vhostctl

Stop hand-editing httpd-vhosts.conf, nginx server blocks, and your hosts file every time you spin up a new local site. vhostctl sets up a virtual host — config block, hosts entry, everything — with one command, and cleans it all back up with one more.

Works with XAMPP, WAMP, standalone Apache, and Nginx, on Windows, macOS, and Linux.

$ vhostctl
 __      ___               _        _  
 \ \    / / |             | |      | |
  \ \  / /| |__   ___  ___| |_ ___ | |_ ___| |
   \ \/ / | '_ \ / _ \/ __| __/ __| __/ __| |
    \  /  | | | | (_) \__ \ |_ (__| |_| (__| |
     \/   |_| |_|\___/|___/\__\___/ \__\___|_|

  Cross-platform virtual host manager
  XAMPP · WAMP · Apache · Nginx — Windows, macOS, Linux

Requirements

• Node.js 18 or newer
• One of XAMPP, WAMP, Apache, or Nginx already installed on your machine

Install

Install it once, globally, and the vhostctl command is available everywhere on your machine:

npm install -g @superdevs/vhostctl

Check it worked:

vhostctl --version

Getting started

1. Find your web server. vhostctl scans your machine for XAMPP, WAMP, Apache, and Nginx installs:

vhostctl detect

2. Create a virtual host. This sets up the config block and adds an entry to your hosts file so the domain resolves locally:

vhostctl add myapp --domain myapp.local --root "C:/path/to/myapp"

Leave off the flags and vhostctl will ask you for them interactively.

3. Reload your web server so the change takes effect:

vhostctl reload

4. Visit your site — myapp.local now points at your project.

Everyday commands

| Command | What it does | |---|---| | vhostctl add <name> | Create a new virtual host | | vhostctl list | List every site vhostctl manages | | vhostctl view <name> | Show full details for one site (domain, folder, config file, hosts entries) | | vhostctl remove <name> | Delete a site completely — config, hosts entry, and all | | vhostctl enable <name> / vhostctl disable <name> | Turn a site on/off without deleting it | | vhostctl subdomain add <name> <sub> | Point a subdomain (e.g. api.myapp.local) at an existing site | | vhostctl subdomain remove <name> <sub> | Unlink a subdomain | | vhostctl subdomain list <name> | List subdomains linked to a site | | vhostctl detect | Scan your machine for installed web server stacks | | vhostctl reload | Reload/restart your web server to apply changes | | vhostctl examples | Print more real-world usage recipes |

Add --help after any command to see all of its options, e.g. vhostctl add --help.

Useful options for add

| Option | Description | |---|---| | -d, --domain <domain> | Domain to use (defaults to <name>.local) | | -r, --root <path> | Folder to serve as the document root | | -s, --stack <stack> | Force a specific stack: xampp-apache, wamp-apache, apache, or nginx | | -p, --port <port> | Port to listen on (default 80) | | --no-hosts | Skip editing your hosts file | | --dry-run | Preview exactly what would change, without writing anything |

Good to know

• It only touches what it creates. Every config block and hosts-file line vhostctl adds is tagged, so remove and subdomain remove never disturb anything you wrote by hand.
• It may ask for admin/sudo access. Editing the hosts file or certain config locations requires elevated permissions — vhostctl will prompt for a UAC confirmation (Windows) or sudo (macOS/Linux) automatically when needed.
• Preview before you commit. Add --dry-run to vhostctl add to see exactly what would be written first.
• Your data stays local. vhostctl keeps track of the sites it manages in a small local file on your machine — nothing is sent anywhere.

License

See LICENSE.