The RedHttp project is no longer maintained. See Carter for a similar low-ceremony experience.

RedHttpServer

Low ceremony cross-platform http server framework with websocket support

A .NET Standard web application framework built on ASP.NET Core w/ Kestrel and inspired by the simplicity of Express.js

• Homepage
• Documentation

Installation

RedHttpServer can be installed from NuGet: Install-Package RHttpServer

Middleware and plugins

RedHttpServer is created to be easy to build on top of. The server supports both middleware modules and extension modules

• JsonConverter - uses System.Text.Json
• XmlConverter - uses System.Xml.Serialization
• BodyParser - uses both the Json- and Xml converter to parse request body to an object, depending on content-type.

More extensions and middleware

• CookieSessions simple session management middleware that uses cookies with authentication tokens.
• JwtSessions simple session management middleware that uses JWT tokens - uses Jwt.Net
• Validation build validators for forms and queries using a fluent API
• EcsRenderer simple template rendering extension. See more info about the format by clicking the link.
• CommonMarkRenderer simple CommonMark/Markdown renderer extension - uses CommonMark.NET
• HandlebarsRenderer simple Handlebars renderer extension - uses Handlebars.Net

Example

var server = new RedHttpServer(5000, "public");
server.Use(new EcsRenderer());
server.Use(new CookieSessions<MySession>(TimeSpan.FromDays(1)));

// Authentication middleware
async Task<HandlerType> Auth(Request req, Response res)
{
    if (req.GetData<MySession>() != null)
    {
        return HandlerType.Continue;
    }

    await res.SendStatus(HttpStatusCode.Unauthorized);
    return HandlerType.Final;
}

var startTime = DateTime.UtcNow;

// Url parameters
server.Get("profile/:username", Auth, (req, res) =>
{
    var username = req.Context.ExtractUrlParameter("username");
    // ... lookup username in database or similar and fetch profile ...
    var user = new { FirstName = "John", LastName = "Doe", Username = username };
    return res.SendJson(user);
});

// Using forms
server.Post("/login", async (req, res) =>
{
    var form = await req.GetFormDataAsync();
    // ... some validation and authentication ...
    await res.OpenSession(new MySession { Username = form["username"] });
    return await res.SendStatus(HttpStatusCode.OK);
});

server.Post("/logout", Auth, async (req, res) =>
{
    var session = req.GetData<MySession>();
    await res.CloseSession(session);
    return await res.SendStatus(HttpStatusCode.OK);
});

// Simple redirects
server.Get("/redirect", Auth, (req, res) => res.Redirect("/redirect/test/here"));

// File uploads
Directory.CreateDirectory("uploads");
server.Post("/upload", async (req, res) =>
{
    if (await req.SaveFiles("uploads"))
        return await res.SendString("OK");
    else
        return await res.SendString("Error", status: HttpStatusCode.NotAcceptable);
});

server.Get("/file", (req, res) => res.SendFile("somedirectory/animage.jpg"));

// Using url queries
server.Get("/search", Auth, (req, res) =>
{
    string searchQuery = req.Queries["query"];
    string format = req.Queries["format"];
    // ... perform search using searchQuery and return results ...
    var results = new[] { "Apple", "Pear" };

    if (format == "xml")
        return res.SendXml(results);
    else
        return res.SendJson(results);
});

// Markdown rendering
server.Get("/markdown", (req, res) => res.RenderFile("markdown.md"));

// Esc rendering
server.Get("/serverstatus", async (req, res) => await res.RenderPage("pages/statuspage.ecs",
    new RenderParams
    {
        { "uptime", (int) DateTime.UtcNow.Subtract(startTime).TotalSeconds },
        { "version", Red.RedHttpServer.Version }
    }));

// Using websockets
server.WebSocket("/echo", async (req, wsd) =>
{
    wsd.SendText("Welcome to the echo test server");
    wsd.OnTextReceived += (sender, eventArgs) => { wsd.SendText("you sent: " + eventArgs.Text); };
    return HandlerType.Final;
});

// Keep the program running easily (async Program.Main - C# 7.1+)
await server.RunAsync();

Why?

Because I like C# and .NET Core, but very often need a simple yet powerful web server for some project. Express.js is concise and simple to work with, so the API is inspired by that.

License

RedHttpServer is released under MIT license, so it is free to use, even in commercial projects.