Starting the Apache server

Apache server is pre-installed in Mac OS X, so there is no need to install it. However, to start the Apache server, we will have to use command line in the Terminal.

  1. Open the Terminal (it can be found under the Applications -> Utilities section).
  2. Type the following command: This will start the Apache server. To make sure that it is working, open a browser and type “http://localhost” in the address bar. If you see a “It works!” message, then your Apache server is running fine.

To restart the Apache server, use the command: To stop the Apache server, use the command:

Activating the PHP module

The Apache server is only good enough for you to run static HTML files. If you want to run a more complicated setup, like installing WordPress, you will need to activate the PHP module. PHP is pre-installed in Mac OS X as well, but it is not included by default.

  1. In the terminal, type: This will open the Apache config file.

  2. Remove down the list until you see the line: Remove the “#” in front of the line, so it becomes:

  3. Save the changes (using shortcut key “Ctrl + o”) and exit (using shortcut key “Ctrl + x”). Restart Apache. The PHP module is now activated.

Configuring Sites folder

By default, Apache serves files that are in the folder location “/Library/WebServer/Documents”. On a multiple users system, you can setup the web server to serve files for different users using the URL “http://localhost/~username“.

  1. Open the Finder and go to your Home folder (the folder with a Home icon and your username). Create a new folder “Sites” if it is not available.

  2. Back to the Terminal, type the command: Replace the “username” with your login username. In my case, it will be “sudo nano /etc/apache2/users/damienoh.conf“.

  3. Copy and paste the following code to the conf file. Once again, replace the “username” with your login username. Save (Ctrl + o) and exit (Ctrl + x) the file.

  4. Next, type the command: and paste the line: Save and exit the file. Restart Apache server

  5. In your browser, type “http://localhost/~username/phpinfo.php“. You should see the PHP info page, if everything is running fine.

Setting up MySQL

MySQL is not included in Mountain Lion, so you will need to download and install it manually.

  1. Go to MySQL Download site and download the MySQL installer for Mac. For easier installation, you might want to grab the .DMG image than the one in .tar.gz format. Note: You don’t have to sign up for an account to download the file. Just click the “No thanks, just start my download.” will do.
  2. Once the download is completed, open up the installer, you should see two .pkg files and one .prefPane file. Install all three of them.
  3. After the installation, you can go to “System Preferences -> mySQL” and start the MySQL instance.

Setting upi MySQL root password

In the Terminal, type the command: Replace the “yourpasswordhere” with your own password. Note: Do not confuse this password with your Mac login account. They are not the same. This is the password for the script to access your database. Note: Removing MySQL is not as straightforward. Run the commands, line by line, in the terminal: Open the file “hostconfig” with the command “sudo nano /etc/hostconfig” and remove the line MYSQLCOM=-YES-.

Installing PhpMyAdmin

PhpMyAdmin is basically a bunch of PHP files, so installing them is a breeze.

  1. Download PhpMyAdmin from its website.

  2. Extract the compressed file to your Sites folder and rename it as “phpmyadmin”.

  3. Open the “phpmyadmin” folder and create a new folder call “config”. Change its permission with the command:

  4. Next, in your browse, navigate to “http://localhost/~username/phpmyadmin/setup”. This will bring up the setup page where you can connect PhpMyAdmin to your MySQL server.

  5. Click the “New Server” button.

  6. Go to the “Authentication” tab and enter MySQL root password in the “Password for config auth” field.

Click “Save”. 7. Lastly, enter the following commands in the terminal: Now, go to “http://localhost/~username/phpmyadmin”. You should be able to login and create database now.

Conclusion

It will probably be easier if you install a third party tool like MAMP, but that will add duplicate features to what is already available in your Mac. With a little tinkering, you can easily get your Mac to be a web server for all your web hosting needs.