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https://github.com/waylan/rheostatic

A Static File Server with options.
https://github.com/waylan/rheostatic

dev-server http-server server static-server

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A Static File Server with options.

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README 

        
==========

Rheostatic

==========



.. default-role:: code



A Static File Server with options.



Features

========



* A dedicated static file server.

* Emulates common behaviors of various popular servers (index files,

  extensionless files, index directories, etc.) See `options`_ for specifics.

* Serves custom error pages.

* Does not require the server root to be the current working directory.

* |build| |coverage| |status| |version| |format| |pyversions| |license|



.. |build| image:: https://github.com/waylan/rheostatic/workflows/CI/badge.svg?event=push

   :target: https://github.com/waylan/rheostatic/actions?query=workflow%3ACI+event%3Apush

.. |coverage| image:: https://codecov.io/gh/waylan/rheostatic/branch/master/graph/badge.svg?token=1v2THBaa3X

   :target: https://codecov.io/gh/waylan/Rheostatic

.. |status| image:: https://img.shields.io/pypi/status/rheostatic.svg

   :target: https://pypi.org/project/Rheostatic/

.. |version| image:: https://img.shields.io/pypi/v/rheostatic.svg

   :target: https://pypi.org/project/Rheostatic/

.. |format| image:: https://img.shields.io/pypi/format/rheostatic.svg

   :target: https://pypi.org/project/Rheostatic/#files

.. |pyversions| image:: https://img.shields.io/pypi/pyversions/rheostatic.svg

   :target: https://pypi.org/project/Rheostatic/

.. |license| image:: https://img.shields.io/pypi/l/rheostatic.svg

   :target: https://opensource.org/licenses/MIT



.. contents:: Table of Contents

   :backlinks: top



Installation

============



To install Rheostatic run the following command::



    pip install rheostatic



Dependencies

------------



Rheostatic is a pure Python library with no external dependencies. It should run

without issue on CPython versions 3.6, 3.7, 3.8, and 3.9 as well as `PyPy3`_.



.. _PyPy3: http://pypy.org/



Use as a Command Line Tool

==========================



From the root directory of your site, run the command ``rheostatic``::



    $ cd /var/www

    $ rheostatic

    Starting server at http://localhost:8000/...

    Serving files from /var/www

    Press ctrl+c to stop.



Alternatively, pass the root directory to the ``rheostatic`` command::



    $ rheostatic path/to/root

    Starting server at http://localhost:8000/...

    Serving files from /absolute/path/to/root

    Press ctrl+c to stop.



For detailed usage instructions and options, run ``rheostatic --help``.



If the ``rheostatic`` command cannot be found, try running

``python -m rheostatic`` instead.



Use as a Python Library

=======================



For basic usage, import the ``rheostatic.serve`` function, which accepts any and

all `options`_ as keywords::



    from rheostatic import serve



    serve(address=('0.0.0.0', 80), root='/some/path', default_type='text/plain')



Note that ``address`` expects a tuple of the ``host`` and ``port``. The ``host``

must be a string and the ``port`` an integer. All other keywords correspond to

the available `options`_.



Under the hood, the ``serve`` function creates an instance of the class

``rheostatic.base.Rheostatic`` and passes it to a simple wsgi server as a wsgi

application. For lower level usage, an instance of the class may be created and

passed to any wsgi server. When initializing the class, you may pass in any

`options`_ as keywords::



    from rheostatic.base import Rheostatic



    app = Rheostatic(root='/some/path', index_file='README.html')



``Rheostatic`` accepts keywords which correspond to any of the available

`options`_. All options are also stored as attributes on the class instance::



    print app.root



Preparing your Files

====================



Before running the server, you need some files to serve. All files must be in

the `root`_ directory and its sub-directories. In fact, an error will occur if a

file is requested outside of the ``root`` directory. The ``root`` directory can

exist anywhere on your filesystem as long as Rheostatic has permission to read

the files.



Ensure that all files are saved using the same encoding and that that encoding

is being used by Rheostatic. See `encoding`_ for details.



A file's ContentType is determined by its file extension. For best results, use

common file extensions for your files. A list of known file extensions and the

ContentType used for each can be found in `rheostatic/utils.py`_.



