XAMPP Service

Use LocalDomain with XAMPP Apache and VirtualHosts, without manually juggling hosts entries and SSL for local domains.

This page covers both:

• User-level setup (what to click)
• Under the hood (what LocalDomain changes and why)

What XAMPP integration does

When you create a domain in XAMPP mode, LocalDomain:

1. Resolves your domain locally (myapp.local -> 127.0.0.1)
2. Serves domain traffic through LocalDomain's reverse proxy (Caddy)
3. Forwards requests to XAMPP Apache on the port Apache is configured to use
4. Keeps Apache VirtualHost config in sync for your XAMPP domains

This lets you keep clean domain URLs while Apache can run on any free port.

Quick setup (in the app)

1. Open the XAMPP page from the sidebar
2. In Configuration, set XAMPP Path (or click Auto-Detect)
3. In Apache, click Start
4. Optional: in VHost Scanner, click Scan VHosts and import existing entries
5. Go to Domains -> + Add Domain -> choose XAMPP
6. Enter domain name + document root, then save

Critical: port 80 conflict (most common issue)

If XAMPP Apache is on default port 80 and LocalDomain is also using 80, they conflict.

• LocalDomain HTTP listener default: 80
• XAMPP Apache default: Listen 80

Only one process can bind to port 80, so XAMPP Apache or LocalDomain Caddy will fail to start.

Recommended fix:

• Change Apache Listen to another free port (for example 8080, 8081, 3000, etc.)
• Restart Apache
• LocalDomain detects that Apache port and proxies to it automatically

You can choose any free port for Apache. Using a non-80 Apache port is the normal setup with LocalDomain.

How traffic flows

Example with Apache changed to 8080:

https://shop.local -> LocalDomain Caddy (:443) -> 127.0.0.1:8080 (XAMPP Apache) -> your document root

Important detail:

• HTTPS terminates at Caddy
• Apache receives HTTP on its configured port

This means you get trusted HTTPS in browser while Apache itself does not need to own port 443.

VHost Scanner and Import

The scanner reads your XAMPP httpd-vhosts.conf and finds importable VirtualHost blocks.

During scan/import, LocalDomain:

• Ignores the LocalDomain-managed block
• Skips localhost
• Marks entries that already exist in LocalDomain as Already exists
• Imports selected entries as XAMPP domains (domain_type = xampp)

Imported domains are created with:

• protocol = http initially
• document_root from the VirtualHost
• target port derived from current Apache config

You can edit protocol/domain settings later from the normal domain editor.

What LocalDomain changes in Apache config

LocalDomain manages only a fenced block in httpd-vhosts.conf:

# BEGIN LOCALDOMAIN MANAGED VHOSTS
...
# END LOCALDOMAIN MANAGED VHOSTS

Behavior:

• Keeps your own VirtualHost entries outside this block untouched
• Rewrites only the managed block from current app state
• Adds/keeps a localhost vhost in the managed block so localhost continues to work
• Creates backup file before writing: httpd-vhosts.conf.localdomain.bak

It also ensures httpd.conf has the vhost include enabled (Include ... httpd-vhosts.conf).

Safety behavior (rollback)

When syncing XAMPP config, the daemon performs this order:

1. Write new managed vhost block
2. Run Apache config test (httpd -t)
3. Restart Apache

If config test or restart fails, LocalDomain rolls back from the backup file.

Domain toggles and persistence

For XAMPP domains:

• Turning a domain off stops routing in Caddy
• Local hosts and Apache vhost entries are preserved while toggled off
• Deleting the domain removes it from managed config on next sync

This is why re-enabling a domain is quick and does not require rebuilding everything manually.

Platform paths

Troubleshooting checklist

If something is not working:

1. Confirm XAMPP path is correct in XAMPP -> Configuration
2. Confirm Apache is running in XAMPP -> Apache
3. Check for port conflict (80) and move Apache to any free port if needed
4. Re-scan VHosts after changing Apache/XAMPP config
5. Ensure domain is enabled in LocalDomain
6. Ensure LocalDomain daemon + Caddy are running

More fixes: Troubleshooting