[php] how to create virtual host on XAMPP

I am sure this question is being asked many times but I am not encounter with a problem. I am using XAMPP where I configure Zend framework.

XAMPP is running on port 8081 as 80 is being occupied by some Windows process I need to use virtual host for that I configure with following code in C:/xampp/apache/config/extra/httpd-vhosts.config (or C:/xampp/apache/conf/extra/httpd-vhosts.conf in newer releases).

<VirtualHost *:80>
ServerName comm-app.local
DocumentRoot "C:/xampp/htdocs/CommunicationApp/public"
SetEnv APPLICATION_ENV "development"
    <Directory "C:/xampp/htdocs/CommunicationApp/public"
        DirectoryIndex index.php
        AllowOverride All
        Order allow,deny
        Allow from all
    </Directory>
</VirtualHost>    

and also update the hosts file with 127.0.0.1 comm-app.local and try to re-start apache but it is showing error.

15:03:01  [Apache]  Error: Apache shutdown unexpectedly.
15:03:01  [Apache]  This may be due to a blocked port, missing dependencies, 
15:03:01  [Apache]  improper privileges, a crash, or a shutdown by another method.
15:03:01  [Apache]  Press the Logs button to view error logs and check
15:03:01  [Apache]  the Windows Event Viewer for more clues
15:03:01  [Apache]  If you need more help, copy and post this
15:03:01  [Apache]  entire log window on the forums

Write these codes end of the C:\xampp\apache\conf\extra\httpd-vhosts.conf file,

DocumentRoot "D:/xampp/htdocs/foldername"
ServerName www.siteurl.com
ServerAlias www.siteurl.com
ErrorLog "logs/dummy-host.example.com-error.log"
CustomLog "logs/dummy-host.example.com-access.log" common

between the virtual host tag.

and edit the file System32/Drivers/etc/hosts use notepad as administrator

add bottom of the file

127.0.0.1    www.siteurl.com

I have been looking for the solution for quite a bit. And finally I have the answer. If your virtual host is not working on your Windows 10, or 7 etc, it's because of this new https hype, where all the sites are routed to https.

XAMPP follows the same trend, so fixing virtual hosts, hosts file etc is not enough, due to strict https redirection. Here is the full solution.

My desired site is located at D:\xampp\htdocs\ikeen.

1) Add this to your httpd-vhosts.conf:

<VirtualHost *:80>
     ServerName localhost
     DocumentRoot "D:\xampp\htdocs"
     <Directory "D:\xampp\htdocs">
         DirectoryIndex index.php
     </Directory>
 </VirtualHost>

<VirtualHost *:80>
     ServerName ikeen.localhost
     DocumentRoot "D:\xampp\htdocs\ikeen"
     SetEnv APPLICATION_ENV "development"
     <Directory "D:\xampp\htdocs\ikeen">
         DirectoryIndex index.php
         AllowOverride All
         Order allow,deny
         Allow from all        
     </Directory>
 </VirtualHost>

2) Add this to the end of httpd.conf:

<Directory />
    AllowOverride none
    Require all granted
</Directory>

3) Add this line to your hosts file in Windows directory

127.0.0.1      ikeen.localhost

4) The final step is to change the VirtualHost section of your httpd-ssl.conf file to the following

<VirtualHost _default_:443>

#   General setup for the virtual host
DocumentRoot "D:/xampp/htdocs"
#ServerName www.example.com:443
ServerName localhost
ServerAdmin [email protected]
ErrorLog "D:/xampp/apache/logs/error.log"
TransferLog "D:/xampp/apache/logs/access.log"

#   General setup for the ikeen host
DocumentRoot "D:/xampp/htdocs/ikeen"
#ServerName www.example.com:443
ServerName ikeen.localhost
ServerAdmin [email protected]
ErrorLog "D:/xampp/apache/logs/error.log"
TransferLog "D:/xampp/apache/logs/access.log"

Restart and be happy:)

Step 1) C:\WINDOWS\system32\drivers\etc\ Open the "hosts" file :

127.0.0.1       localhost
127.0.0.1       test.com
127.0.0.1       example.com

Step 2) xampp\apache\conf\extra\httpd-vhosts.conf

<VirtualHost *:80>
    DocumentRoot C:/xampp/htdocs/test/
    ServerName www.test.com
</VirtualHost>
<VirtualHost *:80>
    DocumentRoot C:/xampp/htdocs/example/
    ServerName www.example.com
</VirtualHost>

Step 3) C:\xampp\apache\conf\httpd.conf. Scroll down to the Supplemental configuration section at the end, and locate the following section (around line 500), Remove the # from the beginning of the second line so the section now looks like this:

#Virtual hosts
Include conf/extra/httpd-vhosts.conf

Step 4) Restart XAMPP and now run in your browser :

www.example.com or www.test.com

I fixed it using following configuration.

