`Apache` `localhost/~username/` not working

Question

So I just recently upgrade to Mac OS X Yosemite and I need to set up my Apache again. I create a folder "Sites" under /user/kevin and change file permission to 777 and uncomment the php5module line in /etc/apache2/httpd.conf just like before.

localhost is working but localhost/~kevin/ gives me an "The requested URL /~kevin/ was not found on this server."

Here's my httpd.conf file in case anyone needs to look at it. If there's something wrong with it I will be grateful if anyone can post their httpd.conf file so I can recover it and do it again.

#
# This is the main Apache HTTP server configuration file.  It contains the
# configuration directives that give the server its instructions.
# See <URL:http://httpd.apache.org/docs/2.4/> for detailed information.
# In particular, see
# <URL:http://httpd.apache.org/docs/2.4/mod/directives.html>
# for a discussion of each configuration directive.
#
# Do NOT simply read the instructions in here without understanding
# what they do.  They're here only as hints or reminders.  If you are unsure
# consult the online docs. You have been warned.
#
# Configuration and logfile names: If the filenames you specify for many
# of the server's control files begin with "/" (or "drive:/" for Win32), the
# server will use that explicit path.  If the filenames do *not* begin
# with "/", the value of ServerRoot is prepended -- so "logs/access_log"
# with ServerRoot set to "/usr/local/apache2" will be interpreted by the
# server as "/usr/local/apache2/logs/access_log", whereas "/logs/access_log"
# will be interpreted as '/logs/access_log'.

#
# ServerRoot: The top of the directory tree under which the server's
# configuration, error, and log files are kept.
#
# Do not add a slash at the end of the directory path.  If you point
# ServerRoot at a non-local disk, be sure to specify a local disk on the
# Mutex directive, if file-based mutexes are used.  If you wish to share the
# same ServerRoot for multiple httpd daemons, you will need to change at
# least PidFile.
#
ServerRoot "/usr"

#
# Mutex: Allows you to set the mutex mechanism and mutex file directory
# for individual mutexes, or change the global defaults
#
# Uncomment and change the directory if mutexes are file-based and the default
# mutex file directory is not on a local disk or is not appropriate for some
# other reason.
#
# Mutex default:/private/var/run

#
# Listen: Allows you to bind Apache to specific IP addresses and/or
# ports, instead of the default. See also the <VirtualHost>
# directive.
#
# Change this to Listen on specific IP addresses as shown below to
# prevent Apache from glomming onto all bound IP addresses.
#
#Listen 12.34.56.78:80
Listen 80

