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Here is my definitive guide to getting a local web server running on OS X 10.15 “Catalina”. This is meant to be a development platform so that you can build and test your sites locally, then deploy to an internet server. This User Tip only contains instructions for configuring the Apache server, PHP module, and Perl module. I have another User Tip for installing and configuring MySQL and email servers.

Mac Os X Web Server

Setting up a PHP/MySQL testing server on your own computer is an invaluable time saver for web developers. Once set up and functioning properly, you can develop, test, and prep your dynamic sites without having to upload to your live server every time you make a change. Mac OS X comes with an Apache server and PHP installed by default, but they lack a great deal of the useful tools you will be.
Do you host and test websites? Do you like doing it? Has the process of hosting and testing websites using a variety of applications become a huge hassle and time sink for you?
Can't get much easier then just install PHP and MySQL through Homebrew, for the web server you can use PHP's built-in web server of additionally install Apache/Nginx. 0 points 1 year ago. Be careful with this approach. All PHP extensions, etc, will be installed globally. What happens when you have a project that runs a different PHP.

Web server software allows computers to act as web servers. The first web servers supported only static files, such as HTML (and images), but now they commonly allow embedding of server side applications. Some web application frameworks include simple HTTP servers. For example the Django framework provides runserver, and PHP has a built-in.

Note: This user tip is specific to macOS 10.15 “Catalina”. Pay attention to your OS version. There have been significant changes since earlier versions of macOS.Another note: These instructions apply to the client versions of OS X, not Server. Server does a few specific tricks really well and is a good choice for those. For things like database, web, and mail services, I have found it easier to just setup the client OS version manually.

Requirements:

Basic understanding of Terminal.app and how to run command-line programs.
Basic understanding of web servers.
Basic usage of vi. You can substitute nano if you want.

Optional: Xcode is required for adding PHP modules.

Lines in bold are what you will have to type in. Lines in bold courier should be typed at the Terminal.Replace <your short user name> with your short user name.

Here goes.. Enjoy!

To get started, edit the Apache configuration file as root:

sudo vi /etc/apache2/httpd.conf

Enable PHP by uncommenting line 186, changing:

#LoadModule php7_module libexec/apache2/libphp7.so

LoadModule php7_module libexec/apache2/libphp7.so

(If you aren't familiar with vi, go to line 186 by typing '186G' (without the quotes). Then just press 'x' over the '#' character to delete it. Then type ':w!' to save, or just 'ZZ' to save and quit. Don't do that yet though. More changes are still needed.)

If you want to run Perl scripts, you will have to do something similar:

Enable Perl by uncommenting line 187, changing:

#LoadModule perl_module libexec/apache2/mod_perl.so

LoadModule perl_module libexec/apache2/mod_perl.so

Enable personal websites by uncommenting the following at line 183:

#LoadModule userdir_module libexec/apache2/mod_userdir.so

LoadModule userdir_module libexec/apache2/mod_userdir.so

and do the same at line 520:

#Include /private/etc/apache2/extra/httpd-userdir.conf

Include /private/etc/apache2/extra/httpd-userdir.conf

Now save and quit.

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Open the file you just enabled above with:

sudo vi /etc/apache2/extra/httpd-userdir.conf

and uncomment the following at line 16:

#Include /private/etc/apache2/users/*.conf

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

Save and exit.

Lion and later versions no longer create personal web sites by default. If you already had a Sites folder in Snow Leopard, it should still be there. To create one manually, enter the following:

mkdir ~/Sites

echo '<html><body><h1>My site works</h1></body></html>' > ~/Sites/index.html.en

While you are in /etc/apache2, double-check to make sure you have a user config file. It should exist at the path: /etc/apache2/users/<your short user name>.conf.

That file may not exist and if you upgrade from an older version, you may still not have it. It does appear to be created when you create a new user. If that file doesn't exist, you will need to create it with:

sudo vi /etc/apache2/users/<your short user name>.conf

Use the following as the content:

<Directory '/Users/<your short user name>/Sites/'>

AddLanguage en .en

AddHandler perl-script .pl

PerlHandler ModPerl::Registry

Options Indexes MultiViews FollowSymLinks ExecCGI

AllowOverride None

Require host localhost

</Directory>

Now you are ready to turn on Apache itself. But first, do a sanity check. Sometimes copying and pasting from an internet forum can insert invisible, invalid characters into config files. Check your configuration by running the following command in the Terminal:

apachectl configtest

If this command returns 'Syntax OK' then you are ready to go. It may also print a warning saying 'httpd: Could not reliably determine the server's fully qualified domain name'. You could fix this by setting the ServerName directive in /etc/apache2/httpd.conf and adding a matching entry into /etc/hosts. But for a development server, you don't need to do anything. You can just ignore that warning. You can safely ignore other warnings too.

Turn on the Apache httpd service by running the following command in the Terminal:

sudo launchctl load -w /System/Library/LaunchDaemons/org.apache.httpd.plist

In Safari, navigate to your web site with the following address:

It should say:

It works!

Now try your user home directory:

Apache Web Server For Mac

http://localhost/~<your short user name>

It should say:

My site works

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Now try PHP. Create a PHP info file with:

echo '<?php echo phpinfo(); ?>' > ~/Sites/info.php

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And test it by entering the following into Safari's address bar:

http://localhost/~<your short user name>/info.php

You should see your PHP configuration information.

To test Perl, try something similar. Create a Perl test file with:

echo 'print $ENV{MOD_PERL} . qq{n};' > ~/Sites/info.pl

And test it by entering the following into Safari's address bar:

http://localhost/~<your short user name>/