SHTTPD: A Small, Fast, Easy to Use Web Server (HTTP Daemon)

The workstation used at my day job is configured to prevent any sort of netbios activity (file shares, broadcasts, how useless is this protocol? jeez), incoming and outgoing. But, there may come a time when sharing information, testing a software pilot, or local web development has to occur. Enter: SHTTPD.

Creator Sergey Lyubka had the right idea when building SHTTPD. With just two files, it’s incredibly tiny, reliable, easy to setup, and surprisingly includes several options. The executable itself is a mere 40 kilobytes, yet somehow manages to provide CGI, SSL, SSI, MD5 authorization, resume download, aliases, and more. Standard logging is displayed with a built-in viewer, but the feature I enjoy the most is the ability to change the listening port on the fly. Port 80 is over rated, and there’s an excellent chance our security team is continuously looking for workstations with open TCP port 80.

Sergey Lyubka has a fantastic sense of humor and cleverly shows it in the terms of his beerware license:

“THE BEER-WARE LICENSE” (Revision 42): Sergey Lyubka wrote this software. As long as you retain this notice you can do whatever you want with this stuff. If we meet some day, and you think this stuff is worth it, you can buy me a beer in return.

“This stuff” is definitely worth it, and assuming you’re not a bud-light drinker, I look forward to the day we meet.

At the time of writing, there are a number of unavailable features, but nothing really worth complaining about. Virtual hosts, user home directories, access control lists, traffic shaping, Fast CGI (FCGI), and keep-alive connections, but seriously, is all that really necessary if you’re just trying to share some music or documents with the guy on 3rd floor? No. And almost forgot to mention, SHTTPD works in almost all flavors: Windows, QNX, Unix, Solaris, BSD, Linux, RTEMS, and more.

Check out screen shots and additional info about SHTTPD on sourceforge.

http://shttpd.sourceforge.net/