How to Enable mod_headers in Apache

Last updated on August 10th, 2020 at 03:05 am

mod_headers module allows you to set headers in Apache web server for your websites. It is useful for adding, modifying and removing request/response headers for your websites. Here’s how to enable mod_headers in Apache.

 

What is mod_headers

mod_headers is an Apache module that allows you to set headers for your Apache web server. It is useful for managing cache headers, cross-origin resource sharing (CORS) and even cookie management. By default, mod_headers is installed but disabled in many Apache versions. So you need to manually enable mod_headers. Otherwise, Apache will return ‘500: Internal Server Error’ when you try to change headers.

Bonus Read : How to Secure Apache with Let’s Encrypt

 

How to Enable mod_headers in Apache in Ubuntu/Debian

mod_headers is already enabled in CentOS/Redhat Linux systems. Here are the steps to enable mod_headers in Apache in Ubuntu/Debian. It is very easy to install any apache module in Ubuntu/Debian, thanks to a2enmod command. Here’s the syntax of a2enmod

$ sudo a2enmod <module_name>

Bonus Read : How to Set Cross Origin Resource Sharing Headers in Apache

 

1. Enable mod_headers in Ubuntu/Debian

Just open terminal and run the following command to enable mod_headers in Ubuntu/Debian linux.

$ sudo a2enmod mod_headers

 

2. Restart Apache Server

Restart Apache web server to Apply changes.

$ sudo service apache2 restart

Bonus Read : How to Install Apache mod_security

 

How to Check if mod_headers is enabled

You can check if mod_headers is enabled using apachectl -M command, which lists all the enabled modules for your Apache server. We use grep command on its output to look for headers module

$ apachectl -M | grep headers
headers_module (shared)

 

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