miniserve

A single-binary command-line tool that serves a file or directory over HTTP in seconds, with optional uploads, passwords, TLS and WebDAV.

8.1k stars, 418 forks Rust On GitHub since April 2018

View on GitHub How to run it

miniserve at a glance

Open sourceYes, MITNo paid parts in the repository
Health39 of 100Actively developed
Self-hostingDesktop appsOne-click in Unraid
AppsLinux, macOS, Windows, including ARMBuilds in GitHub releases
InterfaceEnglish onlyNo translation files found
Issue repliesWithin ~8 hoursMedian first reply; 38% of recent issues answered

What is miniserve?

miniserve is a small Rust program you point at a file or folder to make it reachable from a browser right away, with no configuration file and no extra dependencies. Directory listings come with light and dark themes, a name filter, a QR code for phones, and folder downloads packed on the fly as .tar.gz or .zip. Flags add username and password checks (plain or hashed), TLS, custom headers, uploads and directory creation, a random URL path, range requests and WebDAV. It can also act as a static host for single-page apps and renders README.md files the way GitHub does.

Good fit if

  • You need to hand a large file or a folder to someone on your network for an afternoon and then shut it down.
  • You want people to drop files onto your machine, for example photos taken on a phone, without setting up accounts.
  • You script around HTTP and like a minimal HTML mode that works in lynx, w3m or curl.

Look elsewhere if

  • You want a long-running file server with resumable uploads, deduplication and SFTP, FTP or WebDAV access: copyparty.
  • You need synced folders, sharing links and collaboration for a team: Nextcloud or OpenCloud.
  • You want devices to stay in sync with each other: Syncthing.

Before you adopt it

miniserve uses the MIT license, and there are no paid parts in the repository. Svenstaro owns the repository, and all recent commits come from that one person, so its future rests on a single maintainer, although the project has been around since 2018 and still gets releases. Prebuilt binaries exist for Linux, macOS and Windows, with packages for Arch, Homebrew, Scoop and Termux, plus a container image and a hardened systemd unit.

Drafted with AI from the project's README and repository data, then checked against that data on 7 November 2026. Report a correction

How to run miniserve yourself

One-click install

  • Unraid

Not listed in Umbrel, YunoHost, TrueNAS, CasaOS, Runtipi, Proxmox VE Helper-Scripts and Coolify. Checked against each panel’s app catalog on 12 November 2026.

Ways to install

Docker files
None in the repository
Docker image
svenstaro/miniserve: 1.4M pulls · x86-64, ARMv7, arm64/v8 · 33 MB download
Compose file
None in the repository
Setup effort
Not rated: no compose file to judge from
Kubernetes
No Helm chart in the repository
Packages
Debian, Ubuntu, Arch Linux, Alpine, Void, Nix, Homebrew, MacPorts and 3 more versions on Repology
Desktop and mobile
Builds for Linux, macOS, Windows, including ARM in GitHub releases
Interface languages
English only

Install instructions: the README on GitHub. Docker images and packages are checked weekly.

miniserve health: is it still maintained?

39 of 100, actively developed

Release rhythmEvery ~2 months3 releases in 12 months; latest v0.35.0
Issue repliesWithin ~8 hoursMedian first reply; 38% of recent issues answered
Bus factorHigh riskOne person wrote all recent commits
  • Activity
    7 commits in the last 90 days, the latest on 3 November 2026.
    11 / 30
  • Contributors
    1 person wrote the 7 commits of the last 90 days; the most active wrote 100% of them.
    2 / 20
  • Releases
    3 releases in the last 12 months; the latest, v0.35.0, on 8 April 2026.
    8 / 20
  • Replies to issues
    Maintainers answered 38% of recent issues, with a median first reply after 8 hours.
    15 / 20
  • Security practices
    OpenSSF Scorecard 3.1 of 10.
    3 / 10

Read from GitHub on 12 November 2026. How the score works

miniserve security

Security advisories are the vulnerabilities the maintainers disclosed on GitHub, with the versions that fix them; many advisories can mean careful disclosure as much as weak code. OpenSSF Scorecard checks how a project is developed and released: reviews, protected branches, pinned dependencies, signed releases. It does not audit the code itself.

Security advisoriesNone publishedNo advisories in the repository’s Security tab
OpenSSF Scorecard3.1 of 10How the project is built and released
Security policyNoNo SECURITY.md or similar
Signed releasesNoDownloads cannot be checked against a signature

What each Scorecard check found

  • Binary files10 / 10No compiled binaries checked into the repository
  • Dangerous workflows10 / 10No risky patterns in GitHub Actions
  • License file10 / 10A license file is present
  • Maintained5 / 10Some activity in the last 90 days
  • Code review1 / 10Some changes are merged without review
  • Best-practices badge0 / 10No OpenSSF Best Practices badge
  • Branch protection0 / 10The main branch has no protection rules
  • Fuzzing0 / 10No fuzz testing found
  • Pinned dependencies0 / 10Dependencies are not pinned to fixed versions
  • Security policy0 / 10No security policy
  • Signed releases0 / 10Releases are not signed
  • Static analysis0 / 10No static analysis found
  • Token permissions0 / 10CI tokens have broad write rights

Advisories read from GitHub on 12 November 2026. From the OpenSSF Scorecard of 26 October 2026; checks that do not apply to miniserve are left out.

miniserve license: is it open source?

miniserve uses MIT, an open-source license approved by the OSI.

  1. April 2018First published on GitHub.
  2. TodayMIT.

miniserve for developers

Written in

  • Rust 91%
  • SCSS 9%
  • Makefile <1%
  • Shell <1%
  • Dockerfile <1%

Getting involved

Contributing guideNot foundNo CONTRIBUTING file in the repository
Open issues82On GitHub
Authors, 90 days1Of 7 commits
DonationsGitHub SponsorsListed on GitHub

Language shares are GitHub’s count of the code in the repository.

Alternatives to miniserve

  • ownCloudownCloud web server core (Files, DAV, etc.) 79 health · AGPL-3.0 · 8.8k stars
  • SeafileBeyond file syncing and sharing, a new way to organize your files with extensible file properties and… 38 health · GPL-2.0 · 15.5k stars
  • NextcloudNextcloud server, a safe home for all your data 90 health · AGPL-3.0 · 37.5k stars
  • PuterThe Internet Computer! Free, Open-Source, and Self-Hostable. 85 health · AGPL-3.0 · 44.2k stars
  • OpenCloudOpenCloud is the open source platform for file management, sharing and collaboration. Simple and sovereign. 79 health · Apache-2.0 · 6.3k stars

All 18 projects in File storage & sync

Questions about miniserve

Is miniserve open source?

Yes. miniserve is published under MIT, an OSI-approved open-source license.

Is miniserve still maintained?

Its health score is 39 of 100 (actively developed). It had 7 commits in the last 90 days, the latest on 3 November 2026, and its latest release came out on 8 April 2026.

How do I run miniserve?

You can run it with the Docker image svenstaro/miniserve, as an app for Linux, macOS, Windows, including ARM and in one click from Unraid. The README on GitHub has the exact steps.

What is miniserve written in?

miniserve is written mainly in Rust (91% of the code), with SCSS (9%), by GitHub’s count of the repository.

What are the alternatives to miniserve?

Close alternatives in the File storage & sync category include ownCloud, Seafile, Nextcloud.