a
href="mod/">modules</a> which can be loaded
into Apache. By default, a <a
href="mod/module-dict.html#Status">base</a> set of modules is
included in the server at compile-time. If the server is
compiled to use <a href="dso.html">dynamically loaded</a>
modules, then modules can be compiled separately and added at
any time using the <directive module="mod_so">LoadModule</directive>
directive.
Otherwise, Apache must be recompiled to add or remove modules.
Configuration directives may be included conditional on a
presence of a particular module by enclosing them in an<directive
module="core" type="section">IfModule</directive> block.</p>
<p>To see which modules are currently compiled into the server,
you can use the <code>-l</code> command line option.</p>
</section>
<section id="scope">
<title>Scope of Directives</title>
<related>
<directivelist>
<directive module="core" type="section">Directory</directive>
<directive module="core" type="section">DirectoryMatch</directive>
<directive module="core" type="section">Files</directive>
<directive module="core" type="section">FilesMatch</directive>
<directive module="core" type="section">Location</directive>
<directive module="core" type="section">LocationMatch</directive>
<directive module="core" type="section">VirtualHost</directive>
</directivelist>
</related>
<p>Directives placed in the main configuration files apply to
the entire server. If you wish to change the configuration for
only a part of the server, you can scope your directives by
placing them in <directive module="core"
type="section">Directory</directive>, <directive module="core"
type="section">DirectoryMatch</directive>, <directive module="core"
type="section">Files</directive>, <directive module="core"
type="section">FilesMatch</directive>, <directive module="core"
type="section">Location</directive>, and <directive module="core"
type="section">LocationMatch</directive>
sections. These sections limit the application of the
directives which they enclose to particular filesystem
locations or URLs. They can also be nested, allowing for very
fine grained configuration.</p>
<p>Apache has the capability to serve many different websites
simultaneously. This is called <a href="vhosts/">Virtual
Hosting</a>. Directives can also be scoped by placing them
inside <directive module="core" type="section">VirtualHost</directive>
sections, so that they will only apply to requests for a
particular website.</p>
<p>Although most directives can be placed in any of these
sections, some directives do not make sense in some contexts.
For example, directives controlling process creation can only
be placed in the main server context. To find which directives
can be placed in which sections, check the <a
href="mod/directive-dict.html#Context">Context</a> of the
directive. For further information, we provide details on <a
href="sections.html">How Directory, Location and Files sections
work</a>.</p>
</section>
<section id="htaccess">
<title>.htaccess Files</title>
<related>
<directivelist>
<directive module="core">AccessFileName</directive>
<directive module="core">AllowOverride</directive>
</directivelist>
</related>
<p>Apache allows for decentralized management of configuration
via special files placed inside the web tree. The special files
are usually called <code>.htaccess</code>, but any name can be
specified in the <directive module="core">AccessFileName</directive>
directive. Directives placed in <code>.htaccess</code> files
apply to the directory where you place the file, and all
sub-directories. The <code>.htaccess</code> files follow the
same syntax as the main configuration files. Since
<code>.htaccess</code> files are read on every request, changes
made in these files take immediate effect.</p>
<p>To find which directives can be placed in
<code>.htaccess</code> files, check the <a
href="mod/directive-dict.html#Context">Context</a> of the
directive. The server administrator further controls what
directives may be placed in <code>.htaccess</code> files by
configuring the <directive module="core">AllowOverride</directive>
directive in the main configuration files.</p>
<p>For more information on <code>.htaccess</code> files, see
the <a href="howto/htaccess.html">.htaccess tutorial</a>.</p>
</section>
</manualpage>
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