Apache Mod Php

Migrating from Apache + mod_php

You’re running Apache with mod_php — the classic PHP stack. .htaccess files, AllowOverride All, maybe some mod_rewrite rules. It works, but it’s slow, uses a lot of memory, and every config change means restarting Apache.

ePHPm replaces Apache and mod_php with a single binary. Your PHP files don’t change. Your .htaccess rewrite rules translate to a few lines of TOML config.

What You’re Replacing

Component	Apache + mod_php	ePHPm
HTTP server	Apache (`httpd`)	Built-in (hyper)
PHP runtime	mod_php (loaded into Apache)	Embedded via FFI
URL rewriting	`.htaccess` + `mod_rewrite`	`fallback` config
SSL/TLS	mod_ssl + certbot	Built-in ACME
Static files	Apache serves directly	Built-in with compression
Process model	prefork (one process per request)	Async I/O + ZTS thread pool
Memory per connection	~30-50 MB (full Apache + PHP process)	~50 MB shared across all

Step-by-Step Migration

1. Install ePHPm

# Download the latest release binary
curl -fSL https://github.com/ephpm/ephpm/releases/latest/download/ephpm-linux-x86_64 -o ephpm
chmod +x ephpm

Or build from source:

cargo xtask release

2. Create the Config File

Your Apache config probably looks something like this:

<VirtualHost *:80>
    ServerName example.com
    DocumentRoot /var/www/html

    <Directory /var/www/html>
        AllowOverride All
        Require all granted
    </Directory>

    # SSL via certbot
    SSLEngine on
    SSLCertificateFile /etc/letsencrypt/live/example.com/fullchain.pem
    SSLCertificateKeyFile /etc/letsencrypt/live/example.com/privkey.pem
</VirtualHost>

The ePHPm equivalent:

# ephpm.toml
[server]
listen = "0.0.0.0:8080"
document_root = "/var/www/html"

That’s it. ePHPm handles static files, PHP execution, and compression by default. No AllowOverride, no Directory blocks, no Require directives.

3. Translate .htaccess Rules

The most common .htaccess pattern — WordPress/Laravel pretty permalinks:

# .htaccess
RewriteEngine On
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-f
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-d
RewriteRule ^(.*)$ index.php [QSA,L]

ePHPm equivalent (this is the default):

[server]
fallback = ["$uri", "$uri/", "/index.php?$query_string"]

This means: try the exact file, try as a directory (with index files), fall back to index.php. Same behavior as the .htaccess rewrite.

Common .htaccess patterns and their ePHPm equivalents:

.htaccess	ephpm.toml
`RewriteRule ^(.*)$ index.php`	`fallback = ["$uri", "/index.php?$query_string"]`
`DirectoryIndex index.php index.html`	`index_files = ["index.php", "index.html"]`
`Options -Indexes`	Default (directory listing is never enabled)
`deny from all` on `.env`	Default (dotfiles blocked automatically)
`Header set X-Frame-Options DENY`	`[server.response] headers = [["X-Frame-Options", "DENY"]]`
`php_value upload_max_filesize 10M`	`[server.request] max_body_size = 10485760`
`php_value max_execution_time 60`	`[php] max_execution_time = 60`

4. Translate PHP Settings

Apache lets you set PHP directives in .htaccess or httpd.conf:

php_value memory_limit 256M
php_value max_execution_time 60
php_value upload_max_filesize 20M
php_value display_errors Off

ePHPm:

[php]
memory_limit = "256M"
max_execution_time = 60
ini_overrides = [
    ["display_errors", "Off"],
]

[server.request]
max_body_size = 20971520   # 20 MB in bytes

5. TLS / HTTPS

If you’re using certbot:

Remove certbot entirely. ePHPm handles Let’s Encrypt automatically:

[server.tls]
acme_domains = ["example.com", "www.example.com"]
acme_email = "you@example.com"

If you have existing cert files:

[server.tls]
cert = "/etc/letsencrypt/live/example.com/fullchain.pem"
key = "/etc/letsencrypt/live/example.com/privkey.pem"

6. Security Settings

Apache’s common security patterns:

# Block access to sensitive files
<FilesMatch "^\.">
    Require all denied
</FilesMatch>

# Block vendor directory
<Directory /var/www/html/vendor>
    Require all denied
</Directory>

ePHPm (most of this is default):

[server.security]
# Dotfiles are blocked by default (hidden_files = "deny")
blocked_paths = ["vendor/*", "wp-config.php"]

7. Switch Over

# Stop Apache
sudo systemctl stop apache2

# Smoke-test ePHPm in the foreground first
sudo ephpm serve --config /etc/ephpm/ephpm.toml &
curl http://localhost:8080
kill %1

# Install ePHPm as a system service (registers + starts it)
sudo ephpm install

# Disable Apache from boot
sudo systemctl disable apache2

What You Gain

	Apache + mod_php	ePHPm
Memory (idle)	~150-300 MB	~30 MB
Memory (under load)	~30-50 MB per connection	~50 MB shared
Config files	`httpd.conf` + `.htaccess` per directory	One `ephpm.toml`
TLS setup	Install certbot, configure cron, restart Apache	Two lines of config
Deployment	Install Apache + mod_php + restart	Copy one binary
Static file performance	Moderate (prefork overhead)	Fast (async I/O)
PHP version upgrade	`apt install`, restart Apache	Download new binary

What You Lose

.htaccess per-directory overrides — ePHPm uses one config file. If you rely on .htaccess in subdirectories for different rules, consolidate them into ephpm.toml.
Apache modules — mod_security, mod_pagespeed, etc. are not available. Most can be replaced by application-level solutions or ePHPm features.
CGI scripts — ePHPm only runs PHP. If you have Perl/Python CGI scripts, they need a separate solution.

WordPress-Specific Notes

WordPress works out of the box. The default fallback config handles pretty permalinks. Key settings:

[server]
document_root = "/var/www/wordpress"
fallback = ["$uri", "$uri/", "/index.php?$query_string"]

[server.request]
max_body_size = 67108864   # 64 MB for media uploads

[php]
max_execution_time = 120   # longer for admin operations
memory_limit = "256M"

Remove the .htaccess file from your WordPress root — it’s not needed.

Docker Compose