How to completely reset an Apache instance in Ubuntu

Posted on February 22, 2009 by Samuel Huckins

While experimenting with mod_python, I ended up completely hosing my local Apache install. I had the configuration files in a bad state, so I thought the easiest approach would be to drop all of /etc/apache2, remove the Apache packages then re-install them. But once that happened, /etc/apache2 wasn’t remade as I had hoped! When I tried to start or stop Apache, it spat back:

1	.: 44: Can't open /etc/apache2/envvars

Oh right, thanks… The problem, I believe, was that I hadn’t really removed all the right packages and hadn’t used “–purge”. So here’s what I did to erase Apache’s memory of my mistakes:

Find and drop all Apache packages

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APACHE_PKGS=`sudo dpkg --get-selections | grep apache | cut -f 1`
# Make sure things are sane:
echo $APACHE_PKGS
# Example output: apache2 apache2-mpm-prefork apache2-utils apache2.2-common \
# libapache2-mod-php5 libapache2-mod-python libapache2-svn
# Likely if you have a Python application:
# libapache2-mod-python libapache2-mod-python-doc libapache2-mod-wsgi
# Or if you roll with the PHP:
# libapache2-mod-php5
sudo apt-get remove --purge $APACHE_PKGS

Re-install Apache

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# You might want to consider not re-installing the whole list;
# instead dump it out, audit, and install what you need:
sudo apt-get install $APACHE_PKGS

After this, all the configuration files were back, and I had a default Apache install.

Note: this was performed on an Ubuntu 9.04 system running 2.6.24-23-xen kernel. YMMV.

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81 Responses to How to completely reset an Apache instance in Ubuntu

Robert Murphy says:

May 11, 2011 at 4:37 pm

Paint another laptop on the front of your fighter plane: you saved my bacon!
prabhakar says:

June 2, 2011 at 1:36 am

i have get this msg while running above commands “FusionForge Could Not Connect to Database: ”

help pls …
prabhakar says:

June 2, 2011 at 1:43 am

My Ubuntu version is 10.04
Samuel Huckins says:

June 2, 2011 at 5:20 am

@prabhakar This sounds like more an issue to ask folks at FusionForge, I have not used that application. What command did you run just before the error was thrown?
jori says:

June 26, 2011 at 6:47 am

@prabhakar
it worked for me under 11.04 (natty), so most prob it will under 10.04 as well. So thanx to Sammy for his post -> it helped.

The only thing I wonder, is why the installation routine for apache2 doesn’t purge and reinstall the configuration files (I thought the purge was exactly meant for that). For me t h a t doesn’t make less sense . . . but that’ll be strange developers’ ideas that we users are not supposed to bring into question . As a ‘normal’ user I would expect to be the main package (being purged and installed completely) and then for pros additionally the possibility to manage single packs like separately and not the other way round . . .
vasya says:

July 7, 2011 at 11:24 am

your instruction and reboot helps, thx!
che3ver says:

July 8, 2011 at 2:32 pm

Thank you! This worked great in 10.04.
Kelly says:

July 15, 2011 at 9:15 pm

This worked great! Thanks
Excellent Googled about for hours and hours till I found your site. says:

July 17, 2011 at 1:44 pm

I tried so much I didn’t know what to try next but with your help I sorted the problem in minutes thanks for all Sean
Nikhil says:

August 4, 2011 at 12:14 pm

Lifesaver!
Worked like a charm on 10.04. Seriously, your link needs to be on top for “deleted /etc/apache2″
Thanks!
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j says:

August 25, 2011 at 6:33 am

does this works on ubuntu 10.10 server?
anthony says:

December 24, 2011 at 8:04 am

I love you!! … saved me a shedload of hassle .. thanks…
Ankit says:

December 26, 2011 at 4:23 am

Thanks a lot buddy! You saved my day
Squeage says:

January 4, 2012 at 6:54 pm

You are awesome! I looked everywhere for the fix and you were the only one with it. Thanks!
Filete says:

January 22, 2012 at 11:54 am

Someone build a statue for this guy. You’ve saved my ass
sudhir says:

March 16, 2012 at 4:54 pm

you made me breath easy!!!! thanks!!!!
Zaur says:

March 30, 2012 at 9:36 am

Super! Works!
sam says:

April 30, 2012 at 6:04 pm

Mate!!! Thanks so much!!! It worked like a dream! Thanks again
Claus Conrad says:

May 8, 2012 at 5:23 am

Thank you – this was just what I needed, you saved me a lot of time.
Alexander Trauzzi says:

June 2, 2012 at 10:04 pm

Thanks so much for the little script! Was definitely helpful.
Dave says:

June 9, 2012 at 6:32 am

Well done!

Still works on 12.04 and works a treat. Now to get my PHP working again
William says:

June 15, 2012 at 9:24 am

GOOD TO KNOW. I will probably be using this trick a few times in the near future!

Thank you kindly, W
chris says:

June 15, 2012 at 10:06 am

awesome
i had a lot of trouble resetting that apache
David says:

June 19, 2012 at 2:52 pm

WOO!! perfect! thanks!
Ian Pride says:

June 20, 2012 at 12:59 pm

Awesome thanx, worked perfect after playing around too much lol.
JoJo says:

June 25, 2012 at 1:44 am

that’s a great idea and i would have never thought of that, thank you! however the code i had to write for ubuntu (pinguy) 12.04 with kernel 3.2.0-25 for that first command was :

APACHE_PKGS=$(sudo dpkg --get-selections | grep apache | cut -f 1)
as setting a value of the output of a command to a variable is:VARIABLE=$(command)
this worked like a charm, thank you very much!
Matt says:

July 31, 2012 at 2:20 pm

Thank you, worked very fine on Debian Squeeze!
Manish Pathak says:

September 9, 2012 at 4:37 pm

Thanks a lot Samuals.
Russell England says:

September 24, 2012 at 5:01 pm

Brilliant! Worked for me on Ubuntu 12.04
Andrey says:

January 27, 2013 at 10:57 am

Thank you.