#
# Dynamic Shared Object (DSO) Support
#
# To be able to use the functionality of a module which was built as a DSO you
# have to place corresponding `LoadModule' lines at this location so the
# directives contained in it are actually available _before_ they are used.
# Statically compiled modules (those listed by `httpd -l') do not need
# to be loaded here.
#
# Example:
# LoadModule foo_module modules/mod_foo.so
#
LoadModule authn_file_module libexec/apache2/mod_authn_file.so
#LoadModule authn_dbm_module libexec/apache2/mod_authn_dbm.so
#LoadModule authn_anon_module libexec/apache2/mod_authn_anon.so
#LoadModule authn_dbd_module libexec/apache2/mod_authn_dbd.so
#LoadModule authn_socache_module libexec/apache2/mod_authn_socache.so
LoadModule authn_core_module libexec/apache2/mod_authn_core.so
LoadModule authz_host_module libexec/apache2/mod_authz_host.so
LoadModule authz_groupfile_module libexec/apache2/mod_authz_groupfile.so
LoadModule authz_user_module libexec/apache2/mod_authz_user.so
#LoadModule authz_dbm_module libexec/apache2/mod_authz_dbm.so
#LoadModule authz_owner_module libexec/apache2/mod_authz_owner.so
#LoadModule authz_dbd_module libexec/apache2/mod_authz_dbd.so
LoadModule authz_core_module libexec/apache2/mod_authz_core.so
#LoadModule authnz_ldap_module libexec/apache2/mod_authnz_ldap.so
LoadModule access_compat_module libexec/apache2/mod_access_compat.so
LoadModule auth_basic_module libexec/apache2/mod_auth_basic.so
#LoadModule auth_form_module libexec/apache2/mod_auth_form.so
#LoadModule auth_digest_module libexec/apache2/mod_auth_digest.so
#LoadModule allowmethods_module libexec/apache2/mod_allowmethods.so
#LoadModule file_cache_module libexec/apache2/mod_file_cache.so
#LoadModule cache_module libexec/apache2/mod_cache.so
#LoadModule cache_disk_module libexec/apache2/mod_cache_disk.so
#LoadModule cache_socache_module libexec/apache2/mod_cache_socache.so
#LoadModule socache_shmcb_module libexec/apache2/mod_socache_shmcb.so
#LoadModule socache_dbm_module libexec/apache2/mod_socache_dbm.so
#LoadModule socache_memcache_module libexec/apache2/mod_socache_memcache.so
#LoadModule watchdog_module libexec/apache2/mod_watchdog.so
#LoadModule macro_module libexec/apache2/mod_macro.so
#LoadModule dbd_module libexec/apache2/mod_dbd.so
#LoadModule dumpio_module libexec/apache2/mod_dumpio.so
#LoadModule echo_module libexec/apache2/mod_echo.so
#LoadModule buffer_module libexec/apache2/mod_buffer.so
#LoadModule data_module libexec/apache2/mod_data.so
#LoadModule ratelimit_module libexec/apache2/mod_ratelimit.so
LoadModule reqtimeout_module libexec/apache2/mod_reqtimeout.so
#LoadModule ext_filter_module libexec/apache2/mod_ext_filter.so
#LoadModule request_module libexec/apache2/mod_request.so
#LoadModule include_module libexec/apache2/mod_include.so
LoadModule filter_module libexec/apache2/mod_filter.so
#LoadModule reflector_module libexec/apache2/mod_reflector.so
#LoadModule substitute_module libexec/apache2/mod_substitute.so
#LoadModule sed_module libexec/apache2/mod_sed.so
#LoadModule charset_lite_module libexec/apache2/mod_charset_lite.so
#LoadModule deflate_module libexec/apache2/mod_deflate.so
#LoadModule xml2enc_module libexec/apache2/mod_xml2enc.so
#LoadModule proxy_html_module libexec/apache2/mod_proxy_html.so
LoadModule mime_module libexec/apache2/mod_mime.so
#LoadModule ldap_module libexec/apache2/mod_ldap.so
LoadModule log_config_module libexec/apache2/mod_log_config.so
#LoadModule log_debug_module libexec/apache2/mod_log_debug.so
#LoadModule log_forensic_module libexec/apache2/mod_log_forensic.so
#LoadModule logio_module libexec/apache2/mod_logio.so
LoadModule env_module libexec/apache2/mod_env.so
#LoadModule mime_magic_module libexec/apache2/mod_mime_magic.so
#LoadModule expires_module libexec/apache2/mod_expires.so
LoadModule headers_module libexec/apache2/mod_headers.so
#LoadModule usertrack_module libexec/apache2/mod_usertrack.so
#LoadModule unique_id_module libexec/apache2/mod_unique_id.so
LoadModule setenvif_module libexec/apache2/mod_setenvif.so
LoadModule version_module libexec/apache2/mod_version.so
#LoadModule remoteip_module libexec/apache2/mod_remoteip.so
LoadModule proxy_module libexec/apache2/mod_proxy.so
LoadModule proxy_connect_module libexec/apache2/mod_proxy_connect.so
LoadModule proxy_ftp_module libexec/apache2/mod_proxy_ftp.so
LoadModule proxy_http_module libexec/apache2/mod_proxy_http.so
LoadModule proxy_fcgi_module libexec/apache2/mod_proxy_fcgi.so
LoadModule proxy_scgi_module libexec/apache2/mod_proxy_scgi.so
#LoadModule proxy_fdpass_module libexec/apache2/mod_proxy_fdpass.so
LoadModule proxy_wstunnel_module libexec/apache2/mod_proxy_wstunnel.so
LoadModule proxy_ajp_module libexec/apache2/mod_proxy_ajp.so
LoadModule proxy_balancer_module libexec/apache2/mod_proxy_balancer.so
LoadModule proxy_express_module libexec/apache2/mod_proxy_express.so
#LoadModule session_module libexec/apache2/mod_session.so
#LoadModule session_cookie_module libexec/apache2/mod_session_cookie.so
#LoadModule session_dbd_module libexec/apache2/mod_session_dbd.so
LoadModule slotmem_shm_module libexec/apache2/mod_slotmem_shm.so
#LoadModule slotmem_plain_module libexec/apache2/mod_slotmem_plain.so
#LoadModule ssl_module libexec/apache2/mod_ssl.so
#LoadModule dialup_module libexec/apache2/mod_dialup.so
LoadModule lbmethod_byrequests_module libexec/apache2/mod_lbmethod_byrequests.so
LoadModule lbmethod_bytraffic_module libexec/apache2/mod_lbmethod_bytraffic.so
LoadModule lbmethod_bybusyness_module libexec/apache2/mod_lbmethod_bybusyness.so
#LoadModule lbmethod_heartbeat_module libexec/apache2/mod_lbmethod_heartbeat.so
LoadModule unixd_module libexec/apache2/mod_unixd.so
#LoadModule heartbeat_module libexec/apache2/mod_heartbeat.so
#LoadModule heartmonitor_module libexec/apache2/mod_heartmonitor.so
#LoadModule dav_module libexec/apache2/mod_dav.so
LoadModule status_module libexec/apache2/mod_status.so
LoadModule autoindex_module libexec/apache2/mod_autoindex.so
#LoadModule asis_module libexec/apache2/mod_asis.so
#LoadModule info_module libexec/apache2/mod_info.so
#LoadModule cgi_module libexec/apache2/mod_cgi.so
#LoadModule dav_fs_module libexec/apache2/mod_dav_fs.so
#LoadModule dav_lock_module libexec/apache2/mod_dav_lock.so
#LoadModule vhost_alias_module libexec/apache2/mod_vhost_alias.so
LoadModule negotiation_module libexec/apache2/mod_negotiation.so
LoadModule dir_module libexec/apache2/mod_dir.so
#LoadModule imagemap_module libexec/apache2/mod_imagemap.so
#LoadModule actions_module libexec/apache2/mod_actions.so
#LoadModule speling_module libexec/apache2/mod_speling.so
#LoadModule userdir_module libexec/apache2/mod_userdir.so
LoadModule alias_module libexec/apache2/mod_alias.so
#LoadModule rewrite_module libexec/apache2/mod_rewrite.so
LoadModule php5_module libexec/apache2/libphp5.so
#LoadModule hfs_apple_module libexec/apache2/mod_hfs_apple.so

