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Apache Tomcat will not start on Mac

I cannot get Apache Tomcat to start. I followed the instructions for installing Tomcat on the Mac found at https://www.dev2qa.com/how-to-install-tomcat-in-macos/.
After I type the command to start Tomcat, the response from the command line is that Tomcat has started.
However, when I go to the browser, the default page is not showing up. I further checked to see if the port was being used by using the command
lsof -nP -i4TCP:8080 | grep LISTEN
which showed that no program is using the port. I also read the 'RUNNING.txt' that instructed me on setting the environmental variables, which I did. Any suggestions on why Tomcat is not starting up.
I'm using jdk 1.8.0_202 and Apache Tomcat 9.0.14 that is running of Mac OS High Sierra.

BatChmod
After downloading a fresh version of Tomcat, I use the BatChmod app to alter the file permissions. Tomcat will not launch properly without altering the permissions.
I do not know the command-line equivalent, but here is a screenshot of the settings I have used for years successfully.
Plea for help
If anyone can write the equivalent as a shell script for macOS, please post!
Even better, explain how to wrap such a script as an AppleScript for drag-and-drop execution in Finder.

The problem turned out to be a permissions problem. When I installed Tomcat, I put the folder in the '/Library/Tomcat' directory. Even though the Tomcat files were changed to be executable, the user and group ownership remained the same. To get Tomcat to run, I moved the directory to 'Users/MyUserName/Tomcat'. Once I did that, the default Tomcat page ran.

Could not load the Tomcat server configuration

I have installed apache tomcat7 using sudo apt get in ubuntu. I have added apache tomcat 7 to eclipse using Windows > Preferences > Server > Runtime Environment.But when I'm starting the server from server view by right clicking the shown Tomcat v7.0 Server at localhost [Stopped,Republish]
It says:
Could not load the Tomcat server configuration at /Servers/Tomcat v7.0
Server at localhost-config. The configuration may be corrupt or
incomplete.
The path to tomcat7 that I've provided is /usr/share/tomcat7

I've just been encountering a very similar issue in Ubuntu while trying to get Eclipse Mars and Tomcat7 integrated because Eclipse was expecting the tomcat configuration files etc to be all in the same location, and with the necessary permissions to be able to change those files.
The following instructions from this blog article helped me in the end:
cd /usr/share/tomcat7
sudo ln -s /var/lib/tomcat7/conf conf
sudo ln -s /var/log/tomcat7 log
sudo ln -s /etc/tomcat7/policy.d/03catalina.policy conf/catalina.policy
sudo chmod -R a+rwx /usr/share/tomcat7/conf

I've just solved this exact problem on my Ubuntu 14.04 with Eclipse Mars 2.
This could happen when Eclipse is not finding Tomcat's configuration files where they are expected to be. This place is in
$eclipse_workspace_folder/$version_of_your_tomcat_server_at_localhost/
(by default if you didn't changed server's name). So you have to copy all the files under your $tomcat_installation_folder/conf/* to the workspace server's folder.
But it was easier to just remove the server from your server list and add it again. Eclipse will automatically recreate all these files again into the proper folders. Like in the picture below:
In my case I've downloaded tomcat-8.0.35 from the website, so the configuration files needed are in /opt/apache-tomcat-8.0.35/conf/ filesystem.
Just delete the desired server from the Servers view (Window -> Show View -> Servers) and then go to Window -> Preferences -> Server -> Runtime Environment -> Add and add the server again.

You can install tomcat7 in ~/tomcat7 instead of /usr/share/tomcat7.
Close Eclipse.
Delete org.eclipse.wst.server.core.prefs and org.eclipse.jst.server.tomcat.core.prefs in {workspace-directory}/.metadata/.plugins/org.eclipse.core.runtime/.settings.
Launch Eclipse.
Go to Window->Show View->Other... and choose the Servers.
Select Tomcat v7.0 Server from the server type and press Next.
Enter /home/user/tomcat7 (not /usr/share/tomcat7) into the "Tomcat installation directory" and press Download.
Wait a few minutes and press Finish.
tomcat7 worked correctly with Eclipse 4.4 on my Ubuntu 15.04 in this way.

