HTTP Server in C++

A lightweight, modular HTTP/1.1 server implementation built from scratch using TCP sockets in C++. This project demonstrates fundamental networking concepts and HTTP protocol handling without relying on high-level HTTP libraries.

Architecture

The server is built with a modular design:

src/
├── main.cpp              # Entry point and request handlers
├── http_server.hpp/cpp   # Core server functionality and socket management
├── http_parser.hpp/cpp   # HTTP request/response parsing
├── http_router.hpp/cpp   # URL routing and endpoint matching
├── http_request.hpp/cpp  # HTTP request data structure
└── http_response.hpp/cpp # HTTP response data structure and serialization
└── websocket.hpp/cpp     # Websocket functionality

Features

• HTTP/1.1 Protocol Support: Handles standard HTTP requests and responses
• Persistent Connections: Supports multiple requests over the same TCP connection
• RESTful Routing: Simple routing system for different endpoints
• WebSocket Protocol Support: Real-time bidirectional communication for clients and server

Getting Started

Prerequisites

• C++23 compatible compiler
• CMake 3.13 or higher
• vcpkg package manager

Building

1. Clone the repository:

2. Start the project:

./start.sh

Or manually:

cmake -B build -S . -DCMAKE_TOOLCHAIN_FILE=${VCPKG_ROOT}/scripts/buildsystems/vcpkg.cmake
cmake --build ./build

The server will listen on port 4221 by default.

API Endpoints

GET /

Returns a simple 200 OK response.

curl http://localhost:4221/

GET /echo/{message}

Echoes back the message from the URL path.

curl http://localhost:4221/echo/hello
# Returns: hello

GET /user-agent

Returns the client's User-Agent header.

curl http://localhost:4221/user-agent
# Returns: curl/8.7.1

Acknowledgements

This project is implemented following the tutorial from Codecrafters Build Your Own HTTP Server. Special thanks to the Codecrafters team for their excellent resources and guidance.