<IfModule unixd_module>
#
# If you wish httpd to run as a different user or group, you must run
# httpd as root initially and it will switch.
#
# User/Group: The name (or #number) of the user/group to run httpd as.
# It is usually good practice to create a dedicated user and group for
# running httpd, as with most system services.
#
User _www
Group _www

</IfModule>

# 'Main' server configuration
#
# The directives in this section set up the values used by the 'main'
# server, which responds to any requests that aren't handled by a
# <VirtualHost> definition.  These values also provide defaults for
# any <VirtualHost> containers you may define later in the file.
#
# All of these directives may appear inside <VirtualHost> containers,
# in which case these default settings will be overridden for the
# virtual host being defined.
#

#
# 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 [email protected]

#
# ServerName gives the name and port that the server uses to identify itself.
# This can often be determined automatically, but we recommend you specify
# it explicitly to prevent problems during startup.
#
# If your host doesn't have a registered DNS name, enter its IP address here.
#
#ServerName www.example.com:80

#
# Deny access to the entirety of your server's filesystem. You must
# explicitly permit access to web content directories in other
# <Directory> blocks below.
#
<Directory />
    AllowOverride none
    Require all denied
</Directory>

#
# Note that from this point forward you must specifically allow
# particular features to be enabled - so if something's not working as
# you might expect, make sure that you have specifically enabled it
# below.
#

#
# DocumentRoot: The directory out of which you will serve your
# documents. By default, all requests are taken from this directory, but
# symbolic links and aliases may be used to point to other locations.
#
DocumentRoot "/Library/WebServer/Documents"
<Directory "/Library/WebServer/Documents">
    #
    # Possible values for the Options directive are "None", "All",
    # or any combination of:
    #   Indexes Includes FollowSymLinks SymLinksifOwnerMatch ExecCGI MultiViews
    #
    # Note that "MultiViews" must be named *explicitly* --- "Options All"
    # doesn't give it to you.
    #
    # The Options directive is both complicated and important.  Please see
    # http://httpd.apache.org/docs/2.4/mod/core.html#options
    # for more information.
    #
    Options FollowSymLinks Multiviews
    MultiviewsMatch Any

