Verifying System Components

macOS includes pre-installed Apache and PHP environments, though they're inactive by default. To verify your Apache installation:

apachectl -version

For PHP version information:

php -v

Apache Service Management

Control Apache through these commands:

• Start: sudo apachectl start
• Stop: sudo apachectl stop
• Restart: sudo apachectl restart

After starting, navigate to http://localhost - the default "It works!" page confirms successful activation.

Enabling PHP Support

Activate PHP by modifying Apache's configuration:

sudo vim /etc/apache2/httpd.conf

Locate and uncomment the PHP module line by removing the # prefix:

LoadModule php7_module libexec/apache2/libphp7.so

Note: Adjust the module name according to your PHP version.

Testing PHP Configuration

Apache's default document root is /Library/WebServer/Documents. Create a test file:

<?php
phpinfo();
?>

Save this as index.php in the document root, then remove any existing index.html file. Access http://localhost to view the PHP information page.

Customizing Document Root

To use a custom web directory (e.g., /Users/username/Sites):

1. Edit the Apache configuration:

sudo vim /etc/apache2/httpd.conf

2. Modify these two directives:

DocumentRoot "/Users/username/Sites"
<Directory "/Users/username/Sites">

3. Restart Apache and test with your index.php file

Resolving Permission Issues

If encountering "403 Forbidden" errors after changing directories:

1. Edit the Apache configuration again
2. Locate the root directory section and replace:

<Directory />
    Options FollowSymLinks
    AllowOverride None
    Require all denied
</Directory>

With:

<Directory />
    Options Indexes FollowSymLinks
    AllowOverride None
    Order deny,allow
    Allow from all
</Directory>

3. Additionally, ensure AllowOverride All is set for your custom directory section
4. Restart Apache for changes to take effect