The Error Log

ErrorLog logs/error_log

The error log file keeps track of important events in the life of the server, including starts, restarts, warnings or errors related to the operation of the server, and forbidden or invalid requests. This is the first place to look when you are trying to solve a problem with the server.

On Unix systems, the error_log file is placed by default in the logs/ directory of your Apache installation. If you are using an installation of Apache that came with your distribution, this file may be in a different location, most commonly /var/log/httpd.

On Windows, the file is named error.log and placed under the logs directory as well.

Use the ErrorLog directive to specify the path to the error log file. Prefix the path to the program with a pipe to log errors to the standard input of another program. This common technique is described in detail in Chapter 3.

Note that the error file will not be created until the first time you start Apache!