    #
    # AllowOverride controls what directives may be placed in .htaccess files.
    # It can be "All", "None", or any combination of the keywords:
    #   AllowOverride FileInfo AuthConfig Limit
    #
    AllowOverride None

    #
    # Controls who can get stuff from this server.
    #
    Require all granted
</Directory>

#
# DirectoryIndex: sets the file that Apache will serve if a directory
# is requested.
#
<IfModule dir_module>
DirectoryIndex index.html
</IfModule>

#
# The following lines prevent .htaccess and .htpasswd files from being
# viewed by Web clients.
#
<FilesMatch "^\.([Hh][Tt]|[Dd][Ss]_[Ss])">
    Require all denied
</FilesMatch>

#
# Apple specific filesystem protection.
#
<Files "rsrc">
    Require all denied
</Files>
<DirectoryMatch ".*\.\.namedfork">
    Require all denied
</DirectoryMatch>

#
# ErrorLog: The location of the error log file.
# If you do not specify an ErrorLog directive within a <VirtualHost>
# container, error messages relating to that virtual host will be
# logged here.  If you *do* define an error logfile for a <VirtualHost>
# container, that host's errors will be logged there and not here.
#
ErrorLog "/private/var/log/apache2/error_log"

#
# LogLevel: Control the number of messages logged to the error_log.
# Possible values include: debug, info, notice, warn, error, crit,
# alert, emerg.
#
LogLevel warn

<IfModule log_config_module>
    #
    # The following directives define some format nicknames for use with
    # a CustomLog directive (see below).
    #
    LogFormat "%h %l %u %t \"%r\" %>s %b \"%{Referer}i\" \"%{User-Agent}i\"" combined
    LogFormat "%h %l %u %t \"%r\" %>s %b" common

    <IfModule logio_module>
      # You need to enable mod_logio.c to use %I and %O
      LogFormat "%h %l %u %t \"%r\" %>s %b \"%{Referer}i\" \"%{User-Agent}i\" %I %O" combinedio
    </IfModule>

    #
    # The location and format of the access logfile (Common Logfile Format).
    # If you do not define any access logfiles within a <VirtualHost>
    # container, they will be logged here.  Contrariwise, if you *do*
    # define per-<VirtualHost> access logfiles, transactions will be
    # logged therein and *not* in this file.
    #
CustomLog "/private/var/log/apache2/access_log" common

    #
    # If you prefer a logfile with access, agent, and referer information
    # (Combined Logfile Format) you can use the following directive.
    #
    #CustomLog "/private/var/log/apache2/access_log" combined
</IfModule>

<IfModule alias_module>
    #
    # Redirect: Allows you to tell clients about documents that used to
    # exist in your server's namespace, but do not anymore. The client
    # will make a new request for the document at its new location.
    # Example:
    # Redirect permanent /foo http://www.example.com/bar

    #
    # Alias: Maps web paths into filesystem paths and is used to
    # access content that does not live under the DocumentRoot.
    # Example:
    # Alias /webpath /full/filesystem/path
    #
    # If you include a trailing / on /webpath then the server will
    # require it to be present in the URL.  You will also likely
    # need to provide a <Directory> section to allow access to
    # the filesystem path.

    #
    # ScriptAlias: This controls which directories contain server scripts.
    # ScriptAliases are essentially the same as Aliases, except that
    # documents in the target directory are treated as applications and
    # run by the server when requested rather than as documents sent to the
    # client.  The same rules about trailing "/" apply to ScriptAlias
    # directives as to Alias.
    #
    ScriptAliasMatch ^/cgi-bin/((?!(?i:webobjects)).*$) "/Library/WebServer/CGI-Executables/$1"

</IfModule>

<IfModule cgid_module>
    #
    # ScriptSock: On threaded servers, designate the path to the UNIX
    # socket used to communicate with the CGI daemon of mod_cgid.
    #
    #Scriptsock cgisock
</IfModule>

#
# "/Library/WebServer/CGI-Executables" should be changed to whatever your ScriptAliased
# CGI directory exists, if you have that configured.
#
<Directory "/Library/WebServer/CGI-Executables">
    AllowOverride None
    Options None
    Require all granted
</Directory>

