The Absolute Least You Need to do to use Virtual Hosts on OS X Leopard

I recently created a script to add a new vhost:

#!/bin/sh

DIR=/Users/your-username/Sites/$1
if [ ! -d $DIR ]
    then
    sudo -u your-username mkdir $DIR
    sudo -u your-username touch $DIR/index.php
    echo "<h1>$1</h1>" >> $DIR/index.php
fi

VHOST=/etc/apache2/extra/httpd-vhosts.conf
echo "\n<VirtualHost *:80>" >> $VHOST
echo "\tDocumentRoot \"$DIR\"" >> $VHOST
echo "\tServerName $1.dev" >> $VHOST
echo "</VirtualHost>\n" >> $VHOST

echo "127.0.0.1\t$1.site" >> /etc/hosts

apachectl restart

mate $DIR

So now, when inspiration for a new site strikes, I just type:

sudo vhost my-new-idea

It updates the hosts and vhosts files (it assumes there is at least one line break at the end of both files), restarts apache, and launches TextMate.

That is awesome. It would be cool if it could get your username without having to specifically enter it. You can at least save having to write it 3 times like this:

#!/bin/sh

ME=your-username
DIR=/Users/$ME/Sites/$1
if [ ! -d $DIR ]
    then
    sudo -u $ME mkdir $DIR
    sudo -u $ME touch $DIR/index.php
    echo "<h1>$1</h1>" >> $DIR/index.php
fi

VHOST=/etc/apache2/extra/httpd-vhosts.conf
echo "\n<VirtualHost *:80>" >> $VHOST
echo "\tDocumentRoot \"$DIR\"" >> $VHOST
echo "\tServerName $1.dev" >> $VHOST
echo "</VirtualHost>\n" >> $VHOST

echo "127.0.0.1\t$1.dev" >> /etc/hosts

apachectl graceful

mate $DIR

Greetings,

If you’re on Leopard, you don’t need to edit /etc/hosts. There’s a command line to interface with Mac OSX’s Directory Service.

sudo dscl localhost -create /Local/Default/Hosts/{hostname} IPAddress 127.0.0.1

Want to remove it?

sudo dscl localhost -delete /Local/Default/Hosts/{hostname}

– Morgan

@Morgan

That’s interesting, but I don’t think that saves any time over adding a line in /etc/hosts with 127.0.0.1 whatever.dev. I suppose that might simplify Jason’s script, though.

Thank you! This is very useful. I added another line after opening TextMate, which opens the page in your browser:

open http://$1.dev/

And now a new version that just downloads from my site-template project and uses the $SUDO_USER environment variable to keep you from having to hard code your username in the file:

#!/bin/sh
# Original script by Jason Tan: http://solutions.treypiepmeier.com/2009/03/03/virtual-hosts-on-osx-leopard/#comment-41787

DIR=/Users/$SUDO_USER/Sites/$1

if [[ ! -d $DIR && `id -u` -eq 0 ]]; then
    echo ""
    echo "Downloading site-template repository ..."
    sudo -u $SUDO_USER git clone --quiet git://github.com/trey/site-template.git $DIR
    cd $DIR
    echo "Deleting unneeded parts ..."
    rm -rf .git/
    rm .gitignore
    mv html5.html index.html
    rm html4.html
    rm html4_lean.html
    rm xhtml.html
    rm xhtml_full.html
    rm README.markdown
    rm MIT-License.txt

    VHOST=/etc/apache2/users/$SUDO_USER.conf
    echo "<VirtualHost *:80>" >> $VHOST
    echo "\tDocumentRoot \"$DIR\"" >> $VHOST
    echo "\tServerName $1.dev" >> $VHOST
    echo "</VirtualHost>\n" >> $VHOST
    echo "VirtualHost created in $VHOST ..."
    echo "127.0.0.1\t$1.dev" >> /etc/hosts
    echo "/etc/host updated ..."

    apachectl restart
    mate $DIR
    open http://$1.dev

    echo ""
    echo "Done!"
else
    echo "usage: sudo treyvhost directory"
fi