 Listen 85
 <VirtualHost *:85>
           DocumentRoot "C:/xampp/htdocs/LaraBlog/public"
           <Directory "C:/xampp/htdocs/CommunicationApp/public">
           DirectoryIndex index.php
           AllowOverride All
           Order allow,deny
           Allow from all
           </Directory>
 </VirtualHost>

I have added below configuration to the httpd.conf and restarted the lampp service and it started working. Thanks to all the above posts, which helped me to resolve issues one by one.

Listen 8080
<VirtualHost *:8080>
    ServerAdmin [email protected]
    DocumentRoot "/opt/lampp/docs/dummy-host2.example.com"
    ServerName localhost:8080
    ErrorLog "logs/dummy-host2.example.com-error_log"
    CustomLog "logs/dummy-host2.example.com-access_log" common
    <Directory "/opt/lampp/docs/dummy-host2.example.com">
        Require all granted 
    </Directory>
</VirtualHost>

<VirtualHost *:80>
    DocumentRoot "D:/projects/yourdirectry name"
    ServerName local.yourdomain.com
    <Directory "D:/projects/yourdirectry name">
        Require all granted 
    </Directory>
</VirtualHost>

Save the Apache configuration file.

for detailed info refer to this

Just change the port to 8081 and following virtual host will work:

<VirtualHost *:8081>
ServerName comm-app.local
DocumentRoot "C:/xampp/htdocs/CommunicationApp/public"
SetEnv APPLICATION_ENV "development"
    <Directory "C:/xampp/htdocs/CommunicationApp/public">
        DirectoryIndex index.php
        AllowOverride All
        Order allow,deny
        Allow from all
    </Directory> 
</VirtualHost>

Problem with xampp in my case is when specifying a different folder other than htdocs are used, especially with multiple domains and dedicated folders. This is because httpd-ssl.conf is also referencing <VirtualHost>.

To do this rem out the entire <VirtualHost> entry under httpd-ssl.conf

From there, any setting you do in your httpd-vhosts.conf will update as expected both http and https references.

Step 1) Open Host File Under "C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc"

Add

127.0.0.1  vipsnum.mk

Step 2) Open httpd-vhosts.conf File Under "C:\xampp\apache\conf\extra"

Add

<VirtualHost vipsnum.mk:80>
    ServerName vipsnum.mk
    DocumentRoot "C:/xampp/htdocs/vipnum/"
    SetEnv APPLICATION_ENV "development"
    <Directory "C:/xampp/htdocs/vipnum/">
        DirectoryIndex index.php
        AllowOverride All
        Order allow,deny
        Allow from all
    </Directory>
</VirtualHost> 

In Your disk drive:\xampp\apache\conf\extra\httpd-vhosts.conf exists an example and you could edit it with your configuration:

 ##<VirtualHost *:80>
 ##ServerAdmin [email protected]
 ##DocumentRoot "C:/xampp/htdocs/dummy-host.example.com"
 ##ServerName dummy-host.example.com
 ##ServerAlias www.dummy-host.example.com
 ##ErrorLog "logs/dummy-host.example.com-error.log"
 ##CustomLog "logs/dummy-host.example.com-access.log" common
 ##</VirtualHost>

It would be like this, as example and don't forget to add VirtualHost for localhost itself to have posibility run phpmyadmin and other project at the same time on the port 80, as example I will show with store.local project:

<VirtualHost *:80>
DocumentRoot "C:/xampp/htdocs"
ServerName localhost
</VirtualHost>

<VirtualHost *:80>
ServerAdmin [email protected]
DocumentRoot "c:/xampp/htdocs/store.local/public"
ServerName www.store.local
ServerAlias store.local
<Directory C:/xampp/htdocs/store.local>
    AllowOverride All
    Require all granted
</Directory>
</VirtualHost>

then as mentioned above you must add in: C:\windows\system32\drivers\hosts to the bottom of the file

127.0.0.1    store.local
127.0.0.1    www.store.local

restart Apache and try in the browser:

store.local or www.store.local

maybe at the first time you must to add like this:

http://store.local or http://www.store.local

to use other ports, you must add follows, before your VirtualHost:

