Permission denied issue with localhost.

The error message:

“Permission denied: AH00529: /var/www/html/.htaccess pcfg_openfile: unable to check htaccess file”

indicates a permissions issue. Apache cannot read or execute the .htaccess file and the /var/www/html directory.

Solution: Fix Directory and File Permissions

Run the following commands to resolve the permissions issue:

1. Set Ownership for /var/www/html

Ensure that the www-data user (Apache’s default user) owns the directory and files:

bash

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sudo chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/html

2. Set Directory Permissions

Allow the directory to be accessible (executable) by Apache:

bash

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sudo chmod -R 755 /var/www/html

3. Check .htaccess File Permissions

If you have an .htaccess file in /var/www/html, make sure it is readable:

bash

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sudo chmod 644 /var/www/html/.htaccess

Restart Apache

After fixing the permissions, restart Apache to apply changes:

bash

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sudo systemctl restart apache2

Verify the Solution

1. Open your browser.
2. Navigate to http://localhost/phpmyadmin.

If the issue persists, let me know the output of the following command:

bash

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ls -ld /var/www/html
ls -l /var/www/html/.htaccess