<IfModule mime_module>
    #
    # TypesConfig points to the file containing the list of mappings from
    # filename extension to MIME-type.
    #
    TypesConfig /private/etc/apache2/mime.types

    #
    # AddType allows you to add to or override the MIME configuration
    # file specified in TypesConfig for specific file types.
    #
    #AddType application/x-gzip .tgz
    #
    # AddEncoding allows you to have certain browsers uncompress
    # information on the fly. Note: Not all browsers support this.
    #
    #AddEncoding x-compress .Z
    #AddEncoding x-gzip .gz .tgz
    #
    # If the AddEncoding directives above are commented-out, then you
    # probably should define those extensions to indicate media types:
    #
    AddType application/x-compress .Z
    AddType application/x-gzip .gz .tgz

    #
    # AddHandler allows you to map certain file extensions to "handlers":
    # actions unrelated to filetype. These can be either built into the server
    # or added with the Action directive (see below)
    #
    # To use CGI scripts outside of ScriptAliased directories:
    # (You will also need to add "ExecCGI" to the "Options" directive.)
    #
    #AddHandler cgi-script .cgi

    # For type maps (negotiated resources):
    #AddHandler type-map var

    #
    # Filters allow you to process content before it is sent to the client.
    #
    # To parse .shtml files for server-side includes (SSI):
    # (You will also need to add "Includes" to the "Options" directive.)
    #
    #AddType text/html .shtml
    #AddOutputFilter INCLUDES .shtml
</IfModule>

#
# The mod_mime_magic module allows the server to use various hints from the
# contents of the file itself to determine its type.  The MIMEMagicFile
# directive tells the module where the hint definitions are located.
#
#MIMEMagicFile /private/etc/apache2/magic

#
# Customizable error responses come in three flavors:
# 1) plain text 2) local redirects 3) external redirects
#
# Some examples:
#ErrorDocument 500 "The server made a boo boo."
#ErrorDocument 404 /missing.html
#ErrorDocument 404 "/cgi-bin/missing_handler.pl"
#ErrorDocument 402 http://www.example.com/subscription_info.html
#

#
# MaxRanges: Maximum number of Ranges in a request before
# returning the entire resource, or one of the special
# values 'default', 'none' or 'unlimited'.
# Default setting is to accept 200 Ranges.
#MaxRanges unlimited

#
# EnableMMAP and EnableSendfile: On systems that support it,
# memory-mapping or the sendfile syscall may be used to deliver
# files.  This usually improves server performance, but must
# be turned off when serving from networked-mounted
# filesystems or if support for these functions is otherwise
# broken on your system.
# Defaults: EnableMMAP On, EnableSendfile Off
#
#EnableMMAP off
#EnableSendfile on

TraceEnable off

# Supplemental configuration
#
# The configuration files in the /private/etc/apache2/extra/ directory can be
# included to add extra features or to modify the default configuration of
# the server, or you may simply copy their contents here and change as
# necessary.

# Server-pool management (MPM specific)
Include /private/etc/apache2/extra/httpd-mpm.conf

# Multi-language error messages
#Include /private/etc/apache2/extra/httpd-multilang-errordoc.conf

# Fancy directory listings
Include /private/etc/apache2/extra/httpd-autoindex.conf

# Language settings
#Include /private/etc/apache2/extra/httpd-languages.conf

# User home directories
#Include /private/etc/apache2/extra/httpd-userdir.conf

# Real-time info on requests and configuration
#Include /private/etc/apache2/extra/httpd-info.conf

# Virtual hosts
#Include /private/etc/apache2/extra/httpd-vhosts.conf

# Local access to the Apache HTTP Server Manual
#Include /private/etc/apache2/extra/httpd-manual.conf

# Distributed authoring and versioning (WebDAV)
#Include /private/etc/apache2/extra/httpd-dav.conf

# Various default settings
#Include /private/etc/apache2/extra/httpd-default.conf

# Configure mod_proxy_html to understand HTML4/XHTML1
<IfModule proxy_html_module>
Include /private/etc/apache2/extra/proxy-html.conf
</IfModule>

# Secure (SSL/TLS) connections
#Include /private/etc/apache2/extra/httpd-ssl.conf
#
# Note: The following must must be present to support
#       starting without SSL on platforms with no /dev/random equivalent
#       but a statically compiled-in mod_ssl.
#
<IfModule ssl_module>
SSLRandomSeed startup builtin
SSLRandomSeed connect builtin
</IfModule>

Include /private/etc/apache2/other/*.conf

#
# uncomment out the below to deal with user agents that deliberately
# violate open standards by misusing DNT (DNT *must* be a specific
# end-user choice)
#
#<IfModule setenvif_module>
#BrowserMatch "MSIE 10.0;" bad_DNT
#</IfModule>
#<IfModule headers_module>
#RequestHeader unset DNT env=bad_DNT
#</IfModule>

Man this is long....

