<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN"
    "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">

<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
  <head>
    <meta name="generator" content="HTML Tidy, see www.w3.org" />

    <title>Configuration Files</title>
  </head>
  <!-- Background white, links blue (unvisited), navy (visited), red (active) -->

  <body bgcolor="#FFFFFF" text="#000000" link="#0000FF"
  vlink="#000080" alink="#FF0000">
        <div align="CENTER">
      <img src="images/sub.gif" alt="[APACHE DOCUMENTATION]" /> 

      <h3>Apache HTTP Server</h3>
    </div>



    <h1 align="CENTER">Configuration Files</h1>

    <ul>
      <li><a href="#main">Main Configuration Files</a></li>

      <li><a href="#syntax">Syntax of the Configuration
      Files</a></li>

      <li><a href="#modules">Modules</a></li>

      <li><a href="#scope">Scope of Directives</a></li>

      <li><a href="#htaccess">.htaccess Files</a></li>
    </ul>
    <hr />

    <h2><a id="main" name="main">Main Configuration Files</a></h2>

    <table border="1">
      <tr>
        <td valign="top"><strong>Related Modules</strong><br />
         <br />
         <a href="mod/mod_mime.html">mod_mime</a><br />
         </td>

        <td valign="top"><strong>Related Directives</strong><br />
         <br />
         <a
        href="mod/core.html#accessconfig">AccessConfig</a><br />
         <a
        href="mod/core.html#ifdefine">&lt;IfDefine&gt;</a><br />
         <a href="mod/core.html#include">Include</a><br />
         <a
        href="mod/core.html#resourceconfig">ResourceConfig</a><br />
         <a
        href="mod/mod_mime.html#typesconfig">TypesConfig</a><br />
         </td>
      </tr>
    </table>

    <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. Some sites also have
    <code>srm.conf</code> and <code>access.conf</code> files for <a
    href="http://httpd.apache.org/info/three-config-files.html">historical
    reasons</a>. In addition, other configuration files may be
    added using the <code><a
    href="mod/core.html#include">Include</a></code> directive. 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>New with Apache 1.3.13 is a feature where if any
    configuration file is actually a directory, Apache will enter
    that directory and parse any files (and subdirectories) found
    there as configuration files. One possible use for this would
    be to add VirtualHosts by creating small configuration files
    for each host, and placing them in such a configuration
    directory. Thus, you can add or remove VirtualHosts without
    editing any files at all, simply adding or deleting them. This
    makes automating such processes much easier.</p>

    <p>The server also reads a file containing mime document types;
    the filename is set by the <a
    href="mod/mod_mime.html#typesconfig">TypesConfig</a> directive,
    and is <code>mime.types</code> by default.</p>
    <hr />

    <h2><a id="syntax" name="syntax">Syntax of the Configuration
    Files</a></h2>

    <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
    which 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>
    <hr />

    <h2><a id="modules" name="modules">Modules</a></h2>

    <table border="1">
      <tr>
        <td valign="top"><strong>Related Modules</strong><br />
         <br />
         <a href="mod/mod_so.html">mod_so</a><br />
         </td>

        <td valign="top"><strong>Related Directives</strong><br />
         <br />
         <a href="mod/core.html#addmodule">AddModule</a><br />
         <a
        href="mod/core.html#clearmodulelist">ClearModuleList</a><br />
         <a
        href="mod/core.html#ifmodule">&lt;IfModule&gt;</a><br />
         <a href="mod/mod_so.html#loadmodule">LoadModule</a><br />
         </td>
      </tr>
    </table>

    <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/index-bytype.html">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 <a
    href="mod/mod_so.html#loadmodule">LoadModule</a> 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 <a
    href="mod/core.html#ifmodule">&lt;IfModule&gt;</a> block.</p>

    <p>To see which modules are currently compiled into the server,
    you can use the <code>-l</code> command line option.</p>
    <hr />

    <h2><a id="scope" name="scope">Scope of Directives</a></h2>

    <table border="1">
      <tr>
        <td valign="top"><strong>Related Directives</strong><br />
         <br />
         <a
        href="mod/core.html#directory">&lt;Directory&gt;</a><br />
         <a
        href="mod/core.html#directorymatch">&lt;DirectoryMatch&gt;</a><br />
         <a href="mod/core.html#files">&lt;Files&gt;</a><br />
         <a
        href="mod/core.html#filesmatch">&lt;FilesMatch&gt;</a><br />
         <a
        href="mod/core.html#location">&lt;Location&gt;</a><br />
         <a
        href="mod/core.html#locationmatch">&lt;LocationMatch&gt;</a><br />
         <a
        href="mod/core.html#virtualhost">&lt;VirtualHost&gt;</a><br />
         </td>
      </tr>
    </table>

    <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 <code><a
    href="mod/core.html#directory">&lt;Directory&gt;</a>, <a
    href="mod/core.html#directorymatch">&lt;DirectoryMatch&gt;</a>,
    <a href="mod/core.html#files">&lt;Files&gt;</a>, <a
    href="mod/core.html#filesmatch">&lt;FilesMatch&gt;</a>, <a
    href="mod/core.html#location">&lt;Location&gt;</a>,</code> and
    <code><a
    href="mod/core.html#locationmatch">&lt;LocationMatch&gt;</a></code>
    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 <code><a
    href="mod/core.html#virtualhost">&lt;VirtualHost&gt;</a></code>
    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>
    <hr />

    <h2><a id="htaccess" name="htaccess">.htaccess Files</a></h2>

    <table border="1">
      <tr>
        <td valign="top"><strong>Related Directives</strong><br />
         <br />
         <a
        href="mod/core.html#accessfilename">AccessFileName</a><br />
         <a
        href="mod/core.html#allowoverride">AllowOverride</a><br />
         </td>
      </tr>
    </table>

    <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 <a
    href="mod/core.html#accessfilename"><code>AccessFileName</code></a>
    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 <a
    href="mod/core.html#allowoverride"><code>AllowOverride</code></a>
    directive in the main configuration files.</p>

    <p>For more information on <code>.htaccess</code> files, see
    Ken Coar's tutorial on <a
    href="http://apache-server.com/tutorials/ATusing-htaccess.html">
    Using .htaccess Files with Apache</a>, or the <a
    href="http://httpd.apache.org/docs/howto/htaccess.html">.htaccess
    tutorial</a> in the Apache docs.</p>
        <hr />

    <h3 align="CENTER">Apache HTTP Server</h3>
    <a href="./"><img src="images/index.gif" alt="Index" /></a>

  </body>
</html>

