XAMPP: Windows

I needed a simple way to test some demo pages, so I installed XAMPP:

XAMPP is an easy to install Apache distribution containing MySQL, PHP and Perl. XAMPP is really very easy to install and to use - just download, extract and start.

The following assumes that XAMPP is installed in the following directory: C:\Program Files\

_Also \ is replaced with / for Markdown purposes

---

Once you've installed XAMPP, navigate to and open:

C:/Program Files/xampp/apache/conf

... and un-comment the vhosts line (if it isn't already un-commented), so that it looks like this:

# Virtual hosts
Include "conf/extra/httpd-vhosts.conf"

Next, navigate to and open:

C:/Program Files/xampp/apache/conf/extra/httpd-vhosts.conf 

Now, comment-out (if it isn't already commented-out) the existing virtual host containers and add:

# this keeps http://localhost working
<VirtualHost *:80>
    DocumentRoot "C:/Program Files/xampp/htdocs"
    ServerName localhost
</VirtualHost>

<VirtualHost git.local:80>
    DocumentRoot "C:/Users/johndoe/github-projects"
    ServerName git.local
    ErrorLog "logs/git.local-error.log"
    CustomLog "logs/git.local-access.log" combined
    <Directory "C:/Users/johndoe/github-projects">
        AllowOverride All
        Order Allow,Deny
        Allow from all
        Require all granted
    </Directory>
</VirtualHost>

This setup assumes that you ("johndoe" in this example) have a github folder located here:

C:/Users/johndoe/github-projects

Note: This folder location should be tested to avoid permission issues that might not allow the server to access your files. i.e. put the github folder at the root-closest level that is comfortable.

Here's the complete file:

#
# Virtual Hosts
#
# If you want to maintain multiple domains/hostnames on your
# machine you can setup VirtualHost containers for them. Most configurations
# use only name-based virtual hosts so the server doesn't need to worry about
# IP addresses. This is indicated by the asterisks in the directives below.
#
# Please see the documentation at 
# <URL:http://httpd.apache.org/docs/2.2/vhosts/>
# for further details before you try to setup virtual hosts.
#
# You may use the command line option '-S' to verify your virtual host
# configuration.

#
# Use name-based virtual hosting.
#
##NameVirtualHost *:80

#
# VirtualHost example:
# Almost any Apache directive may go into a VirtualHost container.
# The first VirtualHost section is used for all requests that do not
# match a ServerName or ServerAlias in any <VirtualHost> block.
#
##<VirtualHost *:80>
    ##ServerAdmin [email protected]
    ##DocumentRoot "C:/Program Files/xampp/htdocs/dummy-host.localhost"
    ##ServerName dummy-host.localhost
    ##ServerAlias www.dummy-host.localhost
    ##ErrorLog "logs/dummy-host.localhost-error.log"
    ##CustomLog "logs/dummy-host.localhost-access.log" combined
##</VirtualHost>

##<VirtualHost *:80>
    ##ServerAdmin [email protected]
    ##DocumentRoot "C:/Program Files/xampp/htdocs/dummy-host2.localhost"
    ##ServerName dummy-host2.localhost
    ##ServerAlias www.dummy-host2.localhost
    ##ErrorLog "logs/dummy-host2.localhost-error.log"
    ##CustomLog "logs/dummy-host2.localhost-access.log" combined
##</VirtualHost>

# this keeps http://localhost working
<VirtualHost *:80>
    DocumentRoot "C:/Program Files/xampp/htdocs"
    ServerName localhost
</VirtualHost>

<VirtualHost git.local:80>
    DocumentRoot "C:/Users/johndoe/github-projects"
    ServerName git.local
    ErrorLog "logs/git.local-error.log"
    CustomLog "logs/git.local-access.log" combined
    <Directory "C:/Users/johndoe/github-projects">
        AllowOverride All
        Order Allow,Deny
        Allow from all
        Require all granted
    </Directory>
</VirtualHost>

Lastly, we need to spoof a URL. Do this by adding a few lines to your hosts file:

/Windows/System32/drivers/etc/hosts

Open the above file and add:

127.0.0.1	git.local

Note: This assumes that you want your main projects "URL" to be git.local, but you can use whatever string is comfortable here just so long as it's not localhost

Now, start-up (or restart) Apache via XAMPP control panel, open a browser and visit:

http://git.local

That's all folks! <-- Unless you want to create an index.html directory of all your projects, which is recommended for ease of navigation