fast-http-server

Super fast, zero configuration command line HTTP Server written in Crystal.

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Quick Start

crystal run src/fast-http-server.cr

Or build and run:

shards build --release
./bin/fast-http-server

Open http://localhost:3000 - done. 🚀

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Features

• ⚡ Zero config - Run and go, defaults to port 3000
• 📁 Static file serving - Serves files from current directory or specified path
• 🔗 Index redirect - Automatically redirects /blog/ to /blog/index.html
• 📂 Directory listing - Browse directories in browser (can be disabled)
• 🚀 25K req/sec - Fast enough for most use cases

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Why fast-http-server?

Problem	Solution
"I just need to serve static files quickly"	One command, no config
"Python http.server is slow"	Crystal native speed, 25K req/sec
"I don't want Node/npm for a static server"	Single binary, no dependencies
"I need directory listing"	Built-in, toggle on/off

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Usage

fast-http-server [port]

Argument	Default	Description
port	3000	Port to listen on
-d, --directory	.	Directory to serve
-l, --listdir	yes	Enable/disable directory listing

Examples

# Serve on port 5050
fast-http-server 5050

# Serve a specific directory
fast-http-server -d ./public

# Disable directory listing
fast-http-server -l no -d ./public

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Installation

Option 1: Build from source

Requires Crystal 1.0+.

git clone https://github.com/sdogruyol/fast-http-server
cd fast-http-server
shards build --release
mv bin/fast-http-server /usr/local/bin/fast-http-server

Option 2: Quick alias

Add to your .bashrc, .zshrc, or config file:

alias fhs='fast-http-server'

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Performance

~25,000 requests/sec on modest hardware.

wrk -c 100 -d 20 -t 4 http://localhost:3000

Requests/sec:  25102.60
Transfer/sec:  22.81MB
Latency (avg): 3.98ms
Latency (p99): 5.86ms

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FAQ

How is this different from Python's http.server?

fast-http-server is ~50x faster, written in Crystal, and supports directory listing with index redirect out of the box.

Does it support HTTPS?

Not yet. For production, put it behind a reverse proxy like nginx or Caddy.

Can I use it in production?

It's designed for development and quick file sharing. For production, use nginx or Caddy.

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Sponsors

If fast-http-server helps you, consider sponsoring. Every dollar helps me keep building open source tools full time.

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License

MIT