Basic Server

A minimal HTTP/1.1 server built from scratch in Rust — no frameworks, no dependencies, just the standard library.

Features

• HTTP/1.1 request parsing — method, path, query string, protocol validation
• Static file serving — serves files from a public/ directory
• Directory traversal protection — blocks path traversal attempts
• Custom routing — handles /, /hello, and falls back to static files
• 404 handling — returns proper status codes for missing routes
• Query string support — parses ?key=value&key2=value2 parameters
• Zero dependencies — uses only std library

Project Structure

├── Cargo.toml
├── public/
│   ├── index.html       # Served at /
│   ├── hello.html
│   └── style.css        # Served at /style.css
├── scripts/
│   └── test-curls.sh    # Automated endpoint tests
└── src/
    ├── main.rs              # Entry point, configures server
    ├── server.rs            # TCP listener & connection handling
    ├── website_handler.rs   # Route logic & static file serving
    └── http/
        ├── mod.rs           # Public re-exports
        ├── method.rs        # HTTP method enum (GET, etc.)
        ├── request.rs       # Request parsing from raw bytes
        ├── response.rs      # Response construction & sending
        ├── query_string.rs  # Query string parsing
        └── status_code.rs   # Status codes (200, 400, 404)

Getting Started

Prerequisites

• Rust (edition 2021)

Run the Server

cargo run

The server starts on 127.0.0.1:8080 and serves static files from the public/ directory.

Configure Public Path

Override the static file directory with the PUBLIC_PATH environment variable:

PUBLIC_PATH=/path/to/static/files cargo run

API Endpoints

Method	Path	Description	Status
GET	/	Serves public/index.html	200
GET	/hello	Returns a greeting message	200
GET	/*	Serves matching file from public/	200/404
*	/*	All other methods	404

Example Requests

# Homepage
curl http://127.0.0.1:8080/

# Hello endpoint
curl http://127.0.0.1:8080/hello

# Static file
curl http://127.0.0.1:8080/style.css

# Query string support
curl "http://127.0.0.1:8080/hello?name=world"

# 404 for missing routes
curl http://127.0.0.1:8080/does-not-exist

Testing

Run the automated curl smoke tests (starts the server, tests all endpoints, cleans up):

bash ./scripts/test-curls.sh

The script validates:

• / returns 200 with index page content
• /hello returns 200 with greeting
• /style.css returns 200 with CSS content
• Missing routes return 404

License

This project is open source. Check the repository for license details.