Each time I upgrade my Mac Studio server (and its backup) to the latest version, my websites won’t come up (HTTPD or “localhost not found” issues), and my cloud monitoring provider will send me the status DOWN alert.
NOTE: This post is intended for Apple ARM-based (the “M” series) Mac users who had been using their units to host their websites and had installed Apache, MySQL and PHP via Homebrew as well as utilized Let’s Encrypt for their SSL (https) needs.
When purchased new at an Apple Store near Stanford University in Palo Alto, both my ARM-based (Apple Silicon) Mac Studios came with bundled with MacOS Sequoia (15.x) and both had since been updated to MacOS Tahoe 26.1, 26.2, 26.3, 26.4 and the latest, 26.4.1. And I expect more to come,
As I had mentioned, it’s always frustrating to see the webserver go down after every update. Documenting how I had brought the system back up was inconsistent considering the numerous apps you had to deal with under Homebrew.
And on one occasion, I had to redo the entire process of reinstalling everything (Apache-MySQL-PHP (AMP) and WordPress) after transitioning from MacOS Sequoia to Tahoe.
But since each update from MacOS Tahoe 26.1 to 26.4.1, the “webserver recovery” procedure has been consistent.
All commands are done via Terminal and here it goes:
After the update and your Apple Silicon-based Mac had restarted, type the following commands (the commands are in bold letters while my comments after each command are in normal letters):
sudo apachectl graceful (This restarts the httpd process and detects if ever you have any httpd issues. If you have, it will say, “httpd not running”). And when you type localhost on your web browser, your website’s main page won’t come up.
brew services stop httpd (Since we’re using Homebrew, this command, stops the webserver. If successful, it will spit out the line: Successfully stopped ‘httpd’ (label: homebrew.mxcl.httpd).
brew services start httpd (Since we’re using Homebrew, this command, starts the webserver. If successful, it will spit out the line: Successfully started ‘httpd’ (label: homebrew.mxcl.httpd).
For the critical part, and this is what essentially brings back up your secure (SSL) webserver after every update:
sudo certbot certificates (This command checks out if your Let’s Encrypt SSL certificate is still valid. You will have the option to reinstall the existing certificate or renew and replace your Let’s Encrypt SSL certificate). And finally….
sudo certbot –apache (All the domains hosted in your webserver that you want to reinstall or renew and replace the SSL certificates should show up.
If the following messages will show up: “An expected error occurred” or “No such authorization”, restart your Mac and, type this additional command:
apachectl configtest (this validates the integrity of your Apache HTTP server configuration files without stopping or restarting the server. If everything is working, it should spit out: “Syntax OK”). Then, redo the first five (5) commands mentioned above.
The secure website(s) running inside your Apple Silicon-based Mac should be back in action!
ADDENDUM: The above process is not a “100% guaranteed fix” for all Apple Silicon-based Mac users with similar issues. There would be occasions that you will also have to re-install or update Homebrew and all related files inside it after you had configured it to run AMP.
It’s always a good idea to check your version of Homebrew (brew –version) and to see if you’re missing something and also by running, brew doctor” to see if “Your system is ready to brew.”
You can also stick to your previous setup and perfectly running webserver before the MacOS update by reverting using Time Machine or Carbon Copy Cloner. But eventually, you would want to have the latest MacOS.