.. _rheostatic/utils.py: https://github.com/waylan/rheostatic/blob/master/rheostatic/utils.py#L100



If you would like a file to be served when the client requests a directory (for

example ``/``, or ``/path/to/some/dir/``), then that directory needs to contain an

index file. Be sure to use the file name for the index file set by the

`index_file`_ option. The default for most servers (including Rheostatic) is

``index.html``.



If a directory does not contain an index file, then Rheostatic will return a

directory listing of all the files in that directory (excluding files with names

that start with a dot).



For custom error pages, include files in the "root" directory named

``.html`` where ```` is the HTTP error code which the error page

corresponds to. For example, a file named ``404.html`` would be returned for

``404`` (Not Found) errors. Supported error codes include ``404`` (Not Found),

and ``405`` (Method Not Allowed). If a custom error page is not found, then

Rheostatic serves a simple plain-text error page.



Options

=======



Rheostatic currently supports the following options:



root

----



The local file system directory which the server should use as its "root"

directory. Usually represented by ``/`` in the URL (for example

``http://example.com/``). When ``root`` is set to a relative path, the local

filesystem path is resolved as an absolute path relative to the current working

directory. Absolute paths are used as-is.



index_file

----------



The name of the file returned when a directory is requested (a URL ending with a

``/``). A file by that name must be present in the requested directory. Defaults

to ``index.html``.



For example, a request to ``/`` would return the file at ``/index.html`` without

redirecting the client.



default_type

------------



The ContentType returned for a file when the type is unknown. Defaults to

``application/octet-stream``.



encoding

--------



The encoding used to read and serve the files. Be sure all your files are saved

using the same encoding. Defaults to ``utf-8``.



directory_template

------------------



An HTML template used to display a directory listing when no index file is

available for the requested directory. Defaults to the string defined at

``utils.directory_template``.



default_extension

-----------------



The extension to use for extensionless URLs. The requested URL must not end in

an extension or a slash (``/``). This feature is disabled by default. To enable

the feature, set the option to a string which contains both a dot and the

desired extension. For example, with the option set to ``.html``, a request to

``/foo`` would return the file ``/foo.html`` without redirecting the client.



Infrequently Asked Questions

============================



Why Does this Exist?

--------------------



The existing solutions have different goals and do not offer the specific set of

features that I needed. While some libraries could be subclassed to alter the

behavior, attempts to provide patches upstream always result in rejection as the

libraries generally where intended to serve static *support* files (images, CSS

files, JavaScript, etc), specifically to support dynamic content (cgi, wsgi,

Django, etc.). However, I needed to serve a static site; specifically static

HTML files along with their supporting media files (generated from a static site

generator). I can't trust that the existing solutions will continue to work, as

their goals do not align with my needs.



On the other hand, other simple servers often don't offer enough features to

emulate a real server. Thus, Rheostatic was created to offer the flexibility and

features to meet all of the needs of static site generators.



Why is it called "Rheostatic"?

------------------------------



I wanted something that accurately conveyed the purpose and function of the

library/tool. Note that the similar word, "rheostat" comes from the Greek

"rheos" (stream) and is `defined`_ as "[a]n electrical instrument used to

control a current by varying the resistance." Rheostatic doesn't control

current, but it does control a *stream* of *static* files served to a client,

which can be varied by adjusting the settings. I also liked the name and it

doesn't appear to have been used by anyone else.



.. _defined: https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/us/rheostat



Could you add my pet feature?

-----------------------------



Maybe. If the feature does not add support for dynamic content and it can be

easily replicated by popular web servers, I may consider it. Naturally, if you

do the work it's more likely to get added, than if you wait for me to work on

something I don't care about and/or need.



License

=======



Rheostatic is licensed under the `MIT License`_ as defined in `LICENSE`.



.. _MIT License: https://opensource.org/licenses/MIT



Change Log

==========



Version 0.0.2 (2020-10-27)

--------------------------



* Added support for `text/cache-manifest` content type.

* Dropped support for Python versions less that 3.6.



Version 0.0.1 (2016-11-03)

--------------------------



The initial release.