How to manage the Apache web server service

Service-level control of Apache keeps deployments predictable during configuration edits, certificate renewals, and module changes. Fast start, stop, reload, and restart operations reduce downtime and make rollback less dramatic when a bad change reaches production.

On modern Linux distributions, systemd manages Apache as a unit (commonly apache2.service or httpd.service) and exposes lifecycle operations through systemctl, including reloads that re-read configuration without a full stop. Legacy environments may still provide the service wrapper or /etc/init.d scripts, which act as compatibility interfaces for the same service operations.

Commands below assume a systemd host with the service name apache2, which is typical on Ubuntu and Debian. Substitute httpd on Red Hat-family systems and adjust the control binary to apachectl where applicable. Use reload for routine configuration edits, run a config test first, and reserve restart for changes that require a full process reinitialization.

Service and binary names differ across distributions; Debian-based systems typically use apache2 and apache2ctl, while RHEL-based systems often use httpd and apachectl.
Related: Apache binary name for different distribution

Method	Command
systemd (preferred)	systemctl [start\|restart\|reload\|stop\|status] apache2
service compatibility	service apache2 [start\|restart\|reload\|stop\|status]
System V init scripts	/etc/init.d/apache2 [start\|restart\|reload\|stop\|status]
Apache control binary	apache2ctl [start\|restart\|graceful\|stop\|status\|configtest]

Steps to start, restart, reload and stop Apache service from command line:

Test the Apache configuration syntax.
```
$ sudo apache2ctl configtest
Syntax OK
```
The AH00558 message is a warning; set a global ServerName in /etc/apache2/apache2.conf to silence it.
Reload the Apache service to apply configuration changes.
```
$ sudo systemctl reload apache2
```
Legacy systems can use sudo service apache2 reload or sudo apache2ctl graceful.
Restart the Apache service for a full process reinitialization.
```
$ sudo systemctl restart apache2
```
A restart can reset active connections and abort in-flight requests.
Stop the Apache service.
```
$ sudo systemctl stop apache2
```
Legacy systems can use sudo service apache2 stop or sudo apache2ctl stop.
Start the Apache service.
```
$ sudo systemctl start apache2
```
Legacy systems can use sudo service apache2 start or sudo /etc/init.d/apache2 start.

Check the Apache service status.

$ sudo systemctl status apache2
● apache2.service - The Apache HTTP Server
     Loaded: loaded (/usr/lib/systemd/system/apache2.service; enabled; preset: enabled)
     Active: active (running) since Sat 2026-01-10 12:14:03 +08; 31ms ago
       Docs: https://httpd.apache.org/docs/2.4/
    Process: 7037 ExecStart=/usr/sbin/apachectl start (code=exited, status=0/SUCCESS)
   Main PID: 7040 (apache2)
      Tasks: 55 (limit: 4546)
     Memory: 5.0M (peak: 5.5M)
        CPU: 11ms
     CGroup: /system.slice/apache2.service
             ├─7040 /usr/sbin/apache2 -k start
             ├─7042 /usr/sbin/apache2 -k start
             └─7043 /usr/sbin/apache2 -k start
##### snipped #####

Disable Apache from starting on boot.

$ sudo systemctl disable --now apache2
Synchronizing state of apache2.service with SysV service script with /usr/lib/systemd/systemd-sysv-install.
Executing: /usr/lib/systemd/systemd-sysv-install disable apache2
Removed "/etc/systemd/system/multi-user.target.wants/apache2.service".

The --now option stops the service immediately.

Enable Apache to start on boot.

$ sudo systemctl enable --now apache2
Synchronizing state of apache2.service with SysV service script with /usr/lib/systemd/systemd-sysv-install.
Executing: /usr/lib/systemd/systemd-sysv-install enable apache2
Created symlink /etc/systemd/system/multi-user.target.wants/apache2.service → /usr/lib/systemd/system/apache2.service.

The --now option starts the service immediately.

Verify the local HTTP response.

$ curl --head http://127.0.0.1/
HTTP/1.1 200 OK
Date: Sat, 10 Jan 2026 04:14:28 GMT
Server: Apache/2.4.58 (Ubuntu)
Last-Modified: Sat, 10 Jan 2026 04:10:01 GMT
ETag: "29af-64800d0d6e15b"
Accept-Ranges: bytes
Content-Length: 10671
Vary: Accept-Encoding
Content-Type: text/html

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.