Nightclub

For those newbies, the file is located: /etc/apache2 – Semicolon

This link helped me resolve issues for Captain. – Lordinwaiting

I rolled back your last edit because the answer doesn't belong in the question. On this site, we maintain a strict separation between questions and answers. If you've found the solution to your own problem, that's great! Please answer your own question in the space for an answer below. – Industrialist

Answer 1

Looks like you need to uncomment the following:

#LoadModule userdir_module libexec/apache2/mod_userdir.so

and

#Include /private/etc/apache2/extra/httpd-userdir.conf

Then in httpd-userdir.conf you may need to uncomment:

#Include /private/etc/apache2/users/*.conf

Lastly you would need to create /private/etc/apache2/users/kevin.conf if it doesn't exist. I think it should look something like this:

<Directory "/Users/kevin/Sites/">
  Options Indexes MultiViews
  AllowOverride None
  Require all granted
</Directory>

Make sure to restart the Apache server afterwards with:

sudo apachectl restart

Winker

FYI, if you're trying to use PHP on Yosemite, you'll likely have to uncomment the following line from /etc/apache2/httpd.conf: LoadModule php5_module libexec/apache2/libphp5.so – Absenteeism

Iborgav, I set AllowOverride as he suggested and it worked fine. – Underdog

I have deleted httpd.conf by mistake, I copied httpd.conf file from the question & done a changes given in answer worked like a charm. – Tasteful

The #Include /private/etc/apache2/users/*.conf was the key I needed. – Ricoricochet

I followed your link + coolestguidesontheplanet.com/… and things are ok :) – Burnside

Hmmm, still getting 404 The requested URL /~username/ was not found on this server. I've done everything in this thread. Do you think it matters that my username has capital letters? – Fingertip

I wonder, is it possible to change location for this folder /Users/kevin/Sites/ as well? – Sanfred

If you're on Mac >=10.10, some of this is wrong now. It was a good start for me, but I found working config here – Troop

Does not work with El Capitan. Specifically I get 404... sigh. These settings go lost with every OS X version. – Viewless

I don't know why, but this worked for me on OS X El Capitan. – Courtship

for EL capitano this is config works coolestguidesontheplanet.com/… – Zoography

In my case, after update to Captain, I needed to Include /private/etc/apache2/extra/httpd-userdir.conf – Lordinwaiting

In OS X El Capitan (10.11.3) I did all that (looked in the coolestguidesontheplanet.com link too), but nothing seems to work. The main pages are OK, the user pages give a 404 error. Any ideas? – Trentontrepan

On El Capitan there was no line like #Include /private/etc/apache2/users/*.conf in httpd-userdir.conf and I did not need a line like this in the httpd-userdir.conf. – Therontheropod

Hm... looks like its not in the /etc/apache2 but in /Library/Server/Web/Config/apache2 – Trentontrepan

Yes. You need to edit the /Library/Server/Web/Config/apache2 files. Also did what this page says wpbeaches.com/… and it worked! – Trentontrepan

Answer 2

For the rare person who spent as much time as I did wondering why none of the other resources or posts worked... this is for you. I spent 6 hours (at work) devoted entirely towards getting this damn permission issue solved and here was my solution. PLEASE NOTE: When I initially set out to solve this issue, I could access localhost (in Chrome), getting the desired output of It Works!. So make sure you can at least get that far before moving on.

