civetweb

NAME

civetweb � lightweight web server

SYNOPSIS

 civetweb [config_file] [OPTIONS]
 civetweb -A htpasswd_file domain_name user_name password

DESCRIPTION

civetweb is small, fast and easy to use web server with CGI, SSL, MD5 authorization, and basic SSI support.

civetweb does not detach from terminal, and uses current working directory as the web root, unless -r option is specified. It is possible to specify multiple ports to listen on. For example, to make civetweb listen on HTTP port 80 and HTTPS port 443, one should start it as: civetweb -s cert.pem -p 80,443s

Unlike other web servers, civetweb does not require CGI scripts be put in a special directory. CGI scripts can be anywhere. CGI (and SSI) files are recognized by the file name pattern. civetweb uses shell-like glob patterns with the following syntax:

Pattern	Matches ...
**	Matches everything
*	Matches everything but slash character, '/'
?	Matches any character
$	Matches the end of the string
|	Matches if pattern on the left side or the right side matches. Pattern on the left side is matched first
All other characters in the pattern match themselves.

If no arguments are given, civetweb searches for a configuration file called "civetweb.conf" in the same directory where civetweb binary is located. Alternatively, a file name could be specified in the command line. Format of the configuration file is the same as for the command line options except that each option must be specified on a separate line, leading dashes for option names must be omitted. Lines beginning with '#' and empty lines are ignored.

OPTIONS

• `-A htpasswd_file domain_name user_name password`
  Add/edit user's password in the passwords file. Deleting users can be done with any text editor. Functionality is similar to Apache's `htdigest` utility.
  

• `-C cgi_pattern`
  All files that fully match `cgi_pattern` are treated as CGI.  Default pattern allows CGI files be anywhere. To restrict CGIs to certain directory, use e.g. "`-C /cgi-bin/**.cgi`".  Default: "`**.cgi$|**.pl$|**.php$`"
  

• `-E cgi_environment`
  Extra environment variables to be passed to the CGI script in addition to standard ones. The list must be comma-separated list of X=Y pairs, like this: "`VARIABLE1=VALUE1,VARIABLE2=VALUE2`". Default: ""
  

• `-G put_delete_passwords_file`
  PUT and DELETE passwords file. This must be specified if PUT or DELETE methods are used. Default: ""
  

• `-I cgi_interpreter`
  Use `cgi_interpreter` as a CGI interpreter for all CGI scripts regardless script extension.  CivetWeb decides which interpreter to use by looking at the first line of a CGI script.  Default: "".
  

• `-M max_request_size`
  Maximum HTTP request size in bytes. Default: "`16384`"
  

• `-P protect_uri`
  Comma separated list of `URI=PATH` pairs, specifying that given URIs must be protected with respected password files. Default: ""
  

• `-R authentication_domain`
  Authorization realm. Default: "`mydomain.com`"
  

• `-S ssi_pattern`
  All files that fully match `ssi_pattern` are treated as SSI.  Unknown SSI directives are silently ignored. Currently, two SSI directives are supported, "include" and "exec".  Default: "`**.shtml$|**.shtm$`"
  

• `-a access_log_file`
  Access log file. Default: "", no logging is done.
  

• `-d enable_directory_listing`
  Enable/disable directory listing. Default: "`yes`"
  

• `-e error_log_file`
  Error log file. Default: "", no errors are logged.
  

• `-g global_passwords_file`
  Location of a global passwords file. If set, per-directory `.htpasswd` files are ignored, and all requests must be authorised against that file.  Default: ""
  

• `-i index_files`
  Comma-separated list of files to be treated as directory index files.  Default: "`index.html,index.htm,index.cgi`"
  

• `-l access_control_list`
  Specify access control list (ACL). ACL is a comma separated list of IP subnets, each subnet is prepended by '-' or '+' sign. Plus means allow, minus means deny. If subnet mask is omitted, like "`-1.2.3.4`", then it
  means single IP address. Mask may vary from 0 to 32 inclusive. On each request, full list is traversed, and last match wins. Default setting is to allow all. For example, to allow only `192.168/16` subnet to connect,
  run "`civetweb -0.0.0.0/0,+192.168/16`".  Default: ""
  

• `-m extra_mime_types`
  Extra mime types to recognize, in form "`extension1=type1,extension2=type2,...`". Extension must include dot.  Example: "`civetweb -m .cpp=plain/text,.java=plain/text`". Default: ""
  

• `-p listening_ports`
  Comma-separated list of ports to listen on. If the port is SSL, a letter '`s`' must be appeneded, for example, "`-p 80,443s`" will open port 80 and port 443, and connections on port 443 will be SSL-ed. It is possible to
  specify an IP address to bind to. In this case, an IP address and a colon must be prepended to the port number. For example, to bind to a loopback interface on port 80 and to all interfaces on HTTPS port 443, use
  "`civetweb -p 127.0.0.1:80,443s`". Default: "`8080`"
  

• `-r document_root`
  Location of the WWW root directory. Default: "`.`"
  

• `-s ssl_certificate`
  Location of SSL certificate file. Default: ""
  

• `-t num_threads`
  Number of worker threads to start. Default: "`10`"
  

• `-u run_as_user`
  Switch to given user's credentials after startup. Default: ""
  

• `-w url_rewrite_patterns`
  Comma-separated list of URL rewrites in the form of "`pattern=substitution,...`" If the "`pattern`" matches some prefix of the requested URL, then matched prefix gets substituted with "`substitution`".  For example, 
  "`-w /config=/etc,**.doc|**.rtf=/path/to/cgi-bin/handle_doc.cgi`" will serve all URLs that start with "`/config`" from the "`/etc`" directory, and call `handle_doc.cgi` script for `.doc` and `.rtf` file requests. 
  If some pattern matches, no further matching/substitution is performed (first matching pattern wins). Use full paths in substitutions. Default: ""
  

• `-x hide_files_patterns`
  A prefix pattern for the files to hide. Files that match the pattern will not show up in directory listing and return 404 Not Found if requested. Default: ""
  

EMBEDDING

civetweb was designed to be embeddable into C/C++ applications. Since the source code is contained in single C file, it is fairly easy to embed it and follow the updates. Please refer to http://code.google.com/p/civetweb for details.

EXAMPLES

• `civetweb -r /var/www -s /etc/cert.pem -p 8080,8043s`
  Start serving files from `/var/www`. Listen on port 8080 for HTTP, and 8043 for HTTPS connections.  Use `/etc/cert.pem` as SSL certificate file.
  

• `civetweb -l -0.0.0.0/0,+10.0.0.0/8,+1.2.3.4`
  Deny connections from everywhere, allow only IP address `1.2.3.4` and all IP addresses from `10.0.0.0/8` subnet to connect.
  

• `civetweb -w **=/usr/bin/script.cgi`
  Invoke `/usr/bin/script.cgi` for every incoming request, regardless of the URL.
  

COPYRIGHT

civetweb is licensed under the terms of the MIT license.

AUTHOR

Sergey Lyubka (mailto:[email protected])