Skip to main content

​
Overview

This template provides a production‑ready Apache HTTP Server instance as a Monk runnable. You can:
  • Run it directly to get a managed Apache web server with sensible defaults
  • Inherit it in your own runnable to seamlessly add a web server to your stack
It exposes Apache on configurable HTTP/HTTPS ports, supports custom configuration files and virtual hosts, and can serve static content or act as a reverse proxy for your applications.

​
What this template manages

  • Apache HTTP Server container (httpd image, configurable tag)
  • Network service on configurable ports (default HTTP: 80, HTTPS: 443)
  • Custom Apache configuration files
  • Virtual host configurations
  • Volume mounts for static content and logs

​
Quick start (run directly)

  1. Load templates
monk load MANIFEST
  1. Run Apache with defaults
monk run apache/apache
  1. Customize configuration (recommended via inheritance)
Running directly uses the defaults defined in this template’s variables. For production use with custom configurations:
  • Preferred: inherit and customize variables as shown below.
  • Alternative: fork/clone and edit the variables in apache.yml, then monk load MANIFEST and run.
Once started, access the web server at http://localhost:8080 (or the configured port).

​
Configuration

Key variables you can customize in this template: 
variables:
  apache-image-tag: "latest"    # Apache container image tag
  http-port: "8080"             # HTTP port to expose
  https-port: "8443"            # HTTPS port to expose (if SSL enabled)
  server-name: "localhost"      # ServerName directive
  server-admin: "admin@localhost" # ServerAdmin email
Configuration files can be customized by mounting your own files from the /files directory:
  • httpd.conf - Main Apache configuration
  • vhost.conf - Virtual host configuration
Inherit the Apache runnable in your application to serve static content or proxy to backend services. Example: 
namespace: myapp
webserver:
  defines: runnable
  inherits: apache/apache
  variables:
    http-port: "80"
    server-name: "myapp.example.com"
backend:
  defines: runnable
  containers:
    api:
      image: myorg/api
      ports:
        - 3000:3000
  connections:
    webserver:
      runnable: webserver
      service: apache
For reverse proxy setup, customize the virtual host configuration: 
monk run myapp/webserver

​
Ports and connectivity

  • Service: apache on TCP ports 80 (HTTP) and 443 (HTTPS) by default
  • Configurable via http-port and https-port variables
  • From other runnables in the same process group, use connection-hostname("\<connection-name>") to resolve the web server host.

​
Persistence and configuration

  • Config files: Mount custom configurations from the files/ directory
  • Logs: Container logs accessible via monk logs command
  • Static content: Mount your web root directory as needed in inherited runnables
  • You can override any Apache configuration by providing custom .conf files

​
Features

  • Static file serving with high performance
  • Reverse proxy capabilities with mod_proxy
  • SSL/TLS support (mod_ssl)
  • URL rewriting (mod_rewrite)
  • Load balancing across multiple backends
  • Virtual hosts for multi-site hosting
  • Security modules (mod_security compatible)
  • Combine with application backends (Node.js, Python, PHP, Go)
  • Use certbot/ or traefik/ for automated SSL/TLS certificates
  • Integrate with prometheus-grafana/ for monitoring and metrics
  • Pair with redis/ or memcached/ for caching

​
Troubleshooting

  • If configuration changes don’t take effect, ensure the container has restarted after updating config files.
  • For SSL/TLS issues, verify certificate paths and permissions.
  • Check logs for detailed error messages:
monk logs -l 500 -f apache/apache
  • To test configuration syntax before running:
monk shell apache/apache
apachectl configtest