Setting up HHVM for apache2.2 with mod fastcgi in a virtual host

Question

I want to setup a virtualhost running HHVM to try out the new "Facebook Hack" language. I followed the instructions here on Apache 2.2: https://github.com/facebook/hhvm/wiki/FastCGI

currently hhvm is running like this:

hhvm -m s -vServer.Type=fastcgi -vServer.Port=9001

And my virtualhost config is:

<VirtualHost *:80>
    ServerName example.com
    ServerAlias www.example.com

    DocumentRoot /home/tijmen/sites/example.com

    php_value engine off

    #<IfModule fastcgi_module>
        Alias /hhvm.fastcgi /home/tijmen/sites/example.com/hhvm.fastcgi
        FastCGIExternalServer /home/tijmen/sites/example.com/hhvm.fastcgi -host 127.0.0.1:9001
        <Directory "/home/tijmen/sites/example.com/">
            <Files "hhvm.fastcgi">
                Order deny,allow
            </Files>
        </Directory>

        RemoveHandler .php

        AddHandler hhvm-hack-extension .hh
        AddHandler hhvm-php-extension .php

        Action hhvm-hack-extension /hhvm.fastcgi virtual
        Action hhvm-php-extension /hhvm.fastcgi virtual
    #</IfModule>

    ErrorLog /home/tijmen/sites/log/example.com-error.log

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

    CustomLog /home/tijmen/sites/log/example.com.log combined


</VirtualHost>

The directory /home/tijmen/sites/example.com is set to chmod 777 to make sure it's writable. Will make it's more secure once this works.

However example.com/index.hh (which exists in /home/tijmen/sites/example.com/index.hh) returns a 404. Nowhere in the logs I can find out what is wrong.

Next to getting this thing running I would like to know what this hhvm.fastcgi file is. Do I have to create it manually? Is it even a physical file? Perhaps even a directory?

I've also asked my question here but the issue is closed: https://github.com/facebook/hhvm/issues/2137

Solution

In my case I had to change RemoveHandler .php into:

<FilesMatch "\.ph(p3?|tml)$">                                                                                                                                            
    SetHandler None                                                                                                                                                      
</FilesMatch>                                                                                                                                                            
<FilesMatch "\.phps$">                                                                                                                                                   
    SetHandler None                                                                                                                                                      
</FilesMatch>

Comments

[timing]

I understand it's an Alias of the path to this hhvm.fastcgi file, but still what is it? The file does not exist, I did not create it. No process seems to create it. So why bother pointing to it?

[Josh Green]

@timing: It's not a file--consider it like a variable whose scope is inside the *.conf. Note that had the Action not had the "virtual" modifier appended to the end of it, then Action would required that it physically existed.