# Hard time setting up ruby with apache

**URL:** <https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/hard-time-setting-up-ruby-with-apache/107193>\
**Category:** Ruby\
**Created:** [June 19, 2007, 1:15am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/hard-time-setting-up-ruby-with-apache/107193 "2007-06-19T01:15:18Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 6\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![galecho](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@galecho](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/galecho)\
**Post date:** [June 19, 2007, 1:15am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/hard-time-setting-up-ruby-with-apache/107193/1 "2007-06-19T01:15:18Z")

</div>

Hi,

I’ve browsed alot through this forum, did online search but havent been  
able to successfully setup Ruby with Apache. All I want to do is create  
a form handling script using Ruby. I tried renaming .rb scrips as .cgi  
and I even installed mod\_ruby(which some say is not needed), but nothing  
seems to work. After making the required changes in the httpd.conf file,  
when I click “submit” on my test forum I get the following:

Forbidden

You don’t have permission to access /forms/cgi-bin/survey.cgi on this  
server

Although, I made sure that the file had all the required permissions.

In another case, when httpd.conf is not pointing at the right places,  
the ruby code shows up in the browser.

Does anyone know whats going on ?

Any help would be greatly appreciated ?

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![galecho](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@galecho](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/galecho)\
**Post date:** [June 19, 2007, 1:35am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/hard-time-setting-up-ruby-with-apache/107193/2 "2007-06-19T01:35:08Z")

</div>

Gale Cho wrote:

> Hi,
> 
> I’ve browsed alot through this forum, did online search but havent been  
> able to successfully setup Ruby with Apache. All I want to do is create  
> a form handling script using Ruby. I tried renaming .rb scrips as .cgi  
> and I even installed mod\_ruby(which some say is not needed), but nothing  
> seems to work. After making the required changes in the httpd.conf file,  
> when I click “submit” on my test forum I get the following:

I believe you need to have read and execution permissions on all the  
directories, and you need to set up ScriptAlias inside your  
configuration file. The configuration file is a trick, as it seems to  
differ on every flavor of Apache install I’ve ever run into. I’ve never  
seen so much variation as with Apache. Sometimes its httpd.conf,  
sometimes apache2.conf, on my laptop using Ubuntu Feisty it has  
/etc/apache2/sites-enabled/000-default which points to  
/etc/apache2/sites-available/default.

My apologies if this is not what you’re asking. There should be  
examples on use of ScriptAlias for typical configuration that you can  
pull up quickly in Google.

xc

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![galecho](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@galecho](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/galecho)\
**Post date:** [June 19, 2007, 4:01am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/hard-time-setting-up-ruby-with-apache/107193/3 "2007-06-19T04:01:59Z")

</div>

> seen so much variation as with Apache. Sometimes its httpd.conf,  
> sometimes apache2.conf, on my laptop using Ubuntu Feisty it has  
> /etc/apache2/sites-enabled/000-default which points to  
> /etc/apache2/sites-available/default.

I’m pretty sure I’m playing with the right file, because I have noticed  
difference in behaviours upon making changes. But want I dont understand  
is that Apache’s FAQ specifically says that anything under ScriptAlias  
doesnt need any further configuration, it will “execute” if called. But  
I’m still getting the “You don’t have permission to access  
/forms/cgi-bin/survey.cgi on this  
server” error.  
Somebody please help me. I’ve spent just too much time trying to make it  
work.

Thanks,  
Gale

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![galecho](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@galecho](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/galecho)\
**Post date:** [June 19, 2007, 6:05am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/hard-time-setting-up-ruby-with-apache/107193/4 "2007-06-19T06:05:28Z")

</div>

What you really need is a book on Apache and a little more Googling.  
There is a lot of Apache stuff out there to read.  
One problem is that there are two main varieties of Apache, 1.3 and 2.x  
They’re similar but quite different too. The biggest difference you  
will notice is that all the files and directories are not the same  
between the two major versions.  
Some advice is for one and not for the other, some is for both.

The big problem you’re probably facing, and I’ve had my own troubles  
tracking this stuff down too, is that in the true Unix tradition,  
Apache has multiple places to configure the same things.  
Apache 1.3 for example, has httpd.conf, and there can be other .conf  
files that belong to admins. There is also .htaccess which is  
similar, but local to a directory. You also have to set the main web  
directory.

It is similar to the Bash shell and its PATH, the thing can be  
adjusted in multiple files, and all of those files are read by the  
program on startup.