Listen 8081 or another which you prefer

then just use the port for your VirtualHost like this:

<VirtualHost *:8081>
ServerAdmin [email protected]
DocumentRoot "c:/xampp/htdocs/store.local/public"
ServerName store.local
ServerAlias www.store.local
<Directory C:/xampp/htdocs/store.local>
    AllowOverride All
    Require all granted
</Directory>

then restart Apache and try in the browser

store.local:8081 or www.store.local:8081

and only project for which you add the port will running on this port, for example other projects and phpmyadmin will be still running on port 80

Apache Virtual Host documentation Setting up a virtual host (vhost) provides several benefits:

• Virtual Hosts make URLs cleaner – localhost/mysite vs mysite.local.
• Virtual Hosts make permissions easier – restrict access for a single vhost on a local network vs permitting access to all sites on your local network.
• Some applications require a “.” in the URL (ahem Magento). While you can setup localhost.com/mysite by editing the Windows hosts file, creating a vhost is a better solution.

VirtualHost Directive Contains directives that apply only to a specific hostname or IP address

Location Directive Applies the enclosed directives only to matching URLs

Example changes over configuration file - D:\xampp\apache\conf\extra\httpd-vhosts.conf

<VirtualHost *:80>
    ServerAdmin localhost
    DocumentRoot "D:/xampp/htdocs"
    ServerName localhost
</VirtualHost>

<VirtualHost localhost:80>
  ServerAdmin [email protected]
  DocumentRoot "/www/docs/host.example.com"
  #DocumentRoot "D:\xampp\htdocs\phpPages"
  ServerName host.example.com
  ErrorLog "logs/host.example.com-error_log"
  TransferLog "logs/host.example.com-access_log"
</VirtualHost>

# To get view of PHP application in the Browser.
<VirtualHost *:80>
    ServerAdmin [email protected]
    DocumentRoot "D:\xampp\htdocs\app1"
    ServerName app1.yash.com
    ServerAlias app1.yash.com
    ErrorLog "logs/app1.yash.com-error.log"
    CustomLog "logs/app1.yash.com-access.log" combined
    
    # App1 communication proxy call to Java War applications from XAMP
    <Location /ServletApp1>
            ProxyPass  http://app1.yashJava.com:8080/ServletApp1
            ProxyPassReverse  http://app1.yashJava.com:8080/ServletApp1
            Order Allow,Deny
            Allow from all
    </Location>
</VirtualHost>

<VirtualHost *:80>
    ServerAdmin [email protected]
    DocumentRoot "D:\xampp\htdocs\app2"
    ServerName app2.yash.com
    ErrorLog "logs/app2.yash.com-error.log"
    CustomLog "logs/app2.yash.com-access.log" combined
    
    # App1 communication proxy call to Java War applications from XAMP
    <Location /ServletApp2>
            ProxyPass  http://app1.yashJava.com:8080/ServletApp2
            ProxyPassReverse  http://app1.yashJava.com:8080/ServletApp2
            Order Allow,Deny
            Allow from all
    </Location>
</VirtualHost>

Update Your Windows Hosts File « Open your Windows hosts file located in C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\hosts.

# localhost name resolution is handled within DNS itself.
#   127.0.0.1       localhost
#   ::1             localhost

127.0.0.1       test.com
127.0.0.1       example.com
127.0.0.1       myssl.yash.com

D:\xampp\apache\conf\httpd.conf, [httpd-ssl.conf](http://httpd.apache.org/docs/2.2/mod/mod_ssl.html)

# Listen: Allows you to bind Apache to specific IP addresses and/or
# ports, instead of the default. See also the <VirtualHost> directive.
# Listen 0.0.0.0:80 | [::]:80
Listen 80

LoadModule proxy_http_module modules/mod_proxy_http.so
LoadModule speling_module modules/mod_speling.so

# ServerAdmin: Your address, where problems with the server should be e-mailed.
# This address appears on some server-generated pages, such as error documents.
#  e.g. [email protected]
ServerAdmin postmaster@localhost
ServerName localhost:80
DocumentRoot "D:/xampp/htdocs"

<Directory "D:/xampp/htdocs">
    Options Indexes FollowSymLinks Includes ExecCGI
    AllowOverride All
    Require all granted
</Directory>

