Set Up Local Virtual Host in XAMPP on Windows

How to Set Up a Local Virtual Host with XAMPP on Windows

This guide explains step by step how to create a local Virtual Host in XAMPP on Windows so you can use custom domains like http://myproject.local for your development environment.

1. 1. Open Apache Virtual Hosts Config

   Go to your XAMPP installation folder and open:

   C:\xampp\apache\conf\extra\httpd-vhosts.conf

   Edit the file with Notepad++ or another editor as Administrator.

2. 2. Add a Virtual Host

   At the bottom of the file, insert:

   <VirtualHost *:80>
       ServerName myproject.local
       DocumentRoot "C:/xampp/htdocs/myproject"
       <Directory "C:/xampp/htdocs/myproject">
           Options Indexes FollowSymLinks Includes ExecCGI
           AllowOverride All
           Require all granted
       </Directory>
   </VirtualHost>
   

   Replace myproject.local with your custom domain and set the correct project folder path.

3. 3. Enable Virtual Hosts in Apache

   Open the main Apache config file:

   C:\xampp\apache\conf\httpd.conf

   Make sure this line is uncommented (remove the # if present):

   Include conf/extra/httpd-vhosts.conf

4. 4. Edit Windows Hosts File

   To map your custom domain to localhost, edit:

   C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\hosts

   Add this line at the bottom:

   127.0.0.1   myproject.local

   Save the file with Administrator rights.

5. 5. Restart Apache

   Open XAMPP Control Panel → Stop Apache → Start Apache again.

6. 6. Test Your Local Domain

   Open a browser and go to:

   http://myproject.local

   You should now see your project running from C:/xampp/htdocs/myproject.

🎉 Done! You have successfully configured a Virtual Host in XAMPP on Windows and can now develop using a clean local domain.