# mongrel2/mongrel2

The Mongrel2 Web Server Project

Repository: https://github.com/mongrel2/mongrel2
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/mongrel2
Homepage: http://mongrel2.org/
Language: C
License: BSD-3-Clause
License Family: permissive
Last push: 2022-04-18T01:38:58+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 23/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 0, release rhythm 8, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 5583, "days_push": 1599, "days_rel": null, "gap_med": null, "n_releases_24m": 0}
- flags: none
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 1358, forks 180 (observed 2026-08-28T04:04:29.615552+00:00)

## What it is
Mongrel2 is a language- and architecture-agnostic web server written in C that decouples HTTP handling from application backends via a ZeroMQ-based messaging protocol. It supports HTTP 1.1, WebSockets, Flash sockets, and long polling on the same socket, with handlers available for 17+ languages.

## Use cases
- serve web apps from backends written in multiple languages
- handle websockets and long polling alongside plain HTTP
- decouple web server from application via ZeroMQ messaging
- build custom web frameworks on a server protocol
- run async streaming responses from multiple backends

## When to choose
- you want a language-agnostic server with ZeroMQ backend handlers
- you need transparent mixed HTTP/WebSocket/long-polling on one socket
- you want programmable, database-driven server configuration

## When to avoid
- you need a mainstream, actively developed server with large community support
- you want simple reverse-proxy deployment like nginx
- you need first-class Windows support

## Facets
- artifact type: application
- maturity: maintenance
- function: http-server, websocket, routing, middleware, message-queue
- domain: web-development, backend, networking, developer-tools
- platform: cpp
- tags: zeromq, language-agnostic, coroutines, event-driven, long-polling, c, linux, macos, web-server

## Member repositories
- mongrel2/mongrel2 (main) score 23

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:04:29.615552+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 2026-08-30T04:41:46.692063+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/mongrel2/mongrel2 (fetched 2026-08-28T04:04:29.615552+00:00, sha f757cde5578a)
  - homepage: http://mongrel2.org/ (fetched 2026-08-29T11:59:54.384951+00:00, sha c16eafac679b)
  - site_page: http://mongrel2.org/features (fetched 2026-08-29T11:59:54.395069+00:00, sha 2566226ff697)
  - site_page: http://mongrel2.org/features/languages.html (fetched 2026-08-29T11:59:54.397365+00:00, sha a804dbea4803)
  - site_page: http://mongrel2.org/features/architectures.html (fetched 2026-08-29T11:59:54.399216+00:00, sha a133446caa15)
  - site_page: http://mongrel2.org/features/protocols.html (fetched 2026-08-29T11:59:54.401144+00:00, sha 706a6de84167)
  - site_page: http://mongrel2.org/features/design.html (fetched 2026-08-29T11:59:54.402746+00:00, sha d7b0dedb7c79)
  - site_page: http://mongrel2.org/downloads (fetched 2026-08-29T11:59:54.405766+00:00, sha 5b3fa892c4fc)
  - site_page: http://mongrel2.org/wiki (fetched 2026-08-29T11:59:54.404263+00:00, sha df0a96cd2322)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.