You really do need to get a reference book on Apache! You will be  
glad you did, because [apache.org](http://apache.org) is not newbie friendly.

In the meantime, just google htaccess, httpd and apache stuff until  
you find it.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![galecho](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@galecho](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/galecho)\
**Post date:** [June 19, 2007, 4:37am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/hard-time-setting-up-ruby-with-apache/107193/5 "2007-06-19T04:37:24Z")

</div>

Gale CC wrote:

> > seen so much variation as with Apache. Sometimes its httpd.conf,  
> > sometimes apache2.conf, on my laptop using Ubuntu Feisty it has  
> > /etc/apache2/sites-enabled/000-default which points to  
> > /etc/apache2/sites-available/default.
> 
> I’m pretty sure I’m playing with the right file, because I have noticed  
> difference in behaviours upon making changes. But want I dont understand  
> is that Apache’s FAQ specifically says that anything under ScriptAlias  
> doesnt need any further configuration, it will “execute” if called.

Okay, please quote the exact line in the FAQ in your next post. That  
kind of thing can be mis-paraphrased easily when one is new to these  
things.  
But

> I’m still getting the "You don’t have permission to access  
> /forms/cgi-bin/survey.cgi

1. Did you make sure your directory tree has read and execution  
privileges at every level above? Here is mine:

2. The actual ScriptAlias, in my /etc/apache2/sites-available/default  
is in fact part of a large stanza, as follows:

NameVirtualHost \*  
\<VirtualHost \*\>  
ServerAdmin webmaster@localhost

```
DocumentRoot /var/www/
<Directory />
    Options FollowSymLinks
    AllowOverride None
</Directory>
<Directory /var/www/>
    Options Indexes FollowSymLinks MultiViews
    AllowOverride None
    Order allow,deny
    allow from all
    # This directive allows us to have apache2's default start page
            # in /apache2-default/, but still have / go to the right

```

place  
#RedirectMatch ^/$ /apache2-default/

```
ScriptAlias /cgi-bin/ /usr/lib/cgi-bin/
<Directory "/usr/lib/cgi-bin">
    AllowOverride None
    Options ExecCGI -MultiViews +SymLinksIfOwnerMatch
    Order allow,deny
    Allow from all
</Directory>

ErrorLog /var/log/apache2/error.log

# Possible values include: debug, info, notice, warn, error, crit,
# alert, emerg.
LogLevel warn

CustomLog /var/log/apache2/access.log combined
ServerSignature On

Alias /doc/ "/usr/share/doc/"
<Directory "/usr/share/doc/">
    Options Indexes MultiViews FollowSymLinks
    AllowOverride None
    Order deny,allow
    Deny from all
    Allow from 127.0.0.0/255.0.0.0 ::1/128
</Directory>

```

Actually, I have dumped the whole file here for your perusal. The  
thing is, capabilities in Apache XMLy configurations are rather complex,  
and allow lots of stuff. But you may not necessarily be able to do it  
in a way you find intuitive. That is why I suggested you may need to  
quote us the FAQ, as it my imply something different from what you  
think. I’d recommend you start with a configuration that is alleged to  
work for your revision of Apache, and modify it carefully step by step,  
not changing more than one aspect at a time. Do not even change the  
script at the same time as the configuration. Just one at a time. I’d  
recommend something like the following as a simple starting script :

#!/bin/bash  
echo “Content-type: text/html”  
echo  
echo “”  
echo “

# Blek!
”  
date  
echo “”  
—snip—  
Then in the browser, make sure it comes out orange, and make sure  
especially that it says “Blek!”. That’s your simple starting point,  
then work up from there. And believe me: taking simple steps is a  
normal procedure for all people doing this. This is nothing to feel bad  
about.

Very best wishes.

xc

on this

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![galecho](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@galecho](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/galecho)\
**Post date:** [June 19, 2007, 5:29am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/hard-time-setting-up-ruby-with-apache/107193/6 "2007-06-19T05:29:15Z")

</div>

Firstly, thank you so much for your long and patient reply. I really  
appreciate it.

> Okay, please quote the exact line in the FAQ in your next post. That  
> kind of thing can be mis-paraphrased easily when one is new to these  
> things.  
> But

Here’s the link:  
[http://httpd.apache.org/docs/1.3/misc/FAQ.html#CGIoutsideScriptAlias](http://httpd.apache.org/docs/1.3/misc/FAQ.html#CGIoutsideScriptAlias)

> 1. Did you make sure your directory tree has read and execution  
> privileges at every level above? Here is mine:

Yes, I just checked and all my directories already had drwxr-xr-x  
permissions.

