JetServer

JetServer is a lightweight, high-performance HTTP server implemented in C++98. Designed with modularity and extensibility in mind, JetServer supports virtual hosting, customizable routing, CGI execution, and efficient connection handling using poll(). It aims to provide a solid foundation for learning server internals or building custom web services.

🚀 Key Features

• HTTP/1.1 Support with Keep-Alive – Maintain persistent client connections for efficiency.
• Event-Driven Architecture – Uses poll() for scalable, multiplexed I/O handling.
• Chunked Response Sending – Prevents blocking when sending data to slow clients.
• Isolated Client Request Handling – Each client has separate parsing and response generation.
• CGI Script Support – Execute server-side scripts through configurable CGI programs.
• Configurable CGI Extensions – Define which file extensions trigger CGI execution (e.g., .php).
• Flexible Routing & Virtual Hosts – Support multiple servers, domains, and routes with custom behaviors.
• Custom Error Pages & Redirections – Easily define error pages and HTTP redirects.
• HTTP Method Filtering – Support for GET, POST, and DELETE with route-specific restrictions.
• Autoindex Support – Enable directory browsing when no index file is found.
• Request Body Size Limit – Enforce maximum allowed upload size (default 50MB).
• Developer Mode Toggle – Enable or disable directory listing globally for development convenience.
• Customizable Log File Path – Output logs to a specified file or stdout.
• Request Logging – Captures key request details, including client IP, for auditing purposes.
• Easy Configuration File – Simple syntax to configure servers, routes, CGI, and more.

⚠️ Limitations

• No HTTPS Support – Only HTTP is supported; no SSL/TLS encryption.
• Limited HTTP Methods – Supports only GET, POST, and DELETE methods.
• HTTP/1.1 Only – Does not support HTTP/2 or newer versions.
• No Cookie Handling – Does not manage or process HTTP cookies.

🛠️ Getting Started

Follow these steps to install, build, and run JetServer on a Linux system.

• 📦 Prerequisites

  Make sure the following packages are installed:

  • Debian-based (Ubuntu, Linux Mint, etc.):

    sudo apt update && sudo apt install build-essential

  • Arch-based (Arch, Manjaro, etc.):

    sudo pacman -S base-devel

• ✅ Installation

  • Build Instructions:

    • 1- Clone the Repository:

      git clone https://github.com/oussamakami/jetserver
      cd jetserver

    • 2- Build the Project:

      make jetserver

  • Run the Web Server:

    Once built, you can start the Web Server with:

    ./jetserver [config_file_path]

    If no configuration file is provided, it defaults to ./jetserver.conf.

• 🐳 Docker:

  If you prefer not to run JetServer directly on your machine, you can use Docker:

  • Build and Run the Server:

    make docker_run

    This will:

    • Build and run jetserver inside a Docker container.
    • Mount your local www/ folder into the container.
    • Use the host network to expose the ports directly.
    • Write logs to stdout, which you can monitor with:

    docker logs -f jetserver

  • Other Docker Commands:

    • Stop and remove the container:

      make docker_kill

    • Remove the Docker image:

      make docker_rmi

    • Build the Docker image:

      make docker_build

⚙️ Configuration File

JetServer is fully configurable using a structured configuration file. It supports system-wide settings, server settings, and routes. Blocks are defined as:

• START_SYSTEM … END_SYSTEM
• START_SERVER … END_SERVER
• START_ROUTE … END_ROUTE (must be inside a SERVER block)

---

🖥️ SYSTEM Block

Set global behavior for the server:

Option	Description	Default
LOG	Path to log file	stdout
CGI	Path to CGI program for server-side scripts	Optional
CGI_EXTENSION	File extension for CGI scripts (.py or py)	Optional
BODYSIZE	Maximum request body size in bytes	50MB
DEVMODE	Default BROWSEDIR for all routes (True/False). Disable in production	True

---

🌐 SERVER Block

Configure each server instance:

Option	Description	Default
HOST	IP address to bind	0.0.0.0
PORT	Port to listen on	8080
DOMAIN	Domain(s) associated with this server (| separated)	Optional
ERROR_XXX	Custom path for HTTP error pages (e.g., ERROR_404)	Auto-generated

---

🛣️ ROUTE Block

Define paths and behavior for each route (inside SERVER block):

Option	Description	Default
REQ_PATH	Path for this route	Required
ROOT	Root directory for this route	Required
INDEX	Default file to serve	Required
METHODS	Allowed HTTP methods (GET|POST|DELETE)	None allowed
BROWSEDIR	Enable directory listing (True/False)	System DEVMODE
REDIRECT	URL to redirect requests	Optional
REDIRECT_TYPE	"HARD" for permanent, "SOFT" for temporary redirect	HARD

---

💡 Notes:

• You can define multiple server blocks. Subsequent servers inherit HOST and PORT from the first server if not specified.
• Always save the configuration file after changes.
• Keep DEVMODE disabled in production for security.

🗑️ Uninstall

• To Remove all build object files:

  make clean

• To Remove all build objects including the executable binary:

  make fclean

• To Remove the Docker container and image:

  make docker_rmi

• To Completely remove everything (build objects, executable, Docker container, and image):

  make fclean docker_rmi

🤝 Authors

• Oussama Kamili @oussamakami

📝 License

This Project Is Licensed Under © MIT License