What is a faster alternative to Python’s http.server (or SimpleHTTPServer)?

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http-server for node.js is very convenient, and is a lot faster than Python’s SimpleHTTPServer. This is primarily because it uses asynchronous IO for concurrent handling of requests, instead of serialising requests.

Installation

Install node.js if you haven’t already. Then use the node package manager (npm) to install the package, using the -g option to install globally. If you’re on Windows you’ll need a prompt with administrator permissions, and on Linux/OSX you’ll want to sudo the command:

npm install http-server -g

This will download any required dependencies and install http-server.

Use

Now, from any directory, you can type:

http-server [path] [options]

Path is optional, defaulting to ./public if it exists, otherwise ./.

Options are [defaults]:

  • -p The port number to listen on [8080]
  • -a The host address to bind to [localhost]
  • -i Display directory index pages [True]
  • -s or --silent Silent mode won’t log to the console
  • -h or --help Displays help message and exits

So to serve the current directory on port 8000, type:

http-server -p 8000

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