> Then in the browser, make sure it comes out orange, and make sure  
> especially that it says “Blek!”. That’s your simple starting point,  
> then work up from there.

I ran the script and dumped the output in a .html and it works fine.

But still, when I click the submit button it shows me the source code  
and doesnt execute. And just to let you know, I dont have a .htaccess  
file anywhere. I was never there. Do I have to create it ?

Here’s the source code of my html file.

Test Form I like Ruby because: It's flexible  
It's transparent  
It's like Perl  
It's fun

Your name:

Here’s the source code of the test Shell file that you just gave(I  
changed the shell path as I use ZSH)

#!/bin/zsh  
echo “Content-type: text/html”  
echo  
echo “”  
echo “

# Blek!
”  
date  
echo “”

And Here’s my httpd.conf file

# 

# This is the main Apache HTTP server configuration file. It contains

the

# configuration directives that give the server its instructions.

# See URL:http://httpd.apache.org/docs/2.2 for detailed information.

# In particular, see

# URL:http://httpd.apache.org/docs/2.2/mod/directives.html

# for a discussion of each configuration directive.

# 

# Do NOT simply read the instructions in here without understanding

# what they do. They’re here only as hints or reminders. If you are

unsure

# consult the online docs. You have been warned.

# 

# Configuration and logfile names: If the filenames you specify for many

# of the server’s control files begin with “/” (or “drive:/” for Win32),

the

# server will use that explicit path. If the filenames do _not_ begin

# with “/”, the value of ServerRoot is prepended – so “logs/foo.log”

# with ServerRoot set to “/usr/local/apache2” will be interpreted by the

# server as “/usr/local/apache2/logs/foo.log”.

# 

# ServerRoot: The top of the directory tree under which the server’s

# configuration, error, and log files are kept.

# 

# Do not add a slash at the end of the directory path. If you point

# ServerRoot at a non-local disk, be sure to point the LockFile

directive

# at a local disk. If you wish to share the same ServerRoot for

multiple

# httpd daemons, you will need to change at least LockFile and PidFile.

# 

ServerRoot “/usr/local/apache2”

# 

# Listen: Allows you to bind Apache to specific IP addresses and/or

# ports, instead of the default. See also the

# directive.

# 

# Change this to Listen on specific IP addresses as shown below to

# prevent Apache from glomming onto all bound IP addresses.

# 

#Listen 12.34.56.78:80  
Listen 80

# 

# Dynamic Shared Object (DSO) Support

# 

# To be able to use the functionality of a module which was built as a

DSO you

# have to place corresponding `LoadModule’ lines at this location so the

# directives contained in it are actually available _before_ they are

used.

# Statically compiled modules (those listed by `httpd -l’) do not need

# to be loaded here.

# 

# Example:

# LoadModule foo\_module modules/mod\_foo.so

# 

\<IfModule !mpm\_netware\_module\>

# 

# If you wish httpd to run as a different user or group, you must run

# httpd as root initially and it will switch.

# 

# User/Group: The name (or #number) of the user/group to run httpd as.

# It is usually good practice to create a dedicated user and group for

# running httpd, as with most system services.

# 

User daemon  
Group daemon

# ‘Main’ server configuration

# 

# The directives in this section set up the values used by the ‘main’

# server, which responds to any requests that aren’t handled by a

# definition. These values also provide defaults for

# any containers you may define later in the file.

# 

# All of these directives may appear inside containers,

# in which case these default settings will be overridden for the

# virtual host being defined.

# 

# 

# ServerAdmin: Your address, where problems with the server should be

# e-mailed. This address appears on some server-generated pages, such

# as error documents. e.g. removed\_email\_address@domain.invalid

# 

ServerAdmin removed\_email\_address@domain.invalid

# 

# ServerName gives the name and port that the server uses to identify

itself.

# This can often be determined automatically, but we recommend you

specify

# it explicitly to prevent problems during startup.

# 

# If your host doesn’t have a registered DNS name, enter its IP address

here.