# Virtual hosts
Include "conf/extra/httpd-vhosts.conf"

# ===== httpd-ssl.conf - SSL Virtual Host Context =====
# Note: Configurations that use IPv6 but not IPv4-mapped addresses need two
#       Listen directives: "Listen [::]:443" and "Listen 0.0.0.0:443"
Listen 443
## SSL Virtual Host Context
<VirtualHost _default_:443>
    DocumentRoot "D:\xampp\htdocs\projectFolderSSL"
    ServerName myssl.yash.com:443
    ServerAlias myssl.yash.com:443
        
    ServerAdmin webmaster@localhost
    ErrorLog "logs/error.log"
    <IfModule log_config_module>
        CustomLog "logs/access.log" combined
    </IfModule>
    
    ## Redirecting URL from Web server to Application server over different machine.
    # myssl.yash.com:443/ServletWebApp
    <Location /path>
        ProxyPass  http://java.yash2.com:8444/ServletWebApp
        ProxyPassReverse  http://java.yash2.com:8444/ServletWebApp
        Order Allow,Deny
        Allow from all
    </Location>
    
    #SSLCertificateFile "conf/ssl.crt/server.crt"
    SSLCertificateFile "D:\SSL_Vendor\yash.crt"
    
    #SSLCertificateKeyFile "conf/ssl.key/server.key"
    SSLCertificateKeyFile "D:\SSL_Vendor\private-key.key"
    
    #SSLCertificateChainFile "conf/ssl.crt/server-ca.crt"
    SSLCertificateChainFile "D:\SSL_Vendor\intermediate.crt"
</VirtualHost>
# ===== httpd-ssl.conf - SSL Virtual Host Context =====

@see

• XAMPP security concept - Error 403,404
• Apache VirtualHost and localhost

Add this Code in C:\xampp\apache\conf\extra\httpd-vhosts.conf

<VirtualHost *:80>
DocumentRoot "C:/xampp/htdocs"
ServerName qa-staging.com
ServerAlias www.qa-staging.com
<Directory "c:/xampp/htdocs">
Order allow,deny
Allow from all
</Directory>
</VirtualHost>

Now Add your virtual host name in bellow file.

C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\hosts

127.0.0.1 qa-staging.com

If you are not able to save this code in host file then right click on notpad select Run as administrator and then you can able to save your custom code now restart your XAMP

1. C:\xampp\apache\conf\https.conf
Virtual hosts
Include conf/extra/httpd-vhosts.conf


2. C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\hosts
127.0.0.1       localhost
127.0.0.1       helpdesk.local


3. C:\xampp\apache\conf\extra\httpd-vhosts.conf
<VirtualHost *:80>
    DocumentRoot "C:/xampp/htdocs/helpdesk/public"
    ServerName helpdesk.local
</VirtualHost>


Now, Restart Apache and go through the link. 
URL : http://helpdesk.local

Simple, You can see the below template and use it accordingly. Its very common to create a virtual host and very simple. Surely below template will work.

<VirtualHost *:8081>
DocumentRoot "C:/xampp/htdocs/testsite"
ServerName testsite.loc
ServerAlias www.testsite.loc
<Directory "c:/xampp/htdocs/testsite">
Order allow,deny
Allow from all
</Directory>
</VirtualHost>

Also for more reference about virtual host please visit this site. http://www.thegeekstuff.com/2011/07/apache-virtual-host

Thanks,

I'm a little late to the party, but I wrote this little bash script for Mac that creates a VirtualHost through the terminal:

#!/bin/bash

echo "Welcome to the VirtualHostCreator! Press <RETURN> to continue."

read

echo "Enter the name the VirtualHost you would like to create. No spaces or dashes, please."

read hostname

echo "Enter the document root of the VirtualHost."

read doc_root

echo "Creating VirtualHost \"$hostname\". You may be prompted for your password."

hosts_file="/etc/hosts"
vhosts_file="/Applications/XAMPP/xamppfiles/etc/extra/httpd-vhosts.conf"
restart_command="sudo /Applications/XAMPP/xamppfiles/xampp restart"

cat >> $vhosts_file << EndOfMessage
<VirtualHost ${hostname}>
    ServerName ${hostname}
    DocumentRoot "/Applications/XAMPP/xamppfiles/htdocs/${doc_root}"
</VirtualHost>
EndOfMessage

sudo sh -c "echo \"127.0.0.1       $hostname\" >> $hosts_file"

$restart_command

I'm sure there are a few improvements that can be made, and it only has the two required options for the vhost (server name and document root), but it does the job much more quickly and efficiently than opening and editing all the files manually, and also automatically restarts XAMPP afterwards.

This assumes that you have the default installation location for XAMPP, which can all be changed.