Simple HTTP Server

Create a simple HTTP server.

Usage

var httpServer = require( '@stdlib/net/simple-http-server' );

httpServer( [options,] [clbk] )

Creates a simple HTTP server.

// Serve from the current working directory of the calling process:
httpServer();

The function accepts the following options:

dir: directory from which to serve files.
port: server port. Default: 0 (i.e., randomly assigned).
maxport: max server port (used when port hunting). Default: =port.
hostname: server hostname.
address: server address. Default: "0.0.0.0".
open: boolean indicating whether to launch a web browser.

By default, the server serves content from the current working directory of the calling process. To serve from an alternative directory (resolved relative to the current working directory), set the dir option.

var opts = {
    'dir': './examples'
};
httpServer( opts );

To obtain the server handle, provide a callback.

var nextTick = require( '@stdlib/utils/next-tick' );

function onReady( error, server ) {
    if ( error ) {
        throw error;
    }
    nextTick( close );
    function close() {
        server.close();
    }
}
httpServer( onReady );

Examples

var httpServer = require( '@stdlib/net/simple-http-server' );

var opts = {
    'dir': './',
    'port': 7331,
    'hostname': 'localhost',
    'open': false
};

httpServer( opts, clbk );

function clbk( error, server ) {
    if ( error ) {
        throw error;
    }
    // Give the user a few seconds to open her web browser before closing the server...
    setTimeout( onTimeout, 5000 );

    function onTimeout() {
        server.close();
    }
}

CLI

Usage

Usage: simple-http-server [options] [dirpath]

Options:

  -h,    --help                Print this message.
  -V,    --version             Print the package version.
  -p,    --port port           Server port. Default: 0.
         --maxport maxport     Max server port. Default: `port`.
         --hostname hostname   Server hostname.
         --address address     Server address. Default: 0.0.0.0.
         --open                Launch a browser once server is ready.

The application recognizes the following environment variables:

DEBUG: enable verbose logging.
PORT: server port.
MAXPORT: max server port.
HOSTNAME: server hostname.
ADDRESS: server address.

Notes

Command-line arguments always take precedence over environment variables.

Examples

To serve content from the current directory,

$ DEBUG=* simple-http-server
...

To serve content from an alternative directory,

$ DEBUG=* simple-http-server ./examples
...