serve

What is serve?

The serve npm package is a static file serving and directory listing package that allows you to serve static files over HTTP quickly and easily. It is often used for hosting single-page applications, static websites, or for serving files during development.

What are serve's main functionalities?

Serving static files

This command starts a static file server in the specified directory. By default, it listens on port 5000, but you can specify another port with the -l flag.

npx serve /path/to/static/files

Directory listing

Running serve without any arguments serves the current directory and provides a directory listing if no index.html file is found.

npx serve

Single-page application mode

The -s flag enables single-page application mode, which rewrites all not-found requests to /index.html, allowing for client-side routing.

npx serve -s /path/to/spa

Custom port

This command starts the server on a custom port, in this case, port 4000.

npx serve -l 4000

SSL/TLS

Serve can also provide content over HTTPS by specifying the paths to the SSL certificate and key files.

npx serve --ssl-cert /path/to/cert.pem --ssl-key /path/to/key.pem

Other packages similar to serve

http-server

http-server is a simple, zero-configuration command-line HTTP server. It is powerful and has more configuration options than serve, such as the ability to cache files, set cache headers, and use proxies.

express

Express is a minimal and flexible Node.js web application framework that provides a robust set of features for web and mobile applications. Unlike serve, which is focused on static content, Express can handle dynamic content, middleware, routing, and much more.

lite-server

lite-server is a lightweight development server that serves a web app, opens it in the browser, and refreshes the browser on file changes. It is built on top of BrowserSync and is more suited for small projects and quick prototyping compared to serve.

README

serve

Ever wanted to share a project on your network by running just a command? Then this module is exactly what you're looking for: It provides a neat interface for listing the directory's contents and switching into sub folders.

In addition, it's also awesome when it comes to serving static sites!

Usage

Install it (needs at least Node LTS):

npm install -g serve

And run this command in your terminal:

serve [options] <path>

Options

Run this command to see a list of all available options:

serve help

Authentication

If you set the --auth flag, the package will look for a username and password in the SERVE_USER and SERVE_PASSWORD environment variables.

As an example, this is how such a command could look like:

SERVE_USER=leo SERVE_PASSWORD=1234 serve --auth

API

You can also use the package inside your application. Just load it:

const serve = require('serve')

And call it with flags (run this command for the full list):

const server = serve(__dirname, {
  port: 1337,
  ignore: ['node_modules']
})

Later in the code, you can stop the server using this method:

server.stop()

Contributing

1. Fork this repository to your own GitHub account and then clone it to your local device
2. Uninstall serve if it's already installed: npm uninstall -g serve
3. Link it to the global module directory: npm link

After that, you can use the serve command everywhere. Here's a list of issues that are great for beginners.

Credits

This project used to be called "list" and "micro-list". But thanks to TJ Holowaychuk handing us the new name, it's now called "serve" (which is much more definite).

Author

Leo Lamprecht (@notquiteleo) - ZEIT