How do I run Apache 2 on Alpine in Docker?

Docker

Alpine Linux

Apache 2

Web Server

Containerization

How do I run Apache 2 on Alpine in Docker?

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Docker & Containers

Introduction

Running Apache HTTP Server (httpd) on Alpine Linux in Docker produces a lightweight web server container — typically 50-60 MB compared to 200+ MB for Debian-based images. Alpine uses apk for package management and the package is named apache2, not httpd. The key differences from Debian-based setups are the package names, config file locations, and the need to run Apache in the foreground for Docker.

Basic Dockerfile

dockerfile

1FROM alpine:3.19
2
3# Install Apache
4RUN apk add --no-cache apache2
5
6# Create the run directory (required by Apache on Alpine)
7RUN mkdir -p /run/apache2
8
9# Expose port 80
10EXPOSE 80
11
12# Run Apache in the foreground
13CMD ["httpd", "-D", "FOREGROUND"]

Build and run:

bash

1docker build -t alpine-apache .
2docker run -d -p 8080:80 --name web alpine-apache
3
4# Test
5curl http://localhost:8080

With Custom HTML Content

dockerfile

1FROM alpine:3.19
2
3RUN apk add --no-cache apache2 && \
4    mkdir -p /run/apache2
5
6# Copy custom website files
7COPY ./html/ /var/www/localhost/htdocs/
8
9EXPOSE 80
10CMD ["httpd", "-D", "FOREGROUND"]

bash

1# Create content
2mkdir html
3echo '<h1>Hello from Alpine Apache</h1>' > html/index.html
4
5# Build and run
6docker build -t my-website .
7docker run -d -p 8080:80 my-website

With PHP Support

dockerfile

1FROM alpine:3.19
2
3RUN apk add --no-cache \
4    apache2 \
5    php83 \
6    php83-apache2 \
7    php83-common \
8    php83-json \
9    php83-mbstring \
10    php83-session \
11    php83-pdo \
12    php83-pdo_mysql && \
13    mkdir -p /run/apache2
14
15# Copy PHP application
16COPY ./app/ /var/www/localhost/htdocs/
17
18EXPOSE 80
19CMD ["httpd", "-D", "FOREGROUND"]

php

1<!-- app/index.php -->
2<?php
3phpinfo();
4?>

With SSL/TLS (HTTPS)

dockerfile

1FROM alpine:3.19
2
3RUN apk add --no-cache apache2 apache2-ssl openssl && \
4    mkdir -p /run/apache2
5
6# Generate self-signed certificate (for development)
7RUN openssl req -x509 -nodes -days 365 \
8    -newkey rsa:2048 \
9    -keyout /etc/ssl/private/server.key \
10    -out /etc/ssl/certs/server.crt \
11    -subj "/CN=localhost"
12
13# Enable SSL module
14RUN sed -i 's/#LoadModule ssl_module/LoadModule ssl_module/' /etc/apache2/httpd.conf && \
15    sed -i 's/#Include \/etc\/apache2\/conf.d\/ssl.conf/Include \/etc\/apache2\/conf.d\/ssl.conf/' /etc/apache2/httpd.conf
16
17EXPOSE 80 443
18CMD ["httpd", "-D", "FOREGROUND"]

Custom Apache Configuration

The default config location on Alpine is /etc/apache2/httpd.conf:

dockerfile

1FROM alpine:3.19
2
3RUN apk add --no-cache apache2 && \
4    mkdir -p /run/apache2
5
6# Copy custom configuration
7COPY httpd.conf /etc/apache2/httpd.conf
8COPY my-site.conf /etc/apache2/conf.d/my-site.conf
9
10COPY ./html/ /var/www/localhost/htdocs/
11
12EXPOSE 80
13CMD ["httpd", "-D", "FOREGROUND"]

