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LiteHTTPD

Virtual Hosts

Each virtual host in OpenLiteSpeed has its own configuration file located under /usr/local/lsws/conf/vhosts/<vhost-name>/vhconf.conf.

Virtual Host Configuration Structure

Section titled “Virtual Host Configuration Structure”
vhconf.conf
  docRoot
  index
  errorlog
  accesslog
  scriptHandler { }
  context(s) { }
  rewrite { }
  accessControl { }
  general { }

Creating a Virtual Host

Section titled “Creating a Virtual Host”

Via WebAdmin

Section titled “Via WebAdmin”
  1. Navigate to Virtual Hosts in the left menu.
  2. Click Add to create a new virtual host.
  3. Fill in the name, document root, and config file path.
  4. Save and restart.

Via Config Files

Section titled “Via Config Files”

Create the directory and config file:

Terminal window
mkdir -p /usr/local/lsws/conf/vhosts/example.com

Create /usr/local/lsws/conf/vhosts/example.com/vhconf.conf:

docRoot                   /var/www/example.com/public/


index {
    useServer               0
    indexFiles               index.php, index.html
}


errorlog /usr/local/lsws/logs/example.com-error.log {
    useServer               0
    logLevel                WARN
    rollingSize             10M
}


accesslog /usr/local/lsws/logs/example.com-access.log {
    useServer               0
    logFormat               "%h %l %u %t \"%r\" %>s %b"
    rollingSize             10M
}

Then reference it in httpd_config.conf:

virtualhost example.com {
    vhRoot                  /usr/local/lsws/conf/vhosts/example.com/
    configFile              $VH_ROOT/vhconf.conf
    allowSymbolLink         1
    enableScript            1
    restrained              1
}


listener Default {
    address                 *:80
    secure                  0
    map                     example.com example.com
}

Document Root

Section titled “Document Root”
docRoot                   /var/www/example.com/public/

The docRoot can use the $VH_ROOT variable:

docRoot                   $VH_ROOT/public/

Script Handlers

Section titled “Script Handlers”

Script handlers define how OLS processes dynamic content:

scriptHandler {
    add                     lsapi:lsphp83 php
}

This routes all .php files through the lsphp83 LSAPI handler.

Contexts

Section titled “Contexts”

Contexts define per-directory or per-URI behavior:

context / {
    location                $DOC_ROOT/
    allowBrowse             1
    indexFiles               index.php, index.html
}


context /protected/ {
    location                $DOC_ROOT/protected/
    allowBrowse             1
    realm                   SiteRealm
    authName                "Protected Area"
    required                valid-user
}


context /static/ {
    location                $DOC_ROOT/static/
    allowBrowse             1
    enableExpires           1
    expiresByType           image/*=A604800, text/css=A604800, application/javascript=A604800
}

.htaccess Support with LiteHTTPD

Section titled “.htaccess Support with LiteHTTPD”

OpenLiteSpeed has limited built-in .htaccess support. For full Apache-compatible .htaccess processing, use the LiteHTTPD module (ols_htaccess.so).

Enable .htaccess Processing

Section titled “Enable .htaccess Processing”

In the virtual host config:

general {
    allowOverride           All
    autoLoadHtaccess        1
    configFile              $VH_ROOT/vhconf.conf
}
  • allowOverride — Controls which .htaccess directive categories are permitted. Values: All, None, or a combination of AuthConfig, FileInfo, Indexes, Limit, Options.
  • autoLoadHtaccess — When set to 1, OLS automatically loads and processes .htaccess files from the document root hierarchy.

With the LiteHTTPD module loaded, these settings enable full .htaccess support including rewrite rules, access control, MIME types, and more. See the directive reference for the complete list of supported directives.

Rewrite Rules

Section titled “Rewrite Rules”

OLS supports rewrite rules in the virtual host config:

rewrite {
    enable                  1
    rules                   <<<END_rules
RewriteEngine On
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-f
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-d
RewriteRule ^(.*)$ /index.php?$1 [L,QSA]
    END_rules
}

When using the LiteHTTPD module, rewrite rules can also be placed in .htaccess files.

Access Control

Section titled “Access Control”

Per-vhost IP access control:

accessControl {
    allow                   ALL
    deny                    192.168.1.100
}

Next Steps

Section titled “Next Steps”