softserved 1.1.4

A lightweight, stylish local web server for static files

softserved

A lightweight, stylish local web server for serving static files from your terminal. Perfect for quick demos, prototyping, and development workflows.

Quick Start

pip install softserved
softserved

Done. Your browser opens at http://localhost:8000 and you're serving.

Why softserved?

Just a static server. No fluff. softserved is a cli-based tool for watching vanilla html/css/js projects.

Features

Clean, minimal CLI — Starts a server in one command
Multiple styling themes — default, dark, and mono options
Live reload — Auto-refresh browser when files change
Lightweight — No bloat, just Python stdlib + colorama
Auto-opens browser — (optional) Opens your default browser automatically
Flexible directory serving — Serve any folder, any port

Installation

From PyPI (recommended)

pip install softserved

For contributors

git clone https://github.com/tolaoyelola/softserved.git
cd softserved
pip install -e .

Verify Installation

softserved --help

Usage

Basic Examples

# Serve current directory on port 8000
softserved

# Serve with custom port and directory
softserved -p 9001 -d ./my-site

# Enable live reload
softserved --reload

# Don't auto-open browser
softserved --no-browser

# Use dark theme for dark terminals
softserved --style dark

# No colors (mono)
softserved --style mono

# Combine options
softserved -p 8080 -d ./portfolio --reload --style dark

Available Options

Option	Default	Description
-p, --port	8000	Port to serve on
-d, --dir	.	Directory to serve
--no-browser	false	Don't auto-open browser
--reload	false	Enable live reload (requires watchdog)
--style	default	Terminal theme: default, dark, or mono

Requirements

Core dependencies:

• Python 3.6+
• colorama — for colored terminal output

Optional dependencies:

• watchdog — for live reload functionality

Install all:

pip install -r requirements.txt

How It Works

1. Server — Uses Python's built-in SimpleHTTPRequestHandler
2. Styling — Colorama handles cross-platform terminal colors
3. Live Reload — Watchdog monitors file changes and triggers browser refresh

Troubleshooting

"Port already in use"

softserved -p 8001  # Use a different port

"watchdog not installed"

pip install watchdog

Browser won't open

softserved --no-browser  # Disable auto-open
# Then manually navigate to http://localhost:8000

Stop the server

Press Ctrl+C to gracefully shut down

Contributing

Contributions welcome! Feel free to open issues or submit PRs.

License

MIT — See LICENSE file for details.