---

I'm using PHP v5.5.14 on a Retina Macbook Pro (mid-2014) that is running OS X Yosemite (I tested this again using Apple's recent El Capitan update and confirmed to be a solution!). My problem was that I recieived a 403 ERROR stating that permission was denied whenever attempting to access localhost/~userDirName/. My solution involves 3 simple steps:

STEP #1:

Load the userdir module by finding the following two lines in /etc/apache2/httpd.conf and uncommenting them by removing the leading hash (#):

LoadModule userdir_module libexec/apache2/mod_userdir.so
Include /private/etc/apache2/extra/httpd-userdir.conf

STEP #2:

Navigate to /etc/apache2/extra/httpd-userdir.conf and uncomment the following line (in the same manner as step 1):

Include /private/etc/apache2/users/*.conf

STEP #3:

Edit /etc/apache2/users/fileYouMade.conf. You must add Require local and a + character before each argument that is option-specific. The result will look like this:

<Directory "/Users/user/Sites/">
    Options +Indexes +MultiViews +FollowSymLinks +SymLinksIfOwnerMatch +ExecCGI
    AllowOverride All
    Require local
    Order allow,deny
    Allow from all
</Directory>

Crag

Thanks, it solved mine too, I'd be glad to know why it didn't work with Require local and the + signs! – Underlay

In my case James answer worked, but I was also missing Sites folder, so I had to: mkdir ~/Sites – Sula

You would obviously add a directory if it is missing... that goes without saying. – Crag

Nope. Did that (in OSX v10.11.3) - (and all the others), but I still get a 404 error for the user pages... Any ideas? – Trentontrepan

@Trentontrepan I just checked this and still get the desired response. try looking elsewhere before "nope" – Crag

Any idea where? Because everything else works fine... And its a brand new installation, so its prety much, right out of the box... – Trentontrepan

This worked for me. Actually STEP #2 was the one that fixed my setup. – Airlift

I did all steps, everything is as it should, but it still doesn't work (well, in High Siera 10.13.6 by now, but still) – Trentontrepan

Answer 3

here's a script i wrote because i got tired of googling how to do this every time i upgrade os x.

#!/bin/sh

# edit httpd.conf to allow home directories.
# some day just rip out httpd and replace with nginx

bin=$(basename "${0}")
conf="/etc/apache2/httpd.conf"

if [ $(id -u) -ne 0 ]
then
  echo "ERROR: ${bin} must run as root. goodbye."
  exit 1
fi

# make backup file
n=1
while [ -f "${conf}.bak.${n}" ]
do
  let n=${n}+1
done
cp "${conf}" "${conf}.bak.${n}"

# edit httpd.conf in place - uncomment out two lines
sed -i ''                                                                 \
    -e '/^#.*[[:space:]]userdir_module[[:space:]]/s/^#*//'                \
    -e '/#Include \/private\/etc\/apache2\/extra\/httpd-userdir.conf/s/^#//'   \
    "${conf}"

echo "INFO: ${bin}:"
echo "INFO: ${bin}: check that this looks OK"
echo "INFO: ${bin}: % cat /private/etc/apache2/extra/httpd-userdir.conf"
echo "INFO: ${bin}:"
cat /private/etc/apache2/extra/httpd-userdir.conf
echo "INFO: ${bin}:"
echo "INFO: ${bin}: in particular, that '/private/etc/apache2/users/*.conf' files look OK"
ls /private/etc/apache2/users/*.conf
echo "INFO: ${bin}:"
echo "INFO: ${bin}: hint: check for /private/etc/apache2/users/${SUDO_USER}.conf"
if [ -f "/private/etc/apache2/users/${SUDO_USER}.conf" ]
then
  echo "INFO: ${bin}: /private/etc/apache2/users/${SUDO_USER}.conf exists. See if it is OK."
else
  echo "INFO: ${bin}: /private/etc/apache2/users/${SUDO_USER}.conf does NOT exist."
fi  
echo "INFO: ${bin}:"
echo "INFO: ${bin}: here is a sample conf file (with php and perl enabled)."
echo "INFO: ${bin}:"
cat<<!
<Directory "/Users/${SUDO_USER}/Sites/">
  Options Indexes MultiViews FollowSymLinks
  AllowOverride All
  Order allow,deny
  Allow from all
  Require all granted
  Options +ExecCGI
  AddHandler cgi-script .cgi .pl
</Directory>
!
echo "INFO: ${bin}:"
echo "INFO: ${bin}: restarting apache httpd"
sudo apachectl restart
echo "INFO: ${bin}:"

Kinshasa

Super useful! Thanks for providing the scripts! – Nightclub

Answer 4

Answer from user3814420 is correct if you use path to you project.

