How to install and set up Apache on CentOS, Red Hat, or Fedora

Installing the Apache HTTP Server (httpd) provides a standard, well-supported way to serve websites and internal applications on CentOS, Red Hat, and Fedora. A correct base setup avoids common first-run problems like a service that starts but is unreachable due to firewall policy.

On these distributions, Apache is delivered as the httpd package and managed as the systemd unit httpd.service. Most server-wide settings live in /etc/httpd/conf/httpd.conf, while additional configuration and module snippets are commonly loaded from /etc/httpd/conf.d.

A working setup depends on three moving parts lining up: a valid configuration (checked with apachectl configtest), a running service (managed with systemctl), and network policy that permits inbound HTTP and HTTPS (typically firewalld). When serving content outside the default document root or listening on non-standard ports, SELinux contexts and port labeling may also need updates to prevent silent access denials.

Steps to install and configure Apache on CentOS, Red Hat or Fedora:

Open a terminal with sudo privileges.

Install the Apache package using the system package manager.

$ sudo dnf install --assumeyes httpd
[sudo] password for user:
Updating Subscription Management repositories.
Unable to read consumer identity

This system is not registered with an entitlement server. You can use subscription-manager to register.

CentOS Stream 9 - BaseOS                        483 kB/s | 8.6 MB     00:18
CentOS Stream 9 - AppStream                     886 kB/s |  16 MB     00:18
CentOS Stream 9 - Extras packages               862  B/s |  14 kB     00:16
Dependencies resolved.
================================================================================
 Package                 Architecture Version              Repository      Size
================================================================================
Installing:
 httpd                   aarch64      2.4.57-5.el9         appstream       47 k
Installing dependencies:
 apr                     aarch64      1.7.0-11.el9         appstream      121 k
 apr-util                aarch64      1.6.1-23.el9         appstream       96 k
 apr-util-bdb            aarch64      1.6.1-23.el9         appstream       13 k
 centos-logos-httpd      noarch       90.4-1.el9           appstream      252 k
 httpd-core              aarch64      2.4.57-5.el9         appstream      1.3 M
 httpd-filesystem        noarch       2.4.57-5.el9         appstream       14 k
 httpd-tools             aarch64      2.4.57-5.el9         appstream       80 k
Installing weak dependencies:
 apr-util-openssl        aarch64      1.6.1-23.el9         appstream       15 k
 mod_http2               aarch64      1.15.19-5.el9        appstream      145 k
 mod_lua                 aarch64      2.4.57-5.el9         appstream       59 k

Transaction Summary
================================================================================
Install  11 Packages

Total download size: 2.2 M
Installed size: 11 M

On older CentOS releases that still use yum, replace dnf with yum.

Configure Apache by editing its main configuration file.
```
$ sudo vi /etc/httpd/conf/httpd.conf
```
Setting a global ServerName (for example, ServerName example.com) suppresses the common fully-qualified domain name warning during config tests.

Related: Understanding Apache web server configuration files

Test the configuration for syntax errors.

$ sudo apachectl configtest
AH00558: httpd: Could not reliably determine the server's fully qualified domain name, using fe80::e5f:4565:1b9c:6e87. Set the 'ServerName' directive globally to suppress this message
Syntax OK

Restart the httpd service to apply the configuration.
```
$ sudo systemctl restart httpd
```
Related: How to manage the Apache web server service
Verify the httpd service is running.
```
$ sudo systemctl is-active httpd
active
```

Enable the httpd service to start automatically on boot.

$ sudo systemctl enable httpd
Created symlink /etc/systemd/system/multi-user.target.wants/httpd.service → /usr/lib/systemd/system/httpd.service.

Using systemctl enable --now httpd starts the service immediately while enabling it.

Allow HTTP and HTTPS traffic through the firewall.
```
$ sudo firewall-cmd --permanent --add-service=http --add-service=https
success
```
When firewalld is not installed or not used, apply equivalent rules in the active firewall stack.
Reload the firewall to apply the new rules.
```
$ sudo firewall-cmd --reload
success
```

Verify the Apache installation by requesting the default page locally.

$ curl 127.0.0.1
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta name="generator" content="HTML Tidy for HTML5 for Linux version 5.7.28">
  <title>HTTP Server Test Page powered by CentOS</title>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1, shrink-to-fit=no">
  <link rel="shortcut icon" href="http://www.centos.org/favicon.ico">
##### snipped #####

Author: Mohd Shakir Zakaria
Mohd Shakir Zakaria is a cloud architect with deep roots in software development and open-source advocacy. Certified in AWS, Red Hat, VMware, ITIL, and Linux, he specializes in designing and managing robust cloud and on-premises infrastructures.

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