sharedserver 0.1.0

Zero-configuration LAN file sharing and real-time text clipboard

SharedServer

SharedServer is a zero-configuration, login-free LAN file server and real-time text clipboard. It is as easy to start as python -m http.server, while adding uploads, directory browsing, live text synchronization, and allowlisted clipboard actions.

SharedServer has no authentication. Run it only on a trusted home, lab, or development network. Never expose it directly to the public internet.

Features

• A shared text clipboard synchronized between all open pages over WebSocket
• A responsive file browser with directory navigation, file sizes, and modification times
• File uploads from desktop and mobile browsers with live progress
• Folder creation and safe, non-overwriting uploads
• Copy actions for allowlisted text and image formats
• Download-only behavior for other formats such as ZIP, RAR, 7z, EXE, APK, and ISO
• Protection against path traversal, directory escape, symlink escape, and unsafe filenames
• No accounts, database, device discovery, template engine, or frontend framework

Requirements

• Python 3.10 or newer
• A modern desktop or mobile browser

Installation

Install from PyPI:

pip install sharedserver

Install from source:

git clone https://github.com/NihaoKangkang/sharedserver.git
cd sharedserver
pip install .

Quick start

Run this command from the directory you want to share:

python -m sharedserver 8080

CLI reference

usage: sharedserver [-h] [--host HOST] [-d DIRECTORY] [-c CONFIG]
                    [--max-upload-size MB] [--version]
                    [port]

Argument	Description
port	Listening port. Uses the configuration value or 8000 by default.
--host HOST	Bind address. Defaults to 0.0.0.0.
-d, --directory PATH	Directory to share. Defaults to the current directory.
-c, --config PATH	YAML configuration file.
--max-upload-size MB	Maximum upload size in MiB. Defaults to 1024 MiB.
--version	Print the installed version.

CLI arguments override configuration file values. Without --config, SharedServer automatically loads sharedserver.yaml from the current directory when it exists.

Configuration

Copy sharedserver.example.yaml to sharedserver.yaml and edit it as needed:

server:
  host: 0.0.0.0
  port: 8080

share:
  directory: ./
  max_upload_size: 1073741824

clipboard:
  max_text_size: 2097152
  text_extensions:
    - .txt
    - .md
  image_extensions:
    - .png
    - .jpg

Relative shared directory paths are resolved from the configuration file's directory. Custom extension lists replace the defaults, and matching is case-insensitive.

Default text extensions:

.txt .md .json .xml .yaml .yml .csv .log .py .js .html .css .java .c .cpp

Default image extensions:

.png .jpg .jpeg .webp

Security model

• Every user-supplied path is resolved with Path.resolve() and checked against the shared root.
• Absolute paths and .. path segments are rejected.
• Symlinks are hidden from directory listings and rejected by file operations.
• Upload filenames are stripped of path components, control characters, and unsafe cross-platform characters.
• Uploads are written to a temporary file and published without overwriting an existing file.
• Both Content-Length validation and streamed byte counting enforce the upload limit.
• Clipboard actions and server read endpoints use the same strict extension allowlists.
• Browser WebSocket connections from a different origin are rejected.
• Shared text exists only in process memory and is cleared when the server stops.

SharedServer intentionally has no login or authorization layer. Every device that can reach the server can read and write the shared directory and shared text.

Development

Clone the project and create a virtual environment:

git clone https://github.com/NihaoKangkang/sharedserver.git
cd sharedserver
python -m venv .venv

Activate the environment, then install development dependencies:

pip install -e ".[dev]"

Start a development server:

python -m sharedserver 8080 --directory .

License

MIT