But if you still have issue like I had, when using virtual host:

One caveat to note about virtual hosts is that once set up you lose your older document root previously at /LIbrary/WebServer/Documents or accessed in the browser at localhost what happens is that you get a 403 Forbidden Error. But the ~/username document root is still compatible.

To get around this, you need to add in a vhost for localhost and declare this vhost before any of the others, in the same file:

sudo nano /etc/apache2/extra/httpd-vhosts.conf

Add in:

<VirtualHost *:80>
ServerName localhost
DocumentRoot /Library/WebServer/Documents/
</VirtualHost>

Restart apache

sudo apachectl restart

Changing the WebServer Default User

One of the frustrations of using the Users/username/Sites folder for vhosts is the permissions issues with things like updates and authentication.

This is because the default webserver user which runs httpd is known as _www, which will not be the user in your local account. If your machine is only in use by you and the webserver will run only under your account then you can change the user.

To Find Your User and Group In the Terminal use the id command to see your username and group

id

You will get a bunch of user groups, you need your primary user uid and group gid names

uid=502(your_user_name) gid=20(staff)

After edit /etc/apache2/httpd.conf

sudo nano /etc/apache2/httpd.conf

find block

<IfModule unixd_module>

and comment

#User _www
#Group _www

after add new 2 line user uid and in my case group gid defined with id command above:

User your_user_name
Group staff

Source: http://coolestguidesontheplanet.com/set-virtual-hosts-apache-mac-osx-10-10-yosemite/

Studer

The virtualhost "Servername localhost" part did it for me. Thanks so much! – Squashy

Answer 5

Following these instructions from start to finish worked for me: https://www.computersnyou.com/3376/setup-apache-php-mysql-macosx-10-10-yosemite/

Basic instructions added in response to suggestion from rozkosz:

These instructions are for setting up apache from scratch after upgrading the Yosemite. It seems like you've done most of this but you need to make edits to your /etc/apache2/users/YOURUSERNAME.conf. In any case, here's a summary of the whole thing:

uncomment the following in /etc/apache2/httpd.conf

LoadModule authn_core_module libexec/apache2/mod_authn_core.so
LoadModule authz_host_module libexec/apache2/mod_authz_host.so 
LoadModule userdir_module libexec/apache2/mod_userdir.so 
Include /private/etc/apache2/extra/httpd-userdir.conf

Then,go to /etc/apache2/extra/httpd-userdir.confand uncomment:

Include /private/etc/apache2/users/*.conf 

Your /etc/apache2/users/YOURUSERNAME.conf file should contain the following:

<Directory /Users/*/Sites>
  DirectoryIndex index.html index.php index index.html default.html default.htm
  AllowOverride FileInfo AuthConfig Limit Indexes
  Options MultiViews Indexes SymLinksIfOwnerMatch IncludesNoExec
  <Limit GET POST OPTIONS>
   Require all granted
  </Limit>
  <LimitExcept GET POST OPTIONS>
   Require all denied
  </LimitExcept>
</Directory>

Now create the Sites folder in your home directory, restart apache, and all should be working properly.

Inhume

Please add a summary of the content of the link in the event that the post referenced by the link should disappear. Thanks. – Hawkweed

Answer 6

Resuming for El Captain, with users support:

• sudo nano /private/etc/apache2/users/username.conf

  <Directory "/Users/noone/Sites/">
      Options Indexes MultiViews FollowSymLinks Includes ExecCGI
      AllowOverride All
      Order allow,deny
      Allow from localhost
      Require all granted
  </Directory>
  

• sudo nano /etc/apache2/httpd.conf, uncomment:

  LoadModule userdir_module libexec/apache2/mod_userdir.so
  LoadModule include_module libexec/apache2/mod_include.so
  LoadModule rewrite_module libexec/apache2/mod_rewrite.so
  LoadModule cgi_module libexec/apache2/mod_cgi.so
  LoadModule php5_module libexec/apache2/libphp5.so
  
  Include /private/etc/apache2/extra/httpd-userdir.conf
  

• sudo nano /etc/apache2/extra/httpd-userdir.conf, uncomment:

  Include /private/etc/apache2/users/*.conf
  

• apachectl configtest

• sudo apachectl restart

Taken from here.

Lordinwaiting

Answer 7

In Apache 2, you've to enable mod_userdir extension, e.g.

a2enmod userdir

^{Prefix with sudo if required.}

Then reload/restart Apache.

Miletus