I know it's an old question and it has been solved already but for me the Tomcat conf/tomcat-users.xml file was created with a different encoding from the rest of the configuration files. The first line of that file looked like this:
<?xml version='1.0' encoding='cp65001'?>
All I had to do to solve the issue was change that line for:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
And voila.
I have no idea what 'cp65001' means or why it was created like that.
Maybe this will help other users facing the same issue.

The application is trying to load /usr/share/tomcat7/conf/ which doesn't exist. Eclipse assumes conf is in the same directory as bin
In Ubuntu, conf is placed in /etc/tomcat7/ and there is a symbolic link in /var/lib/tomcat7/.
To solve this, you can either
Download package from Apache Tomcat, and place them in a specific directory, say /opt/ or
Create a symbolic link in /usr/share/tomcat7/ pointing to /etc/tomcat7/conf

A quick solution in eclipse to resolve when Tomcat could not load as per the following error:
Just refresh the Tomcat folder should do the trick. If it still does not work, delete all files in eclipse under the Tomcat folder, re-copy the server files then refresh the Tomcat folder. Tomcat should restart correctly after that.

I have Windows 8.1, Eclipse Neon, Tomcat 8.
The solution is to copy all the files from folder ".../Tomcatxxx/conf" to the ".../Workspace_directory/Servers" and try to launch server again.

You tried to start Tomcat and got the following error:
Could not load the Tomcat server configuration at /Servers/Tomcat v7.0 Server at localhost-config. The configuration may be corrupt or incomplete
How to solve:
Close Eclipse
Copy all files from TOMCAT_7_HOME/conf to WORKSPACE_FOLDER/Servers/Tomcat v7.0 Server at localhost-config
Start Eclipse
Expand the Servers project, click on the Tomcat 7 project and hit F5
Start Tomcat from Eclipse

I know it's been a while since this question was posted, but I was just getting this exact error, and I have a really simple solution that MIGHT work for some. All I did was double click on the folder 'Servers', which then allowed me to start the server with no error message. Sometimes the solution is right in front of your eyes. This might work for some people like me who go straight to google without trying fix the issue themselves!

on Centos 7, this will do it, for Tomcat 7 :
(my tomcat install dir: opt/apache-tomcat-7.0.79)
mkdir /var/lib/tomcat7
cd /var/lib/tomcat7
sudo ln -s /opt/apache-tomcat-7.0.79/conf conf
mkdir /var/log/tomcat7
cd /var/log/tomcat7
sudo ln -s /opt/apache-tomcat-7.0.79/logs log
not sure the log link is necessary, the configuration is the critical one.
:

Had the same issue with Kepler (after trying to add a Tomcat 7 server).
Whilst adding the server I opted to install the Tomcat binary using the download/install feature inside Eclipse. I added the server without adding any apps. After the install I tried adding an app and got the error.
I immediately deleted the Tomcat 7 server from Eclipse then repeated the same steps to add Tomcat 7 back in (obviously skipping the download/install step as the binary was downloaded first time around).
After adding Tomcat 7 a second time I tried adding / publishing an app and it worked fine. Didn't bother with any further RCA, it started working and that was good enough for me.

I had the same problem in Eclipse Oxygen with Tomcat 8 in ubuntu 16.04 LTS.
Solution:
1. Give permission to entire tomcat folder (chmod 777 -R /Tomcat)
2. Delete and re-add the server in eclipse
3. Restart eclipse
4. Start the tomcat server. It will work..........

In the Servers tab of eclipse, go to the properties of the server and Switch location to latest downloaded tomcat version.
This resolved the issue for me.
Tomcat Server Properties

I solved this problem. DON'T USE THE .exe
Unistall Tomcat and download the .zip from Tomcat's web site. Then unpack and put it in C:\Program Files. Open Eclipse and set the server. it will work.

