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
                     automatically  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  con‐
                     figuration.

       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  re‐
                     port can be set by setting 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 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 auto‐
                     matically 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 configuration files and either reports Syntax Ok or infor‐
                     mation 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 configuration file to include  the  relevant  directives
                     and then use the normal apache2ctl start.

ENVIRONMENT
       The behaviour of apache2ctl can be influenced with these environment variables: 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  com‐
       ments 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)