How to set up Apache to start automatically on macOS boot

Running Apache locally keeps development sites, reverse proxies, and test endpoints available immediately after a reboot, instead of requiring a manual server start whenever macOS restarts.

The Apple-bundled Apache httpd is controlled by apachectl, which starts /usr/sbin/httpd using configuration under /etc/apache2 and (by default) serves content from /Library/WebServer/Documents. Boot-time startup is managed by launchd, which loads daemon definitions from LaunchDaemons property lists (.plist) such as /System/Library/LaunchDaemons/org.apache.httpd.plist under the label org.apache.httpd.

Administrator privileges are required because httpd runs as a system daemon and typically binds privileged ports. A broken configuration (for example in /etc/apache2/httpd.conf or an included vhost file) prevents startup and can generate repeated start attempts and log noise. These steps target the Apple-provided Apache; a Homebrew-installed httpd uses a different binary path and a different service-management workflow.

1. Open Terminal.
2. Validate the active Apache configuration before enabling automatic startup.

   $ sudo apachectl configtest
   Syntax OK

   A syntax error can prevent boot-time startup and trigger repeated restart attempts.

   Related: How to test your Apache configuration

3. Start Apache once to confirm the current configuration can run.

   $ sudo apachectl start

4. Confirm the local server responds on localhost.

   $ curl -I http://localhost/
   HTTP/1.1 200 OK
   Date: Sat, 13 Dec 2025 12:34:56 GMT
   Server: Apache/2.4.57 (Unix)
   Content-Type: text/html; charset=UTF-8
   ##### snipped #####

   A port conflict typically shows up as a start failure and a missing response from http://localhost/.

5. Bootstrap the built-in launchd job definition for Apache.

   $ sudo launchctl bootstrap system /System/Library/LaunchDaemons/org.apache.httpd.plist

   No output is a common success case.

6. Enable the Apache job so it starts automatically at boot.

   $ sudo launchctl enable system/org.apache.httpd

7. Start the Apache job immediately under launchd supervision.

   $ sudo launchctl kickstart -k system/org.apache.httpd

   The kickstart -k option terminates any existing instance before starting a fresh one.

8. Verify launchd reports the job as running.

   $ sudo launchctl print system/org.apache.httpd
   org.apache.httpd = {
       state = running
       pid = 161
   ##### snipped #####
   }

9. Confirm the job is enabled for boot-time startup.

   $ sudo launchctl print-disabled system
   {
       "org.apache.httpd" => false
   ##### snipped #####
   }

   false indicates the job is not disabled in the system domain.

10. Disable automatic startup if it is no longer required.

    $ sudo launchctl disable system/org.apache.httpd

11. Unload the system Apache job from launchd to stop it immediately.

    $ sudo launchctl bootout system /System/Library/LaunchDaemons/org.apache.httpd.plist

    Unloading stops httpd and makes local sites unavailable until Apache is started again.