Apache

What is Apache?

Apache HTTP Server is one of the most widely used web servers, known for .htaccess-driven per-directory config and broad module support. Laradock runs it as an alternative to Nginx, proxying PHP requests to php-fpm.

Start Apache

docker compose up -d apache2

Apache's compose.yml declares depends_on: php-fpm, so Compose starts it automatically. Add whatever else your app needs, for example:

docker compose up -d apache2 mysql workspace

Stop Apache

docker compose stop apache2

Configuration

All settings live in apache2/defaults.env and can be overridden by adding the same line to your own .env:

Variable	Default	What it does
APACHE_HOST_HTTP_PORT	80	Host-side port mapped to container port 80.
APACHE_HOST_HTTPS_PORT	443	Host-side port mapped to container port 443.
APACHE_HOST_LOG_PATH	./logs/apache2	Host folder mounted to /var/log/apache2.
APACHE_SITES_PATH	./apache2/sites	Host folder mounted to /etc/apache2/sites-available.
APACHE_PHP_UPSTREAM_CONTAINER	php-fpm	Container name Apache proxies PHP requests to (build arg).
APACHE_PHP_UPSTREAM_PORT	9000	Port on the upstream PHP container (build arg).
APACHE_PHP_UPSTREAM_TIMEOUT	60	Proxy timeout (seconds) to the upstream PHP container (build arg).
APACHE_DOCUMENT_ROOT	/var/www/	Document root baked into the image at build time (build arg).
APACHE_SSL_PATH	./apache2/ssl/	Host folder mounted to /etc/apache2/ssl, for your certificates.
APACHE_INSTALL_HTTP2	false	Set true to enable the HTTP/2 module at build time.
APACHE_FOR_MAC_M1	false	Set true when building on Apple Silicon (build arg).

Add a site config

Files in apache2/sites/ become available VirtualHosts. There's default.apache.conf (serves APACHE_DOCUMENT_ROOT on laradock.test), default.apache.ssl.example (SSL version), and sample.conf.example for a project with its own document root:

cp apache2/sites/sample.conf.example apache2/sites/myapp.conf

Edit ServerName and DocumentRoot, then restart:

docker compose restart apache2

<VirtualHost *:80>
  ServerName sample.test
  DocumentRoot /var/www/sample/public/
  Options Indexes FollowSymLinks

  <Directory "/var/www/sample/public/">
    AllowOverride All
    Require all granted
  </Directory>
</VirtualHost>

Enable SSL

Copy apache2/sites/default.apache.ssl.example alongside your site config, point it at your certificate files under the folder set by APACHE_SSL_PATH (./apache2/ssl/ by default), and restart the container.

Enable HTTP/2

APACHE_INSTALL_HTTP2=true

docker compose build apache2
docker compose up -d apache2

Change the exposed port

APACHE_HOST_HTTP_PORT=8080
APACHE_HOST_HTTPS_PORT=8443

docker compose up -d apache2

Common issues

• 502/503 from Apache. Confirm php-fpm is running and that APACHE_PHP_UPSTREAM_CONTAINER/APACHE_PHP_UPSTREAM_PORT match its real name and port; also check APACHE_PHP_UPSTREAM_TIMEOUT if long-running requests are being cut off.
• New site file has no effect. VirtualHosts in apache2/sites/ are read on container start, run docker compose restart apache2 after adding or editing a file.
• .htaccess rules ignored. Confirm the VirtualHost has AllowOverride All in its <Directory> block, as shown in the shipped examples.
• Building on Apple Silicon fails or behaves oddly. Set APACHE_FOR_MAC_M1=true and rebuild.
• Port already in use on your host. Another web server (or another Laradock project) is already bound to 80/443. Change APACHE_HOST_HTTP_PORT/APACHE_HOST_HTTPS_PORT and restart.

---

Need a different web server? See Nginx, Caddy, or OpenResty. New to Laradock? Start with Getting Started.