# 

#ServerName [www.example.com:80](http://www.example.com:80)

# 

# DocumentRoot: The directory out of which you will serve your

# documents. By default, all requests are taken from this directory, but

# symbolic links and aliases may be used to point to other locations.

# 

DocumentRoot “/usr/local/apache2/htdocs”

# 

# Each directory to which Apache has access can be configured with

respect

# to which services and features are allowed and/or disabled in that

# directory (and its subdirectories).

# 

# First, we configure the “default” to be a very restrictive set of

# features.

# 
 Options FollowSymLinks AllowOverride None Order deny,allow Deny from all
# 

# Note that from this point forward you must specifically allow

# particular features to be enabled - so if something’s not working as

# you might expect, make sure that you have specifically enabled it

# below.

# 

# 

# This should be changed to whatever you set DocumentRoot to.

# 

\<Directory “/usr/local/apache2/htdocs”\>  
#  
# Possible values for the Options directive are “None”, “All”,  
# or any combination of:  
# Indexes Includes FollowSymLinks SymLinksifOwnerMatch ExecCGI  
MultiViews  
#  
# Note that “MultiViews” must be named _explicitly_ — “Options  
All”  
# doesn’t give it to you.  
#  
# The Options directive is both complicated and important. Please  
see  
# [core - Apache HTTP Server Version 2.2](http://httpd.apache.org/docs/2.2/mod/core.html#options)  
# for more information.  
#  
Options Indexes FollowSymLinks

```
#
# AllowOverride controls what directives may be placed in .htaccess 

```

files.  
# It can be “All”, “None”, or any combination of the keywords:  
# Options FileInfo AuthConfig Limit  
#  
AllowOverride None

```
#
# Controls who can get stuff from this server.
#
Order allow,deny
Allow from all

```

# 

# DirectoryIndex: sets the file that Apache will serve if a directory

# is requested.

# 
 DirectoryIndex index.html
# 

# The following lines prevent .htaccess and .htpasswd files from being

# viewed by Web clients.

# 

\<FilesMatch “^.ht”\>  
Order allow,deny  
Deny from all  
Satisfy All

# 

# ErrorLog: The location of the error log file.

# If you do not specify an ErrorLog directive within a

# container, error messages relating to that virtual host will be

# logged here. If you _do_ define an error logfile for a

# container, that host’s errors will be logged there and not here.

# 

ErrorLog logs/error\_log

# 

# LogLevel: Control the number of messages logged to the error\_log.

# Possible values include: debug, info, notice, warn, error, crit,

# alert, emerg.

# 

LogLevel warn

 # # The following directives define some format nicknames for use with # a CustomLog directive (see below). # LogFormat "%h %l %u %t \"%r\" %\>s %b \"%{Referer}i\" \"%{User-Agent}i\"" combined LogFormat "%h %l %u %t \"%r\" %\>s %b" common

```
<IfModule logio_module>
  # You need to enable mod_logio.c to use %I and %O
  LogFormat "%h %l %u %t \"%r\" %>s %b \"%{Referer}i\" 

```

"%{User-Agent}i" %I %O" combinedio

```
#
# The location and format of the access logfile (Common Logfile 

```

Format).  
# If you do not define any access logfiles within a   
# container, they will be logged here. Contrariwise, if you _do_  
# define per- access logfiles, transactions will be  
# logged therein and _not_ in this file.  
#  
CustomLog logs/access\_log common

```
#
# If you prefer a logfile with access, agent, and referer 

```

information  
# (Combined Logfile Format) you can use the following directive.  
#  
#CustomLog logs/access\_log combined

 # # Redirect: Allows you to tell clients about documents that used to # exist in your server's namespace, but do not anymore. The client # will make a new request for the document at its new location. # Example: # Redirect permanent /foo http://www.example.com/bar

```
#
# Alias: Maps web paths into filesystem paths and is used to
# access content that does not live under the DocumentRoot.
# Example:
# Alias /webpath /full/filesystem/path
#
# If you include a trailing / on /webpath then the server will
# require it to be present in the URL. You will also likely
# need to provide a <Directory> section to allow access to
# the filesystem path.

#
# ScriptAlias: This controls which directories contain server 

```

scripts.  
# ScriptAliases are essentially the same as Aliases, except that  
# documents in the target directory are treated as applications and  
# run by the server when requested rather than as documents sent to  
the  
# client. The same rules about trailing “/” apply to ScriptAlias  
# directives as to Alias.  
#  
ScriptAlias /cgi-bin/ /usr/local/apache2/htdocs/forms/cgi-bin/

 # # ScriptSock: On threaded servers, designate the path to the UNIX # socket used to communicate with the CGI daemon of mod\_cgid. # #Scriptsock logs/cgisock
# 

# “/usr/local/apache2/cgi-bin” should be changed to whatever your

ScriptAliased

# CGI directory exists, if you have that configured.

# 

\<Directory “/usr/local/apache2/htdocs/forms/cgi-bin”\>  
AllowOverride None  
Options ExecCGI -MultiViews +SymLinksIfOwnerMatch  
Order allow,deny  
Allow from all

# 

# DefaultType: the default MIME type the server will use for a document

# if it cannot otherwise determine one, such as from filename

extensions.