My Tomcat is not running it just open and close when I click on tomcat7.exe [closed]

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I am installing Tomcat 7 in my PC it works in Eclipse but when I try to open in bin/ tomcat7.exe it just open and closes, (I am stopping the server in Eclipse). Also, in Eclipse I'am trying to open admin console like URL:(localhost:1234/admin) it shows 404 error. Can anyone who knows this problem explain a solution?

If you are using Windows, you can follow the following to run tomcat7.exe :
Open your Command prompt (cmd)
Set your JAVA_HOME or JRE_HOME. Eg. set JRE_HOME=C:\Program Files\Java\jre7
Go to the directory of your tomcat. Eg. cd C:\Program Files\apache-tomcat-7.0.35\bin
Run startup.bat file. Eg. startup.
This should start your tomcat server without using Eclipse.

First Set JAVA_HOME and CLASSPath path
For Windows Java Path Settings
Right click on Computer and open Properties.
In Windows Vista or Windows 7, go to Advanced System Settings.
Else go to next step. Go to Advanced Tab and click on Environment
Variables button.
Select CLASSPath under the list of System Variables, and press Edit and add If CLASSPath not available there click New button add
C:\Program Files\java\jre 1.x.x_xx\bin
after a semicolon.
Now click on New' button under system variables and enter
JAVA_HOME as variable name and path to jdk home directory (ex.
C:\Program Files\Java\jdk1.x.x_xx
After Completing Java Path Settings
Go to the directory of your Tomcat. Eg. cd C:\Program
Files\apache-tomcat-7.0.35\bin
Run startup.bat file

To start your application server in Windows :
Open command prompt .(Run as Administrator).
Go to the path (..\apache-tomcat-8.0.27\bin) and run startup.bat
A new command prompt opens up and should stay unclosed to tell your server is in running state.
If command prompt opens and closes automatically, then the reason can be as below.
tomcat is already in started state in Eclipse.
Check the connector port configured in server.xml file and check if that port is free in your local machine. [netstat command]
Change the connector port to some unused port, preferably in 80XX series.
Let me know if you are able to invoke localhost:(the http connector port) you have configured in server.xml through you web browser.

You don't start Tomcat by double clicking the exe, use the batch files instead.
startup.bat starts the server, shutdown.bat stops it again.
And ignore the advise to get the service installer. You don't need those unless you want the server to start on system boot and run in the background. Which you don't want unless you're going to configure a production server, which you aren't here.
The batch files are in the same directory on your computer as the exe.

you have to set JAVA_HOME and JRE_HOME in System environment.while setting the JAVA_HOME and JRE_HOME, you should assure that JRE path that you are setting is corresponding to the JDK whose path you have set in JAVA_HOME. some time what happens that there may be more than one JDK in the system so conflict occurs. better to have only one JDK and corresponding JRE.

This is probably due to a bad setup of an environment variable.
For example, if you setup incorrect JAVA_OPTS, tomcat startup will fail.
You can check your configuration by calling : catalina configtest
Here an example of the output for bad setup of JAVA_OPTS :
Error occurred during initialization of VM Could not reserve enough space for object heap
Error: Could not create the Java Virtual Machine.
Error: A fatal exception has occurred. Program will exit.

It works for me after updating the jdk path in JAVA_HOME compatible to your tomcat version in user Variables.

the JAVA_HOME and JRE_HOME environment variables set should not have semicolon or ; at the end...I was facing similar problem...removed semi-colon or ; from the end and tomcat server started from cmd screen after running startup command(of tomcat..bin folder).

I checked environment variables and compiler version everything was fine, deleting junk files from work folder worked for me.

Just download the tomcat 32-bit/64-bit Windows Service Installer (pgp, md5) as in this set up is given which will install tomcat on your PC and you can also start and stop tomcat using the tomcat service.

In my experience tomcat7 might not like it if JAVA_PATH or JDK_PATH contain bracket symbols like in "Program Files (x86)". Make sure you format path in your environmental variables correctly or move your JDK to another folder.

