Apache HTTP Server

The Apache HTTP Server, commonly called Apache or httpd, is the web server software that helped define the early web. Developed and maintained by the Apache Software Foundation, it handles HTTP requests and serves web content to browsers and clients. It supports a modular architecture, meaning you can extend its functionality with modules for SSL/TLS (mod_ssl), URL rewriting (mod_rewrite), authentication, caching, proxying, and more. Apache runs on Unix-like systems (Linux, macOS, BSD) and Windows. Configuration is done through plain text files like httpd.conf and .htaccess files, giving administrators fine-grained control over directory-level settings. It integrates with scripting languages via mod_php, mod_perl, mod_python, and others. Virtual hosting allows you to serve multiple websites from a single server instance. While its market share has declined relative to Nginx in recent years, Apache remains widely deployed, especially in shared hosting environments and legacy enterprise setups. The project releases stable versions regularly, with the 2.4 series being the current mainstream line. It is entirely free and open source under the Apache License 2.0.