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

Assuming you would like to serve a static site, single page application or just a static file (no matter if on your device or on the local network), this package is just the right choice for you.

Once it's time to push your site to production, we recommend using Vercel.

In general, serve also provides a neat interface for listing the directory's contents:

Usage

The quickest way to get started is to just run npx serve in your project's directory.

If you prefer, you can also install the package globally using Yarn (you'll need at least Node.js LTS):

yarn global add serve

Once that's done, you can run this command inside your project's directory...

serve

...or specify which folder you want to serve:

serve folder_name

Finally, run this command to see a list of all available options:

serve --help

Now you understand how the package works! :tada:

Configuration

To customize serve's behavior, create a serve.json file in the public folder and insert any of these properties.

API

The core of serve is serve-handler, which can be used as middleware in existing HTTP servers:

const handler = require('serve-handler');
const http = require('http');

const server = http.createServer((request, response) => {
  // You pass two more arguments for config and middleware
  // More details here: https://github.com/vercel/serve-handler#options
  return handler(request, response);
})

server.listen(3000, () => {
  console.log('Running at http://localhost:3000');
});

NOTE: You can also replace http.createServer with micro, if you want.

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) - Vercel