NAME

       apache2ctl - Apache HTTP server control interface

SYNOPSIS

       When acting in SysV init mode, apache2ctl takes simple, one-word commands, defined below.

       apachectl command

       apache2ctl command

       When  acting in pass-through mode, apache2ctl can take all the arguments available for the
       httpd binary.

       apachectl [httpd-argument]

       apache2ctl [httpd-argument]

DESCRIPTION

       apache2ctl 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 apache2 daemon.

       NOTE: The default Debian configuration requires the environment variables APACHE_RUN_USER,
       APACHE_RUN_GROUP, and APACHE_PID_FILE to be set in /etc/apache2/envvars.

       The apache2ctl script returns a 0 exit value on success, and >0 if an error  occurs.   For
       more details, view the comments in the script.

OPTIONS

       The command can be any one or more of the following options:

       start         Start the Apache daemon.  Gives an error if it is already running.

       stop          Stops the Apache daemon.

       restart       Restarts  the  Apache  daemon  by sending it a SIGHUP.  If the daemon is not
                     running, it is started.  This command automatically checks the configuration
                     files  via  configtest  before initiating the restart to to catch  the  most
                     obvious  errors.  However, it is  still  possible  for  the  daemon  to  die
                     because of problems with the configuration.

       fullstatus    Displays  a  full status report from mod_status.  For this to work, you need
                     to have mod_status enabled on your server and a text-based browser  such  as
                     lynx available on your system.  The URL used to access the status report can
                     be set by setting the APACHE_STATUSURL variable in /etc/apache2/envvars.

       status        Displays a brief status report. Similar to  the  fullstatus  option,  except
                     that the list of requests currently being served is omitted.

       graceful      Gracefully  restarts  the  Apache  daemon  by  sending it a SIGUSR1.  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  command  automatically
                     checks  the  configuration files via apache2ctl configtest before initiating
                     the restart to to catch the most  obvious  errors.   However,  it  is  still
                     possible for the daemon to die because of problems with the configuration.

       graceful-stop Gracefully  stops  the Apache httpd 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.

       configtest    Run  a configuration file syntax test. It parses the configuration files and
                     either reports Syntax Ok or information about the particular  syntax  error.
                     This test does not catch all errors.

       help          Displays a short help message.

       The following option was available in earlier versions but has been removed.

       startssl      To  start httpd with SSL support, you should edit your configuration file to
                     include the relevant directives and then use the normal apache2ctl start.

ENVIRONMENT

       The  behaviour  of  apache2ctl  can  be  influenced  with  these  environment   variables:
       APACHE_HTTPD,   APACHE_LYNX,  APACHE_STATUSURL,  APACHE_ULIMIT_MAX_FILES,  APACHE_RUN_DIR,
       APACHE_LOCK_DIR, APACHE_RUN_USER, APACHE_ARGUMENTS, APACHE_ENVVARS.  See the  comments  in
       the   script  for  details.   These  variables  (except  APACHE_ENVVARS)  can  be  set  in
       /etc/apache2/envvars.

SEE ALSO

       apache2(8), /usr/share/doc/apache2/README.Debian.gz

                                            April 2008                              apache2ctl(8)