a simple, rfc 2616 compliant file streaming module for node
node-static has an in-memory file cache, making it highly efficient. node-static understands and supports conditional GET and HEAD requests. node-static was inspired by some of the other static-file serving modules out there, such as node-paperboy and antinode.
var static = require('node-static');
//
// Create a node-static server instance to serve the './public' folder
//
var file = new(static.Server)('./public');
require('http').createServer(function (request, response) {
request.addListener('end', function () {
//
// Serve files!
//
file.serve(request, response);
});
}).listen(8080);
Creating a file server instance is as simple as:
new static.Server();
This will serve files in the current directory. If you want to serve files in a specific directory, pass it as the first argument:
new static.Server('./public');
You can also specify how long the client is supposed to cache the files node-static serves:
new static.Server('./public', { cache: 3600 });
This will set the Cache-Control header, telling clients to cache the file for an hour.
This is the default setting.
To serve files under a directory, simply call the serve method on a Server instance, passing it
the HTTP request and response object:
var fileServer = new static.Server('./public');
require('http').createServer(function (request, response) {
request.addListener('end', function () {
fileServer.serve(request, response);
});
}).listen(8080);
If you want to serve a specific file, like an error page for example, use the serveFile method:
fileServer.serveFile('/error.html', 500, {}, request, response);
This will serve the error.html file, from under the file root directory, with a 500 status code.
For example, you could serve an error page, when the initial request wasn't found:
require('http').createServer(function (request, response) {
request.addListener('end', function () {
fileServer.serve(request, response, function (e, res) {
if (e && (e.status === 404)) { // If the file wasn't found
fileServer.serveFile('/not-found.html', 404, {}, request, response);
}
});
});
}).listen(8080);
More on intercepting errors bellow.
An optional callback can be passed as last argument, it will be called every time a file has been served successfully, or if there was an error serving the file:
var fileServer = new static.Server('./public');
require('http').createServer(function (request, response) {
request.addListener('end', function () {
fileServer.serve(request, response, function (err, result) {
if (err) { // There was an error serving the file
sys.error("Error serving " + request.url + " - " + err.message);
// Respond to the client
response.writeHead(err.status, err.headers);
response.end();
}
});
});
}).listen(8080);
Note that if you pass a callback, and there is an error serving the file, node-static will not respond to the client. This gives you the opportunity to re-route the request, or handle it differently.
For example, you may want to interpret a request as a static request, but if the file isn't found, send it to an application.
If you only want to listen for errors, you can use event listeners:
fileServer.serve(request, response).addListener('error', function (err) {
sys.error("Error serving " + request.url + " - " + err.message);
});
With this method, you don't have to explicitly send the response back, in case of an error.
Sets the Cache-Control header.
example: { cache: 7200 }
Passing a number will set the cache duration to that number of seconds.
Passing false will disable the Cache-Control header.
Defaults to
3600
Sets the Server header.
example: { serverInfo: "myserver" }
Defaults to
node-static/{version}
Sets response headers.
example: { 'X-Hello': 'World!' }
defaults to
{}
node-static also provides a CLI.
$ npm install -g node-static
# serve up the current directory
$ static
serving "." at https://127.0.0.1:8080
# serve up a different directory
$ static public
serving "public" at https://127.0.0.1:8080
# specify additional headers (this one is useful for development)
$ static -H '{"Cache-Control": "no-cache, must-revalidate"}'
serving "." at https://127.0.0.1:8080
# set cache control max age
$ static -c 7200
serving "." at https://127.0.0.1:8080
# show help message, including all options
$ static -h