dotnet-serve

A simple command-line HTTP server.

It launches a server in the current working directory and serves all files in it.

Get started

Download .NET Core 2.1 or newer. Once installed, run this command:

dotnet tool install --global dotnet-serve

Start a simple server and open the browser by running

dotnet serve -o

..and with HTTPS.

dotnet serve -o -S

Usage

Usage: dotnet serve [options]

Options:
  --version                            Show version information
  -d|--directory <DIR>                 The root directory to serve. [Current directory]
  -o|--open-browser                    Open a web browser when the server starts. [false]
  -p|--port <PORT>                     Port to use [8080]. Use 0 for a dynamic port.
  -a|--address <ADDRESS>               Address to use [127.0.0.1]
  --path-base <PATH>                   The base URL path of postpended to the site url.
  --default-extensions[:<EXTENSIONS>]  A comma-delimited list of extensions to use when no extension is provided in the URL. [.html,.htm]
  -q|--quiet                           Show less console output.
  -v|--verbose                         Show more console output.
  -h|--headers <HEADER_AND_VALUE>      A header to return with all file/directory responses. e.g. -h "X-XSS-Protection: 1; mode=block"
  -S|--tls                             Enable TLS (HTTPS)
  --cert                               A PEM encoded certificate file to use for HTTPS connections.
                                       Defaults to file in current directory named 'cert.pem'
  --key                                A PEM encoded private key to use for HTTPS connections.
                                       Defaults to file in current directory named 'private.key'
  --pfx                                A PKCS#12 certificate file to use for HTTPS connections.
                                       Defaults to file in current directory named 'cert.pfx'
  --pfx-pwd                            The password to open the certificate file. (Optional)
  -m|--mime <MAPPING>                  Add a mapping from file extension to MIME type. Empty MIME removes a mapping.
                                       Expected format is <EXT>=<MIME>.
  -z|--gzip                            Enable gzip compression
  -b|--brotli                          Enable brotli compression (requires .NET Core 3+)
  -?|--help                            Show help information

Tip: single letters for options can be combined. Example: dotnet serve -Sozq

Configuring HTTPS

dotnet serve -S will serve requests over HTTPS. By default, it will attempt to find an appropriate certificate on the machine.

By default, dotnet serve will look for, in order:

A pair of files named cert.pem and private.key in the current directory
A file named cert.pfx in the current directory
The ASP.NET Core Developer Certificate (localhost only)

You can also manually specify certificates as command line options (see below):

See also this doc for how to create a self-signed HTTPS certificate.

.pem files

Use this when you have your certficate and private key stored in separate files (PEM encoded).

dotnet serve --cert ./cert.pem --key ./private.pem

Note: currently only RSA private keys are supported.

.pfx file

You can generate a self-signed

Use this when you have your certficate as a .pfx/.p12 file (PKCS#12 format).

dotnet serve --pfx myCert.pfx --pfx-pwd certPass123

Using the ASP.NET Core Developer Certificate

The developer certificate is automatically created the first time you use dotnet. When serving on 'localhost', dotnet-serve will discover and use when you run:

dotnet serve -S