Apache, MySQL & PHP on macOS Catalina 04 Oct 2019. Apple macOS 10.15 ships with both a recent version of Apache (2.4.x), as well as PHP (7.3.x), so you’ll just have to install MySQL and go through a few steps to get everything up and running. First, you have to create a web root in your user account: mkdir /Sites. In order to Install Apache Tomcat version 8.x.x (Supports Servlet 3.1 specifications) on your Mac OS X (macOS) running Yosemite OS 10.10.x you must have java version 7 or later installed on your Mac. How to check your java version installed: Go to Terminal. Run command: java -version. If it is less than 1.8, download and install java8.
Recommend switching to Docker
I finally switched to using Docker for local development on macOS. While the following tutorial works for macOS Catalina, it has limitations. I recommend following my latest tutorial on installing Apache, MySQL, and PHP on macOS using Docker.
Note: This post is for new installations. If you have installed Apache, PHP, and MySQL for Mac OS Mojave, read my post on Updating Apache, PHP, and MySQL for macOS Catalina.
I am aware of the web server software available for macOS, notably MAMP, as well as package managers like brew. These get you started quickly. But they forego the learning experience and, as most developers report, can become difficult to manage.
Macos Catalina Apache Ssl
macOS runs atop UNIX. Most UNIX software installs easily on macOS. In Additional, Apache and PHP come preinstalled with macOS. So to create a local web server, all you need to do is configure Apache and install MySQL.
Running Commands
First, open the Terminal app and switch to the root user so you can run the commands in this post without any permission issues:
Enable Apache on macOS
Verify It works! by accessing http://localhost
Enable PHP for Apache
First, make a backup of the default Apache configuration. This is good practice and serves as a comparison against future versions of macOS.
Now edit the Apache configuration. Feel free to use a different editor if you are not familiar with vi.
Uncomment the following line (remove #):
Restart Apache:
You can verify PHP is enabled by creating a phpinfo() page in your DocumentRoot.
The default DocumentRoot for macOS Catalina is /Library/WebServer/Documents. You can verify this from your Apache configuration.
Now create the phpinfo() page in your DocumentRoot:
Verify PHP by accessing http://localhost/phpinfo.php
Install MySQL on macOS Catalina
Download and install the latest MySQL generally available release DMG for macOS. MySQL 8 is the latest version. But older versions are available if you need to support older applications.
When the install completes it will provide you with a temporary password. Copy this password before closing the installer. You will use it again in a few steps.
The README suggests creating aliases for mysql and mysqladmin. However there are other commands that are helpful such as mysqldump. Instead, you can update your path to include /usr/local/mysql/bin.
Note: You will need to open a new Terminal window or run the command above for your path to update.
Finally, you should run mysql_secure_installation. While this isn't necessary, it's good practice to secure your database. This is also where you can change that nasty temporary password to something more manageable for local development.
Connect PHP and MySQL
You need to ensure PHP and MySQL can communicate with one another. There are several options to do so. I like the following as it doesn't require changing lots of configuration:
Additional Configuration (optional)
Macos Catalina Apache Https
The default configuration for Apache 2.4 on macOS seemed pretty lean. For example, common modules like mod_rewrite were disabled. You may consider enabling this now to avoid forgetting they are disabled in the future.
I edited my Apache Configuration:
I uncommented the following lines (remove #):
If you develop multiple projects and would like each to have a unique url, you can configure Apache VirtualHosts for macOS.
If you would like to install PHPMyAdmin, return to my original post on installing Apache, PHP, and MySQL on macOS.
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macOS Support
The current Apache OpenOffice supports Apple OS X version 10.7 (Lion), 10.8 (Mountain Lion), 10.9 (Mavericks), 10.10 (Yosemite), 10.11 (El Capitan) and macOS 10.12 (Sierra), 10.13 (High Sierra), 10.14 (Mojave), 10.15 (Catalina).
The last OpenOffice version supporting Mac OS X 10.4 (Tiger), 10.5 (Leopard), 10.6 (Snow Leopard) is OpenOffice 4.0.1.
Hardware Requirements
- CPU: Intel Processor
- Memory: Minimum 512 Mbytes RAM.
- Storage: At least 400 Mbytes available disk space for a default install via download.
- Graphics: 1024 x 768 or higher resolution with 16.7 million colours.
Additional Resources
Macos Catalina Apache Download
- Click here to download
- Click here to get install instructions for OpenOffice on macOS
- Click here to get help and support in the Community Support Forums