MacOS Apache setup
The latest macOS 10.12 Sierra comes with Apache 2.4 pre-installed, however, it is no longer a simple task to use this version with Homebrew because Apple has removed some required scripts in this release. However, the solution is to install Apache 2.4 via Homebrew and then configure it to run on the standard ports (80/443).
If you already have the built-in Apache running, it will need to be shutdown first, and any auto-loading scripts removed. It really doesn't hurt to just run all these commands in order - even if it's a fresh installation:
$ sudo apachectl stop
$ sudo launchctl unload -w /System/Library/LaunchDaemons/org.apache.httpd.plist 2>/dev/null
$ brew install httpd24 --with-privileged-ports --with-http2
This step takes a little while as it builds Apache from source. Upon completion you should see a message like:
/usr/local/Cellar/httpd24/2.4.23_2: 212 files, 4.4M, built in 1 minute 45 seconds
This is important because you will need that path in the next step.
In this example the path was /usr/local/Cellar/httpd24/2.4.23_2.
If you get a newer version, simply use that path in the next line:
$ sudo cp -v /usr/local/Cellar/httpd24/2.4.23_2/homebrew.mxcl.httpd24.plist /Library/LaunchDaemons
$ sudo chown -v root:wheel /Library/LaunchDaemons/homebrew.mxcl.httpd24.plist
$ sudo chmod -v 644 /Library/LaunchDaemons/homebrew.mxcl.httpd24.plist
$ sudo launchctl load /Library/LaunchDaemons/homebrew.mxcl.httpd24.plist
You now have installed Homebrew's Apache, and configured it to auto-start with a privileged account.
It should already be running, so you can try to reach your server in a browser by pointing it at your localhost,
you should see a simple header that says "It works!".