How to run multiple sites on OS X using Apache

Update 1: An automated way doing all the stuff in this post is using VirtualHostX – you might want to try that out. It’s free for up to three vhosts – after that it costs money.

Update 2: Or even better: You can use the all free hostess. It’s pure command line and works great.

Today I wanted to test some PHP and MySQL using Apache in OS X but wasn’t able to find any guide on how to do this if I wanted multiple sites. So I might as well create my own:

cd /etc/apache2
sudo mkdir mysites
# or whatever (I used my name, 'lasse', for the name)

cd mysites
sudo nano phptest.conf
# or vi or whatever

Put the following in phptest.conf:

<VirtualHost *:80>
  ServerName phptest.local
  DocumentRoot "/Users/yourname/dev/web/phptest"
  <Directory "/Users/yourname/dev/web/phptest">
    Order allow,deny
    Allow from all
  </Directory>
</VirtualHost>

Remember to replace yourname for your username and to create the ~/dev/web/phptest folder.

Back into the bash:

cd /etc/apache2
sudo nano httpd.conf

First find the lines that say:

#LoadModule php5_module        libexec/apache2/libphp5.so
#LoadModule fastcgi_module     libexec/apache2/mod_fastcgi.so

And uncomment these two lines likes this:

LoadModule php5_module        libexec/apache2/libphp5.so
LoadModule fastcgi_module     libexec/apache2/mod_fastcgi.so

This enables PHP.
Next, go to the bottom of the same file and add the following line:

Include /private/etc/apache2/mysites/*.conf

This tells Apache to also load configuration files from the mysites folder.
Next, edit your hosts file to enable the phptest.local name:

sudo nano /etc/hosts

Add the following line at the bottom of the file:

127.0.0.1 phptest.local

This tells your DNS resolver to look for the site locally at your computer (127.0.0.1) when you type phptest.local in your browser.

It’s necessary to restart Apache to enable the new settings (you’ll need to do this every time you add a site).

sudo apachectl -k restart

Finally we create a test file to make sure it all works:

cd ~/dev/web/phptest
nano test.php

Enter the following:

<?php echo "Hello World!" ?>

Now you should be able to go to http://phptest.local/test.php in your browser and it should say Hello World!. If not, then something is wrong.

Adding a new site

Next time you want to add a site, just complete the following steps:
1. Create a site root folder in ~/dev/web/xx or wherever you keep your sites.
2. Create a configuration file similar to phptest.conf in /etc/apache2/mysites/ where you replace the paths and ServerName for the new ones.
3. Create an entry in /etc/hosts with the same name as you used as ServerName.
4. Restart Apache using apachectl -k restart.

Is there an easier way to do this? Please let me know in the comments.

Follow me on Twitter