How to set up Apache to start automatically on macOS boot

Running a web server locally on macOS is useful for development and testing. Apache comes pre-installed with macOS but doesn't start automatically when the system boots. This requires manual action each time you restart your machine.

For those who frequently use Apache on macOS, configuring it to start automatically on boot is efficient. This ensures that the web server is always running without needing to start it manually. This setup is particularly useful for developers and administrators who rely on Apache for their projects.

To enable Apache to start automatically during macOS startup, use the system's launchd service. launchd handles starting and managing services during boot. You will need to configure launchd to load the existing service definition for Apache.

1. Launch Terminal application.
2. Check if current Apache configuration is valid.

   Related: How to test your Apache configuration

3. Start httpd process manually to use Apache immediately.

   $ sudo apachectl -k start

4. Check if httpd process successfully run.

   ps -aef | grep httpd
       0   161     1   0 Sun04AM ??         0:04.05 /usr/sbin/httpd -D FOREGROUND
     501   800   161   0 Sun04AM ??         0:02.54 /usr/sbin/httpd -D FOREGROUND
     501  1007   161   0 Sun04AM ??         0:02.62 /usr/sbin/httpd -D FOREGROUND
     501  1381   161   0 Sun07AM ??         0:01.71 /usr/sbin/httpd -D FOREGROUND
     501  4472   161   0 Tue07AM ??         0:01.74 /usr/sbin/httpd -D FOREGROUND
     501  4473   161   0 Tue07AM ??         0:01.17 /usr/sbin/httpd -D FOREGROUND
     501  4474   161   0 Tue07AM ??         0:01.06 /usr/sbin/httpd -D FOREGROUND

5. Use launchctl to load the Apache service for automatic startup.

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

6. Unload the Apache service from launchd if automatic startup is no longer required.

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