'\" t
.\"     Title: apachectl
.\"    Author: Apache Software Foundation contributors
.\" Generator: DocBook XSL Stylesheets vsnapshot <http://docbook.sf.net/>
.\"      Date: 05/06/2026
.\"    Manual: apachectl
.\"    Source: httpd
.\"  Language: English
.\"
.TH "APACHECTL" "8" "05/06/2026" "httpd" "apachectl"
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.SH "NAME"
apachectl \- Server control interface for httpd
.SH "SYNOPSIS"
.HP \w'\fBapachectl\fR\ 'u
\fBapachectl\fR [\fIcommand\fR]
.br

.SH "DESCRIPTION"
.PP
\fBapachectl\fR
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
\fBhttpd\fR
daemon\&.
.PP
The
\fBapachectl\fR
script takes one\-word arguments like
\fBstart\fR,
\fBrestart\fR, and
\fBstop\fR, and translates them into appropriate signals to
\fBhttpd\fR\&.
.PP
The
\fBapachectl\fR
script returns a 0 exit value on success, and >0 if an error occurs\&.
.SS "Compatibility"
.PP
The version of
\fBapachectl\fR
used on this system is a replacement script intended to be mostly (but not completely) compatible with the version provided with
\fIApache httpd\fR\&. This
\fBapachectl\fR
mostly acts as a wrapper around
\fBsystemctl\fR
and manipulates the
\fBsystemd\fR
service for
\fBhttpd\fR\&. The interface to the
\fIApache\fR
version of
\fBapachectl\fR
is described at
\m[blue]\fB\%https://httpd.apache.org/docs/2.4/programs/apachectl.html\fR\m[]\&.
.PP
The following differences are present in the version of
\fBapachectl\fR
present on this system:
.sp
.RS 4
.ie n \{\
\h'-04'\(bu\h'+03'\c
.\}
.el \{\
.sp -1
.IP \(bu 2.3
.\}
Option arguments passed when starting
\fBhttpd\fR
are not allowed\&. These should be configured in the systemd service directly (see
\fBhttpd.service\fR(8))\&.
.RE
.sp
.RS 4
.ie n \{\
\h'-04'\(bu\h'+03'\c
.\}
.el \{\
.sp -1
.IP \(bu 2.3
.\}
The
\fB"fullstatus"\fR
option is not available\&.
.RE
.sp
.RS 4
.ie n \{\
\h'-04'\(bu\h'+03'\c
.\}
.el \{\
.sp -1
.IP \(bu 2.3
.\}
The
\fB"status"\fR
option does not use or rely on the running server\*(Aqs
\fIserver\-status\fR
output\&.
.RE
.sp
.SH "OPTIONS"
.PP
\fBstart\fR
.RS 4
Start the Apache
\fBhttpd\fR
daemon\&. Gives an error if it is already running\&. This is equivalent to
\fBsystemctl start httpd\&.service\fR\&.
.RE
.PP
\fBstop\fR
.RS 4
Stops the Apache
\fBhttpd\fR
daemon\&. This is equivalent to
\fBsystemctl stop httpd\&.service\fR\&.
.RE
.PP
\fBrestart\fR
.RS 4
Restarts the Apache
\fBhttpd\fR
daemon\&. If the daemon is not running, it is started\&. This is equivalent to
\fBsystemctl restart httpd\&.service\fR\&.
.RE
.PP
\fBstatus\fR
.RS 4
Displays a brief status report\&. This is equivalent to
\fBsystemctl status httpd\&.service\&.\fR
.RE
.PP
\fBgraceful\fR
.RS 4
Gracefully restarts the Apache
\fBhttpd\fR
daemon\&. 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 is equivalent to
\fBsystemctl kill \-\-signal=SIGUSR1 \-\-kill\-who=main httpd\&.service\fR\&.
.RE
.PP
\fBgraceful\-stop\fR
.RS 4
Gracefully stops the Apache
\fBhttpd\fR
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\&. This is equivalent to
\fBsystemctl kill \-\-signal=SIGWINCH \-\-kill\-who=main httpd\&.service\fR\&.
.RE
.PP
\fBconfigtest\fR | \fB\-t\fR
.RS 4
Run a configuration file syntax test\&. It parses the configuration files and either reports
Syntax OK
or detailed information about the particular syntax error\&. This is equivalent to
\fBhttpd \-t\fR\&.
.RE
.SH "REPORTING BUGS"
.PP
Please report bugs by filing an issue in https://bugzilla\&.redhat\&.com/\&.
.SH "SEE ALSO"
.PP
\fBhttpd\fR(8),
\fBhttpd.conf\fR(5),
\fBsystemd\fR(1),
\fBsystemctl\fR(1),
\fBhttpd.service\fR(8)
.SH "AUTHORS"
.PP
\fBApache Software Foundation contributors\fR
.RS 4
Apache man page
.RE
.PP
\fBFrank Dana\fR
.RS 4
Fedora man page
.RE
