# emikulic/darkhttpd

When you need a web server in a hurry.

Repository: https://github.com/emikulic/darkhttpd
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/darkhttpd
Homepage: https://unix4lyfe.org/darkhttpd/
Language: C
License: ISC
License Family: permissive
Last push: 2026-08-24T08:10:51+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 67/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-02T17:46:02.011165+00:00)
- activity 99, release rhythm 8, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 2054, "days_push": 9, "days_rel": 405, "gap_med": null, "n_releases_24m": 1}
- flags: none
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 1335, forks 120 (observed 2026-08-28T04:04:24.829864+00:00)

## What it is
darkhttpd is a tiny, single-binary static web server written in C with no configuration files and a small memory footprint. It serves static content over HTTP with features like directory listings, Range requests, Keep-Alive, IPv6, and security options such as chroot and privilege dropping.

## Use cases
- serve static files locally for testing
- quickly share a directory over http
- lightweight web server for embedded or low-resource systems
- serve a single html file
- temporary file server in a docker container
- resume downloads with range requests

## When to choose
- you need a zero-config static file server in seconds
- you want a tiny single-binary server with minimal dependencies
- you need a small docker image for serving static content
- you only need GET/HEAD static serving, not dynamic content

## When to avoid
- you need dynamic content, CGI, or server-side scripting
- you need HTTPS/TLS termination
- you need high concurrency or multi-threaded performance
- you need a full-featured server like nginx or apache

## Facets
- artifact type: application
- maturity: active
- function: http-server, static-site-generator
- domain: web-development, self-hosted, developer-tools
- platform: windows, bsd, cli, cross-platform
- tags: static-file-server, single-binary, minimalist, http, suckless, small-footprint, command-line, linux, macos, docker

## Member repositories
- emikulic/darkhttpd (main) score 67

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:04:24.829864+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-30T04:44:21.912611+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/emikulic/darkhttpd (fetched 2026-08-28T04:04:24.829864+00:00, sha 43b834d9da56)
  - homepage: https://unix4lyfe.org/darkhttpd/ (fetched 2026-08-29T12:03:36.477300+00:00, sha 04b19e75d007)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.