cpp-http

cpp-http is a lightweight, high-performance, header-only C++17 HTTP/1.1 server and client library. It is built on top of cpp-tcpnet, leveraging its asynchronous, non-blocking TCP engine and a multi-threaded worker pool with session-affinity ordering to parse and route HTTP requests concurrently without stalling the main application thread.

Key Features

• Built on cpp-tcpnet: Leverages the robust multi-threaded networking foundation of cpp-tcpnet with session-affinity worker threads for guaranteed per-connection ordering.
• Header-Only: Drop-in C++17 library. Zero compilation required to integrate.
• Asynchronous Event Loop: Handles high numbers of concurrent client connections in the background with parallel throughput across connections.
• HTTP Streaming: Server-side AddStreamRoute for incremental chunked-upload processing; client-side GetStream, PostStream, PostStreamAsync, and PutStreamAsync for streaming large payloads without buffering in memory.
• Dynamic Routing & Path Parameters: Support route variables (e.g. /users/:id) and wildcards (e.g. /static/*).
• Static Files & SPA Support: Serve local directories via StaticDir with automatic MIME-type mapping, directory indices, HTTP Range request support (206 Partial Content for video/audio seeking), and Single Page Application (SPA) routing fallback.
• Header Normalization & Multi-Headers: Built-in case-insensitive header matching and multi-header mapping (e.g. for multiple Set-Cookie entries).
• Query Parameter & URL Percent Decoding: Automatically decodes and parses query variables and route parameters.
• Middleware Pipeline: Chain processing logic before handlers run to validate or modify requests.
• CORS Middleware: Built-in configurable Cross-Origin Resource Sharing (CORS) middleware to manage preflight requests and response headers.
• Rate Limiting Middleware: Built-in IP-based rate limiting with sliding time windows and automatic Retry-After headers.
• Response Caching Wrapper: Lightweight route handler caching for GET requests with configurable cache duration.
• HTTP Client Redirect Handling: Client supports automatic redirect following with standard POST-to-GET method downgrade.
• WebSocket Client & Server: Fully integrated server-side WebSocket routing and client-side WebSocketClient with fragmentation, continuation, and ping/pong keep-alives.
• Ergonomic Response Builders: Quickly construct structured responses (Json, Html, Plain, Redirect) with status code resolution.
• Connection Lifecycle Management: Explicitly handles Connection: close headers for clean socket cleanups.
• Defragmentation & DoS Limits: Configurable max request header boundaries to prevent memory exhaust exploits.
• Thread-Pooled Routing: Workloads are parsed and dispatched concurrently via cpp-tcpnet session-affinity worker threads.

Documentation Pages

Welcome to the cpp-http documentation! Please follow the guide below to learn how to integrate and use the library:

1. Getting Started Learn how to integrate cpp-http into your project via CMake or direct inclusion.

2. Basic Usage Learn how to start the HTTP server and register basic GET/POST endpoints.

3. Advanced Usage Explore advanced request processing, customized response structures, and HTTP header management.

4. Performance & Tuning Learn about connection scaling limits, tweaking HTTP buffer limits, and optimizing TCP options.

5. Architecture & Examples Understand the internal architecture of cpp-http and how it maps raw TCP buffers to routed HTTP structures.

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Start Reading: Getting Started >