Caddy is a lightweight, general-purpose web server for Windows, Mac, Linux, BSD, and [Android](https://github.com/mholt/caddy/wiki/Running-Caddy-on-Android). It is a capable alternative to other popular and easy to use web servers.
The most notable features are HTTP/2, [Let's Encrypt](https://letsencrypt.org) support, Virtual Hosts, TLS + SNI, and easy configuration with a [Caddyfile](https://caddyserver.com/docs/caddyfile). In development, you usually put one Caddyfile with each site. In production, Caddy serves HTTPS by default and manages all cryptographic assets for you.
That simple file enables compression, allows directory browsing (for folders without an index file), serves clean URLs, hosts a WebSocket echo server at /echo, logs requests to access.log, and adds the coveted `Access-Control-Allow-Origin: *` header for all responses from some API.
Note that all these sites will automatically be served over HTTPS using Let's Encrypt as the CA. Caddy will manage the certificates (including renewals) for you. You don't even have to think about it.
For more documentation, please view [the website](https://caddyserver.com/docs). You may also be interested in the [developer guide](https://github.com/mholt/caddy/wiki) on this project's GitHub wiki.
Note: You will need **[Go 1.4](https://golang.org/dl)** or newer
1.`$ go get github.com/mholt/caddy`
2.`cd` into your website's directory
3. Run `caddy` (assumes `$GOPATH/bin` is in your `$PATH`)
If you're tinkering, you can also use `go run main.go`.
By default, Caddy serves the current directory at [localhost:2015](http://localhost:2015). You can place a Caddyfile to configure Caddy for serving your site.
Caddy accepts some flags from the command line. Run `caddy -h` to view the help for flags. You can also pipe a Caddyfile into the caddy command.
**Running as root:** We advise against this; use setcap instead, like so: `setcap cap_net_bind_service=+ep ./caddy` This will allow you to listen on ports <1024like80and443.
#### Docker Container
Caddy is available as a Docker container from any of these sources:
Although Caddy's binaries are completely static, Caddy relies on some excellent libraries. [Godoc.org](https://godoc.org/github.com/mholt/caddy) shows the packages that each Caddy package imports.
**[Join us on Slack](https://gophers.slack.com/messages/caddy/)** to chat with other Caddy developers! ([Request an invite](http://bit.ly/go-slack-signup), then join the #caddy channel.)
This project would not be what it is without your help. Please see the [contributing guidelines](https://github.com/mholt/caddy/blob/master/CONTRIBUTING.md) if you haven't already.
Caddy was born out of the need for a "batteries-included" web server that runs anywhere and doesn't have to take its configuration with it. Caddy took inspiration from [spark](https://github.com/rif/spark), nginx, lighttpd, Websocketd, and Vagrant, and provides a pleasant mixture of features from each of them.
