# defunkt/unicorn

Unofficial Unicorn Mirror.

Repository: https://github.com/defunkt/unicorn
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/defunkt-unicorn
Homepage: http://unicorn.bogomips.org/
Language: Ruby
License: NOASSERTION
License Family: other
Last push: 2025-04-09T06:43:21+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 39/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-02T17:46:02.011165+00:00)
- activity 15, release rhythm 35, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 6207, "days_push": 511, "days_rel": null, "gap_med": null, "n_releases_24m": 0}
- flags: no_releases, no_license
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 1479, forks 269 (observed 2026-08-28T04:04:50.719193+00:00)

## What it is
Unicorn is a Rack HTTP server for Ruby applications, designed for fast clients on low-latency, high-bandwidth Unix connections. It manages worker processes with kernel-based load balancing and requires a reverse proxy like nginx in front of it for slow clients.

## Use cases
- serve a rack application in production
- run a ruby web app behind nginx
- host a rails app with multiple worker processes
- deploy a ruby app with zero-downtime upgrades
- serve http requests from a unix socket
- manage ruby app worker processes automatically

## When to choose
- you need a battle-tested rack server for fast clients on a unix system
- your app is not thread-safe and you want isolated worker processes
- you want zero-downtime binary upgrades and systemd socket activation
- you already have nginx or another fully buffering reverse proxy

## When to avoid
- clients connect directly without a buffering reverse proxy
- you need to serve slow clients or long-lived connections like websockets
- you want a threaded or async server model
- you are not on a unix-like operating system

## Facets
- artifact type: service
- maturity: maintenance
- function: http-server, web-framework, middleware
- domain: web-development, backend, developer-tools
- platform: bsd, ruby
- tags: rack, ruby-http-server, unix, process-management, reverse-proxy-required, forking-server, linux, macos, web-server

## Member repositories
- defunkt/unicorn (main) score 39

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:04:50.719193+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 2026-08-30T04:34:18.732615+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/defunkt/unicorn (fetched 2026-08-28T04:04:50.719193+00:00, sha 07a42ecb5333)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.