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How to Install Apache (httpd) on Amazon Linux 2023 (EC2)

By Ravindra Bagale, AWS & DevOps trainer · LinkedIn · Published: 29 September 2026 · Last updated: 29 September 2026

To install Apache on an Amazon Linux 2023 EC2 instance, run sudo yum install -y httpd, then start it with sudo service httpd start and enable it at boot with sudo systemctl enable httpd. Allow HTTP (TCP port 80) in the instance's security group and open http://<PUBLIC_IP> in a browser. On Amazon Linux the Apache package and service are called httpd, and the default web root is /var/www/html.

sudo yum install -y httpd
sudo service httpd start
sudo systemctl enable httpd
sudo apachectl configtest        # expect "Syntax OK"
curl -I http://localhost         # expect HTTP/1.1 200 OK (or 403 before you add a page)

What do I need before installing Apache?

• An EC2 instance running Amazon Linux 2023 with a public IP. New to this? Follow How to Launch an EC2 Instance in AWS.
• An SSH session on that instance. See How to SSH into EC2 from Windows, Mac and Linux.
• A security group that allows HTTP 80 from Anywhere-IPv4. See How to Open Port 80 and 443 in an EC2 Security Group.
• Nothing else on port 80. If you followed the Nginx guide on the same server, stop Nginx first (Step 1).

How does a request reach Apache on EC2?

How do I install Apache on Amazon Linux 2023?

Step 1 — Free port 80 (only if Nginx is installed)

Only one program can listen on port 80. If Nginx runs on this instance, stop and disable it first:

sudo service nginx stop 2>/dev/null
sudo systemctl disable nginx 2>/dev/null
sudo ss -tlnp | grep :80            # no output = port 80 is free

Step 2 — Install the httpd package

sudo yum install -y httpd

On Amazon Linux 2023, CentOS Stream 9 and RHEL, Apache is the httpd package and the httpd service. On Ubuntu it is apache2.

Step 3 — Start Apache and enable it at boot

Apache does not start by itself after install on Amazon Linux 2023:

sudo service httpd start
sudo systemctl enable httpd
sudo service httpd status            # look for "active (running)"

Step 4 — Test the configuration and the service

sudo apachectl configtest            # expect "Syntax OK"
curl -I http://localhost             # a response line proves Apache answers

Before you add a page, Apache may answer with its test page (a 403 status is normal at this point, because /var/www/html is still empty).

Step 5 — Add your own page

The default web root is /var/www/html. Write a simple test page:

echo "<h1>Hello from Apache on EC2</h1>" | sudo tee /var/www/html/index.html
curl http://localhost

Now open http://<PUBLIC_IP> in your browser — http, not https. Your page is live! 🎉

Where are the Apache files on Amazon Linux 2023?

For a site in its own folder, create a virtual host in /etc/httpd/conf.d/mysite.conf:

sudo mkdir -p /var/www/mysite && echo "<h1>My site</h1>" | sudo tee /var/www/mysite/index.html
sudo tee /etc/httpd/conf.d/mysite.conf > /dev/null <<'VHOST'
<VirtualHost *:80>
    ServerName mysite.local
    DocumentRoot /var/www/mysite
    <Directory /var/www/mysite>
        Options -Indexes +FollowSymLinks
        AllowOverride All
        Require all granted
    </Directory>
    ErrorLog  /var/log/httpd/mysite_error.log
    CustomLog /var/log/httpd/mysite_access.log combined
</VirtualHost>
VHOST
sudo apachectl configtest && sudo service httpd reload

With name-based virtual hosts, the first <VirtualHost *:80> loaded answers any request whose name does not match another vhost, so this one also answers requests to the public IP. Options -Indexes stops Apache from listing a folder that has no index file.

How do I fix common Apache errors on EC2?

Ghabru naka 😅 — find your symptom in the first column:

On the older Amazon Linux 2 the install command is the same (sudo yum install -y httpd). On Ubuntu use sudo apt install -y apache2 and the apache2 service name.