apache2ctl(8)                 System Manager's Manual                apache2ctl(8)

NAME
       apache2ctl - Apache HTTP server control interface

SYNOPSIS
       When  acting in SysV init mode, apache2ctl takes simple, one-word commands,
       defined below.

       apachectl command

       apache2ctl command

       When acting in pass-through mode, apache2ctl can  take  all  the  arguments
       available for the httpd binary.

       apachectl [httpd-argument]

       apache2ctl [httpd-argument]

DESCRIPTION
       apache2ctl  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 apache2 daemon.

       NOTE:  The  default Debian configuration requires the environment variables
       APACHE_RUN_USER,  APACHE_RUN_GROUP,  and  APACHE_PID_FILE  to  be  set   in
       /etc/apache2/envvars.

       The apache2ctl script returns a 0 exit value on success, and >0 if an error
       occurs.  For more details, view the comments in the script.

OPTIONS
       The command can be any one or more of the following options:

       start         Start the Apache daemon.  Gives an error  if  it  is  already
                     running.

       stop          Stops the Apache daemon.

       restart       Restarts  the  Apache  daemon by sending it a SIGHUP.  If the
                     daemon is not running, it is started.  This command automati‐
                     cally  checks  the  configuration files via configtest before
                     initiating  the  restart  to  to  catch   the   most  obvious
                     errors.   However, it is still possible for the daemon to die
                     because of problems with the configuration.

       fullstatus    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 lynx available on  your  system.
                     The  URL  used to access the status report can be set by set‐
                     ting the APACHE_STATUSURL variable in /etc/apache2/envvars.

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

       graceful      Gracefully  restarts  the  Apache  daemon  by  sending  it  a
                     SIGUSR1.   If the daemon is not running, it is started.  This
                     differs from a normal restart in that currently open  connec‐
                     tions  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 via apache2ctl configtest before initiating the restart
                     to  to  catch  the most obvious errors.  However, it is still
                     possible for the daemon to die because of problems  with  the
                     configuration.

       graceful-stop Gracefully  stops the Apache httpd 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.

       configtest    Run a configuration file syntax test. It parses the  configu‐
                     ration  files  and  either  reports  Syntax Ok or information
                     about the particular syntax error. This test does  not  catch
                     all errors.

       help          Displays a short help message.

       The  following  option  was  available  in  earlier  versions  but has been
       removed.

       startssl      To start httpd with SSL support, you should edit your config‐
                     uration  file to include the relevant directives and then use
                     the normal apache2ctl start.

ENVIRONMENT
       The behaviour of apache2ctl can be influenced with these environment  vari‐
       ables:         APACHE_HTTPD,         APACHE_LYNX,         APACHE_STATUSURL,
       APACHE_ULIMIT_MAX_FILES, APACHE_RUN_DIR, APACHE_LOCK_DIR,  APACHE_RUN_USER,
       APACHE_ARGUMENTS,  APACHE_ENVVARS.   See  the  comments  in  the script for
       details.   These  variables  (except  APACHE_ENVVARS)   can   be   set   in
       /etc/apache2/envvars.

SEE ALSO
       apache2(8), /usr/share/doc/apache2/README.Debian.gz

                                    April 2008                       apache2ctl(8)

Usage: /usr/sbin/apache2 [-D name] [-d directory] [-f file]
                         [-C "directive"] [-c "directive"]
                         [-k start|restart|graceful|graceful-stop|stop]
                         [-v] [-V] [-h] [-l] [-L] [-t] [-T] [-S] [-X]
Options:
  -D name            : define a name for use in <IfDefine name> directives
  -d directory       : specify an alternate initial ServerRoot
  -f file            : specify an alternate ServerConfigFile
  -C "directive"     : process directive before reading config files
  -c "directive"     : process directive after reading config files
  -e level           : show startup errors of level (see LogLevel)
  -E file            : log startup errors to file
  -v                 : show version number
  -V                 : show compile settings
  -h                 : list available command line options (this page)
  -l                 : list compiled in modules
  -L                 : list available configuration directives
  -t -D DUMP_VHOSTS  : show parsed vhost settings
  -t -D DUMP_RUN_CFG : show parsed run settings
  -S                 : a synonym for -t -D DUMP_VHOSTS -D DUMP_RUN_CFG
  -t -D DUMP_MODULES : show all loaded modules 
  -M                 : a synonym for -t -D DUMP_MODULES
  -t -D DUMP_INCLUDES: show all included configuration files
  -t                 : run syntax check for config files
  -T                 : start without DocumentRoot(s) check
  -X                 : debug mode (only one worker, do not detach)
Action '-h' failed.
The Apache error log may have more information.