Apache virtual host generator

How to use it

1. Enter the domain without http:// and decide whether www. should work too.
2. Enter the document root, for example /var/www/example.com/public.
3. For HTTPS, keep the certificate fields empty if you use certbot, or enter your own paths.
4. Choose the extras, copy the config and follow the note under it to enable the site.

How it works

• ServerName and ServerAlias decide which requests the block answers.
• <Directory> grants access with the Apache 2.4 syntax Require all granted, sets Options -Indexes +FollowSymLinks (or +Indexes for listings) and AllowOverride All or None.
• With HTTPS, the 443 block adds SSLEngine on and the certificate files; the 80 block either redirects with Redirect permanent / https://domain/ or serves the same site.
• HTTP/2 adds Protocols h2 http/1.1 (module http2), HSTS adds Header always set Strict-Transport-Security "max-age=31536000" (module headers).
• Logs go to <folder>/<domain>-error.log and <domain>-access.log in the combined format.

Example

For example.com with www, HTTPS, redirect, HTTP/2 and logs, the port 80 block is:

<VirtualHost *:80>
    ServerName example.com
    ServerAlias www.example.com
    Redirect permanent / https://example.com/
</VirtualHost>

The port 443 block has the same names, DocumentRoot /var/www/example.com/public, the <Directory> section, the two log lines and:

    SSLEngine on
    SSLCertificateFile /etc/letsencrypt/live/example.com/fullchain.pem
    SSLCertificateKeyFile /etc/letsencrypt/live/example.com/privkey.pem
    Protocols h2 http/1.1

Tips

• Run apachectl configtest before every reload: a typo stops Apache from starting.
• Get the certificate first (certbot certonly --webroot or with the HTTP-only config), then switch on HTTPS; Apache will not start if a certificate file is missing.
• Make the files in the document root readable by the Apache user (www-data or apache) and keep secrets outside it.