In my case, I had some reference to a jar file in catilana.bat, but the jar I had removed from my system. Tomcat started successfully once I removed that reference from catilana.bat

Check your JRE_HOME location in environment variables. if it didn't work then try
1). Open CMD in administration mode.
2). locate to your tomcat directory.
3). run startup.bat --->> It will show your problem.

Had the same problem with Apache Tomcat 9 version.
Solution is very simple.
Apache Tomcat 9 is supported by Java 8 and later versions. So, I had JRE_HOME with JRE7 path, I binded it to new JRE8 and everything works fine.
Different versions of Apache Tomcat are available for different versions of the Servlet and JSP specifications. The mapping between the specifications and the respective Apache Tomcat versions is:

How to change Java version used by TOMCAT?

I have Java 1.6 and Tomcat 5.5 installed on my system.
But Tomcat 5.5 accesses Java 1.5 and hence as the outcome I get the error Bad version number in .class file while executing java code with JSP.
How can I change the Tomcat version to Java 1.6?
UPDATE
I tried changing the JVM that the tomcat5w.exe is pointing to the version 1.6 and now I am out of the Bad version in .class file error. But now, I get the following error.
exception
org.apache.jasper.JasperException
org.apache.jasper.servlet.JspServletWrapper.handleJspException(JspServletWrapper.java:498)
org.apache.jasper.servlet.JspServletWrapper.service(JspServletWrapper.java:411)
org.apache.jasper.servlet.JspServlet.serviceJspFile(JspServlet.java:308)
org.apache.jasper.servlet.JspServlet.service(JspServlet.java:259)
javax.servlet.http.HttpServlet.service(HttpServlet.java:729)
root cause
java.lang.NullPointerException
myfirst.SearchLink.checkURL(SearchLink.java:20)
org.apache.jsp.Test_jsp._jspService(Test_jsp.java:52)
org.apache.jasper.runtime.HttpJspBase.service(HttpJspBase.java:98)
javax.servlet.http.HttpServlet.service(HttpServlet.java:729)
org.apache.jasper.servlet.JspServletWrapper.service(JspServletWrapper.java:369)
org.apache.jasper.servlet.JspServlet.serviceJspFile(JspServlet.java:308)
org.apache.jasper.servlet.JspServlet.service(JspServlet.java:259)
javax.servlet.http.HttpServlet.service(HttpServlet.java:729)
What might be the root cause?

When you open catalina.sh / catalina.bat, you can see :
Environment Variable Prequisites
JAVA_HOME Must point at your Java Development Kit installation.
So, set your environment variable JAVA_HOME to point to Java 6. Also make sure JRE_HOME is pointing to the same target, if it is set.
Update: since you are on Windows, see here for how to manage your environment variables

You can change the JDK or JRE location using the following steps:
open the terminal or cmd.
go to the [tomcat-home]\bin directory.
ex: c:\tomcat8\bin
write the following
command: Tomcat8W //ES//Tomcat8
will open dialog, select the java tab(top pane).
change the Java virtual Machine value.
click OK.
note:
in Apache TomEE same steps, but step (3) the command must be: TomEE //ES

If you use the standard scripts to launch Tomcat (i.e. you haven't installed Tomcat as a windows service), you can use the setenv.bat file, to set your JRE_HOME version.
On Windows, create the file %CATALINA_BASE%\bin\setenv.bat, with content:
set "JRE_HOME=%ProgramFiles%\Java\jre1.6.0_20"
exit /b 0
And that should be it.
You can test this using %CATALINA_BASE%\bin\configtest.bat (Disclaimer: I've only checked this with a Tomcat7 installation).
Further Reading:
http://tomcat.apache.org/tomcat-5.5-doc/RUNNING.txt - Section:
'Advanced Configuration - Multiple Tomcat Instances'
http://tomcat.apache.org/tomcat-7.0-doc/RUNNING.txt - Section: '(3.4)
Using the "setenv" script (optional, recommended)'

