{"id":12072,"library":"static-server","title":"Node.js Static File Server","description":"The `static-server` package provides a minimalistic HTTP server explicitly designed to serve static files from a local directory. It is primarily intended for local development, rapid prototyping, or testing scenarios, with its maintainers stating it is \"obviously not\" suitable for production environments and \"preferably not\" for high-traffic applications. The current stable version, 2.2.1, was released several years ago, and the project appears to be abandoned, with no significant updates in a long time. It differentiates itself by its extreme simplicity and minimal configuration options, serving only static resources without support for server-side scripting languages like PHP, Ruby, or Python. It's a foundational utility rather than a feature-rich web server.","status":"abandoned","version":"2.2.1","language":"javascript","source_language":"en","source_url":"https://github.com/nbluis/static-server","tags":["javascript","static","server","local","assets"],"install":[{"cmd":"npm install static-server","lang":"bash","label":"npm"},{"cmd":"yarn add static-server","lang":"bash","label":"yarn"},{"cmd":"pnpm add static-server","lang":"bash","label":"pnpm"}],"dependencies":[],"imports":[{"note":"This package is CommonJS-only and does not provide an ESM export. Attempting to use `import` syntax will result in a runtime error in an ES module environment.","wrong":"import StaticServer from 'static-server';","symbol":"StaticServer","correct":"var StaticServer = require('static-server');"}],"quickstart":{"code":"var StaticServer = require('static-server');\nvar server = new StaticServer({\n  rootPath: '.',            // required, the root of the server file tree\n  port: 1337,               // required, the port to listen\n  name: 'my-http-server',   // optional, will set \"X-Powered-by\" HTTP header\n  host: '127.0.0.1',        // optional, defaults to any interface (use '127.0.0.1' for local only)\n  cors: '*',                // optional, defaults to undefined, '*' allows all origins\n  followSymlink: true,      // optional, defaults to a 404 error if not true\n  templates: {\n    index: 'index.html',    // optional, defaults to 'index.html'\n    notFound: '404.html'    // optional, defaults to undefined\n  }\n});\n\nserver.start(function () {\n  console.log('Server listening to', server.port);\n  console.log('Serving files from', server.rootPath);\n  // Create a dummy index.html for demonstration\n  require('fs').writeFileSync('index.html', '<h1>Hello from static-server!</h1>');\n  console.log('Created a temporary index.html. Access at http://' + server.host + ':' + server.port);\n});\n\nserver.on('request', function (req, res) {\n  // Log basic request info\n  console.log(`Request for ${req.path} took ${req.elapsedTime}`);\n});\n\nserver.on('response', function (req, res, err, file, stat) {\n  // Note: the response has already been sent at this point\n  if (err) {\n    console.error(`Error serving ${req.path}: ${err.message}`);\n  } else if (file) {\n    console.log(`Served ${file} with status ${res.status}`);\n  }\n});","lang":"javascript","description":"This quickstart initializes and starts a static HTTP server on port 1337, serving files from the current directory. It demonstrates basic event listeners for requests and responses, and explicitly enables CORS and symlink following. A temporary `index.html` is created for immediate testing."},"warnings":[{"fix":"Consider actively maintained alternatives like `serve`, `http-server`, or a lightweight Express setup for serving static files.","message":"This package is **abandoned** and has not received updates or security patches for several years (last commit 4+ years ago, last release 8+ years ago). It should not be used for new projects or in any environment where security or long-term stability is a concern.","severity":"breaking","affected_versions":">=2.2.1"},{"fix":"For production, use robust web servers like Nginx, Apache, Caddy, or a production-ready Node.js framework's static file serving capabilities.","message":"This server is **NOT for production use**. The README explicitly states, 'Can I use this project in production environments? Obviously not.' and 'Is this server ready to receive thousands of requests? Preferably not.' It lacks performance optimizations, security features, and robustness required for public-facing or high-traffic applications.","severity":"gotcha","affected_versions":">=2.0.0"},{"fix":"If dynamic content is required, you must integrate this with a separate application server or use a full-fledged web server that supports your desired backend technology.","message":"This server is designed **exclusively for static file serving**. It cannot execute or serve dynamic content generated by server-side scripting languages (PHP, Ruby, Python, etc.) or Node.js application logic.","severity":"gotcha","affected_versions":">=2.0.0"},{"fix":"To enable symlink following, you must explicitly set the `followSymlink: true` option when initializing the `StaticServer` instance: `new StaticServer({ ..., followSymlink: true })`.","message":"By default, `static-server` will **not follow symbolic links** (`symlinks`) and will respond with a `404 Not Found` error if a requested file is a symlink. This can be confusing if your project uses symlinks to organize assets.","severity":"gotcha","affected_versions":">=2.0.0"}],"env_vars":null,"last_verified":"2026-04-19T00:00:00.000Z","next_check":"2026-07-18T00:00:00.000Z","problems":[{"fix":"Choose a different port for the server by modifying the `port` option (e.g., `port: 8080`), or identify and terminate the process currently using the conflicting port.","cause":"The specified port (e.g., 1337) is already in use by another application or process on your system.","error":"Error: listen EADDRINUSE :::<port_number>"},{"fix":"Verify that the `rootPath` option points to the correct directory containing your static files. Ensure that the requested file (or the file specified in `templates.index`) actually exists within that directory and that file permissions allow access.","cause":"The requested file does not exist at the specified path relative to `rootPath`, the `rootPath` itself is incorrect, or the default `index` file (`index.html`) is missing.","error":"404 Not Found (in browser/console)"},{"fix":"Convert your project or the specific file to use CommonJS modules (remove `\"type\": \"module\"` from `package.json` or rename the file to `.cjs`), or use a different static server solution that supports ESM imports.","cause":"You are attempting to use the `require` function to import `static-server` within an ECMAScript (ESM) module context (e.g., in a file where `\"type\": \"module\"` is set in your `package.json`).","error":"ReferenceError: require is not defined in ES module scope"}],"ecosystem":"npm"}