[tlug] Permissions on local Apache web testing environment

["Stephen J. Turnbull" <stephen@example.com>]

Dave M G writes:

 > What should the permissions on my files and folders be for the local
 > Apache server to use them?

Check that all directories have the x bits set for user and group;
they usually also need the r bits set.  Files should have r bits set
for user and group.  In both cases it's excessively paranoid to clear
the bits for other users, IMO, but some people do.

Use ls -lA to check: any .ht* files also need to be readable.

 > Do I need to set ownership or something?

Possibly you do.  Ownership is determined by the numerical ID of the
user or group, not the name.  While a fair amount of standardization
of IDs for system users and groups has been done by the distros, you
should check and make sure that the ownership (user and group) is
correct.  Apache-served files typically have group or owner www-data,
but that varies by distro to some extent IIRC.