How to Check Exact Apache Version Number on Windows Server


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The most reliable method is using Apache's command line interface. Open Command Prompt as administrator and navigate to Apache's bin directory:

cd C:\Program Files\Apache Software Foundation\Apache2.2\bin
httpd -v

Sample output would display:

Server version: Apache/2.2.34 (Win32)
Server built:   Jul  1 2021 12:58:07

For Windows Services installation:

  1. Press Win+R, type "services.msc"
  2. Locate "Apache" service
  3. Right-click → Properties → General tab
  4. The executable path often contains version details

Create a PowerShell script for automated checking:

$apachePath = "C:\Program Files\Apache Software Foundation\Apache*\bin\httpd.exe"
if (Test-Path $apachePath) {
    $version = & $apachePath -v | Select-String "Apache/"
    Write-Host "Apache version detected: $version"
} else {
    Write-Host "Apache installation not found"
}
  • Version numbers may differ between Apache httpd and modules
  • Always check both major and minor version numbers (e.g., 2.2.34 vs 2.2.15)
  • For security updates, verify the build date matches recent patches

For web-accessible instances:

curl -I http://localhost/server-status | find "Server:"

Or check error.log files which typically include version information during startup.

The most reliable way to check your Apache version on Windows is through the command line. Open Command Prompt as administrator and navigate to your Apache bin directory:

cd C:\path\to\apache\bin
httpd -v

This will return output similar to:

Server version: Apache/2.4.51 (Win64)
Server built:   Oct 12 2021 12:00:00

Using PowerShell

For modern Windows systems, PowerShell provides more flexibility:

(& 'C:\Apache24\bin\httpd.exe' -v) | Select-String "version"

Checking httpd.conf

Your Apache configuration file contains version information in comments:

# ServerRoot: The top of the directory tree under which the server's
# configuration, error, and log files are kept.
# 
# Apache/2.4.51 (Win64) configured

For developers needing to check versions programmatically, here's a Python script:

import subprocess
import re

def get_apache_version(apache_path):
    result = subprocess.run([apache_path, '-v'], 
                          capture_output=True, 
                          text=True)
    version_match = re.search(r'Apache/(\d+\.\d+\.\d+)', result.stderr)
    if version_match:
        return version_match.group(1)
    return None

print(get_apache_version('C:/Apache24/bin/httpd.exe'))

Typical Apache installation paths on Windows:

  • C:\Program Files\Apache Software Foundation\Apache2.4\
  • C:\xampp\apache\
  • C:\wamp\bin\apache\

If you encounter "httpd not recognized" errors:

  1. Verify Apache is properly installed
  2. Check your system PATH includes the Apache bin directory
  3. Try the full path to httpd.exe