In Eclipse it is very easy to point Tomcat to a new JVM (in this example JRE6). My problem was I couldn't find where to do it. Here is the trick:
On the ECLIPSE top menu FILE pull down tab, select NEW, -->Other
...on the New Server: Select A Wizard window, select: Server-> Server... click NEXT
. on the New Server: Define a New Server window, select Apache> Tomcat 7 Server
..now click the line in blue and underlined entitled: Configure Runtime Environments
on the Server Runtime Environments window,
..select Apache, expand it(click on the arrow to the left), select TOMCAT v7.0, and click EDIT.
you will see a window called EDIT SERVER RUNTIME ENVIRONMENT: TOMCAT SERVER
On this screen there is a pulldown labeled JREs.
You should find your JRE listed like JRE1.6.0.33. If not use the Installed JRE button.
Select the desired JRE. Click the FINISH button.
Gracefully exit, in the Server: Server Runtime Environments window, click OK
in the New Server: Define a new Server window, hit NEXT
in the New Server: Add and Remove Window, select apps and install them on the server.
in the New Server: Add and Remove Window, click Finish
That's all. Interesting, only steps 7-10 seem to matter, and they will change the JRE used on all servers you have previously defined to use TOMCAT v7.0. The rest of the steps are just because I can't find any other way to get to the screen except by defining a new server. Does anyone else know an easier way?

There are several good answers on here but I wanted to add one since it may be helpful for users like me who have Tomcat installed as a service on a Windows machine.
Option 3 here: http://www.codejava.net/servers/tomcat/4-ways-to-change-jre-for-tomcat
Basically, open tomcatw.exe and point Tomcat to the version of the JVM you need to use then restart the service. Ensure your deployed applications still work as well.

On Linux, Tomcat7 has a configuration file located at:
/etc/sysconfig/tomcat7
... which is where server specific configurations should be made. You can set the JAVA_HOME env variable here w/o needing to create a profile.d/ script.
This worked for me.

test
open the termenal or cmd.
go to the [tomcat-home]\bin directory.
ex: c:\tomcat8\bin
write the following command: Tomcat8W //ES//Tomcat8
will open dialog, select the java tap(top tap).
change the Java virtual Machine value.

Tomcat -- Running a web application

I'm trying to run a sample app in Tomcat. I've installed tomcat, set up the environment variable by creating a new system variable called JAVA_HOME which is set to C:\Program Files\Java\jdk1.6.0_20. And I've created a new dir for the web app in the tomcat program directory. In the cmd prompt I navigate to the tomcat program directory and type in bin/startup.sh and I get the following error: 'bin' is not recognized as an internal or external command, operable program, or batch file.
I'm using tomcat 6.0 and I'm on a windows machine. What could the problem?

On Windows you must run the startup.bat file instead of the startup.sh file (note the extension is different).
Also, enter the bin directory before executing the bat script.
cd bin
startup.bat

Your on windows try:
bin\startup.bat

If you try typing in bin\startup.bat on a Windows machine and still get the same error, there's a possibility that Windows is not seeing the batch script where it should be. As a-horse-with-no-name already said, try installing Tomcat to a location where there are no spaces in the path. In your case, anywhere other than Program Files.
EDIT: To resolve this space issue, you can do two things: 1) Install JDK/JRE to a common location without spaces (say, C:\Java) and set it to be JAVA_HOME environment variable. 2) Install Tomcat to another location (say, C:\Tomcat) and proceed from there. Since these are all in common location, I believe you can do this as a limited account user without needing admin privileges.

Try to install Tomcat (and possibly the JDK) into a directory without spaces.

The script you ran is intended for *nix systems. Try bin\startup.bat

I'm a little confused by some of the answers. First, the error you are receiving is from Windows. Nothing to do with Tomcat. The Windows OS thinks you have entered a command, and doesn't recognize it. Files with the .bat extension are always recognized by Windows as Batch file commands....... soooo..... Navigate to the bin directory, again, under your tomcat installation. Then....
Don't append the bin in front of the command. You should do a quick look to make sure that the "startup.bat" file is here (dir *.bat). Then just type "startup.bat".
Seems like I just type "catalina.bat start" (for my tomcat catalina installation)