# If your server contains mostly text or HTML documents, “text/plain” is

# a good value. If most of your content is binary, such as applications

# or images, you may want to use “application/octet-stream” instead to

# keep browsers from trying to display binary files as though they are

# text.

# 

DefaultType text/plain

 # # TypesConfig points to the file containing the list of mappings from # filename extension to MIME-type. # TypesConfig conf/mime.types

```
#
# AddType allows you to add to or override the MIME configuration
# file specified in TypesConfig for specific file types.
#
#AddType application/x-gzip .tgz
#
# AddEncoding allows you to have certain browsers uncompress
# information on the fly. Note: Not all browsers support this.
#
#AddEncoding x-compress .Z
#AddEncoding x-gzip .gz .tgz
#
# If the AddEncoding directives above are commented-out, then you
# probably should define those extensions to indicate media types:
#
AddType application/x-compress .Z
AddType application/x-gzip .gz .tgz

#
# AddHandler allows you to map certain file extensions to 

```

“handlers”:  
# actions unrelated to filetype. These can be either built into the  
server  
# or added with the Action directive (see below)  
#  
# To use CGI scripts outside of ScriptAliased directories:  
# (You will also need to add “ExecCGI” to the “Options” directive.)  
#  
#AddHandler cgi-script .cgi

```
# For type maps (negotiated resources):
#AddHandler type-map var

#
# Filters allow you to process content before it is sent to the 

```

client.  
#  
# To parse .shtml files for server-side includes (SSI):  
# (You will also need to add “Includes” to the “Options” directive.)  
#  
#AddType text/html .shtml  
#AddOutputFilter INCLUDES .shtml

# 

# The mod\_mime\_magic module allows the server to use various hints from

the

# contents of the file itself to determine its type. The MIMEMagicFile

# directive tells the module where the hint definitions are located.

# 

#MIMEMagicFile conf/magic

# 

# Customizable error responses come in three flavors:

# 1) plain text 2) local redirects 3) external redirects

# 

# Some examples:

#ErrorDocument 500 “The server made a boo boo.”  
#ErrorDocument 404 /missing.html  
#ErrorDocument 404 “/cgi-bin/missing\_handler.pl”  
#ErrorDocument 402 [http://www.example.com/subscription\_info.html](http://www.example.com/subscription_info.html)

# 

# 

# EnableMMAP and EnableSendfile: On systems that support it,

# memory-mapping or the sendfile syscall is used to deliver

# files. This usually improves server performance, but must

# be turned off when serving from networked-mounted

# filesystems or if support for these functions is otherwise

# broken on your system.

# 

#EnableMMAP off  
#EnableSendfile off

# Supplemental configuration

# 

# The configuration files in the conf/extra/ directory can be

# included to add extra features or to modify the default configuration

of

# the server, or you may simply copy their contents here and change as

# necessary.

# Server-pool management (MPM specific)

#Include conf/extra/httpd-mpm.conf

# Multi-language error messages

#Include conf/extra/httpd-multilang-errordoc.conf

# Fancy directory listings

#Include conf/extra/httpd-autoindex.conf

# Language settings

#Include conf/extra/httpd-languages.conf

# User home directories

#Include conf/extra/httpd-userdir.conf

# Real-time info on requests and configuration

#Include conf/extra/httpd-info.conf

# Virtual hosts

#Include conf/extra/httpd-vhosts.conf

# Local access to the Apache HTTP Server Manual

#Include conf/extra/httpd-manual.conf

# Distributed authoring and versioning (WebDAV)

#Include conf/extra/httpd-dav.conf

# Various default settings

#Include conf/extra/httpd-default.conf

# Secure (SSL/TLS) connections

#Include conf/extra/httpd-ssl.conf

# 

# Note: The following must must be present to support

# starting without SSL on platforms with no /dev/random equivalent

# but a statically compiled-in mod\_ssl.

# 
SSLRandomSeed startup builtin SSLRandomSeed connect builtin