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

Question

UPDATE: The following answer will also work for El Capitan.

For people who just start, the file mentioned below is under /etc/apache2

For the answer below, the file that also need to be changed is /etc/apache2/extra/httpd-userdir.conf

ORIGINAL:

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....

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 

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>