Example custom virtual host (my-site.conf):

apache

1<VirtualHost *:80>
2    ServerName mysite.local
3    DocumentRoot /var/www/localhost/htdocs
4
5    <Directory /var/www/localhost/htdocs>
6        AllowOverride All
7        Require all granted
8    </Directory>
9
10    ErrorLog /var/log/apache2/error.log
11    CustomLog /var/log/apache2/access.log combined
12</VirtualHost>

Alpine vs Debian Apache Paths

Item	Alpine	Debian/Ubuntu
Package name	`apache2`	`apache2`
Binary	`httpd`	`apache2` or `apache2ctl`
Main config	`/etc/apache2/httpd.conf`	`/etc/apache2/apache2.conf`
Site configs	`/etc/apache2/conf.d/`	`/etc/apache2/sites-available/`
Document root	`/var/www/localhost/htdocs/`	`/var/www/html/`
Modules	`/usr/lib/apache2/`	`/usr/lib/apache2/modules/`
PID file	`/run/apache2/httpd.pid`	`/run/apache2/apache2.pid`

Using the Official httpd Image

Docker Hub provides an official httpd image (Debian-based), and an Alpine variant:

dockerfile

1# Official Apache image (Debian-based)
2FROM httpd:2.4
3
4COPY ./html/ /usr/local/apache2/htdocs/
5
6# Official Apache image (Alpine variant — smaller)
7FROM httpd:2.4-alpine
8
9COPY ./html/ /usr/local/apache2/htdocs/

The official image is pre-configured and production-ready. Use it unless you need custom Alpine packages.

Docker Compose

yaml

1version: '3.8'
2services:
3  web:
4    build: .
5    ports:
6      - "8080:80"
7    volumes:
8      - ./html:/var/www/localhost/htdocs:ro
9    restart: unless-stopped

Mount the content directory as a volume for development — changes are reflected without rebuilding.

Enabling Modules

bash

1# List available modules
2docker exec web ls /usr/lib/apache2/
3
4# Enable mod_rewrite (for .htaccess URL rewriting)
5# In httpd.conf, uncomment:
6# LoadModule rewrite_module modules/mod_rewrite.so

dockerfile

# In Dockerfile, enable mod_rewrite
RUN sed -i 's/#LoadModule rewrite_module/LoadModule rewrite_module/' /etc/apache2/httpd.conf

Common Pitfalls

Missing /run/apache2 directory: Apache on Alpine requires this directory to store the PID file. Without mkdir -p /run/apache2, Apache fails to start with a cryptic error about not being able to open the PID file.
Not running in foreground: Docker containers exit when the main process exits. Apache must run with -D FOREGROUND to stay in the foreground. Without this flag, Apache forks to the background and Docker thinks the container is done.
Package name confusion: On Alpine, the package is apache2 but the binary is httpd. On Debian, both the package and the common command are apache2.
PHP version in package names: Alpine uses versioned PHP packages (php83, not php). The available version depends on your Alpine release. Check with apk search php to find the correct package names.
Log output: By default, Apache logs to files in /var/log/apache2/. For Docker, redirect logs to stdout/stderr by symlinking: ln -sf /dev/stdout /var/log/apache2/access.log && ln -sf /dev/stderr /var/log/apache2/error.log.

Summary

Install Apache on Alpine with apk add --no-cache apache2
Create /run/apache2 directory for the PID file
Run with httpd -D FOREGROUND to keep the container alive
Document root is /var/www/localhost/htdocs/ (not /var/www/html/)
Use httpd:2.4-alpine from Docker Hub for a pre-configured Alpine Apache image
Add -v ./html:/var/www/localhost/htdocs:ro for development volume mounts

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How do I run Apache 2 on Alpine in Docker?

System Design practice on Codemia

Introduction

Basic Dockerfile

With Custom HTML Content

With PHP Support

With SSL/TLS (HTTPS)

Custom Apache Configuration

Alpine vs Debian Apache Paths

Using the Official httpd Image

Docker Compose

Enabling Modules

Common Pitfalls

Summary

Related reading

System Design Fundamentals

Track what you have practised

System Design practice on Codemia