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Overview
Mongoose is small and easy to use web server. It is self-contained, and does not require any external software to run.
On Windows, mongoose iconifies itself to the system tray icon when started. Right-click on the icon pops up a menu, where it is possible to stop mongoose, or configure it, or install it as Windows service.
On UNIX and Mac, mongoose is a command line utility. Running mongoose in
terminal, optionally followed by configuration parameters
(mongoose [OPTIONS]) or configuration file name
(mongoose [config_file_name]) starts the
web server. Mongoose does not detach from terminal. Pressing Ctrl-C keys
would stop the server.
When started, mongoose first searches for the configuration file.
If configuration file is specified explicitly in the command line, i.e.
mongoose path_to_config_file, then specified configuration file is used.
Otherwise, mongoose would search for file mongoose.conf in the same directory
where binary is located, and use it.
Configuration file is a sequence of lines, each line containing
command line argument name and it's value. Empty lines, and lines beginning
with #, are ignored. Here is the example of mongoose.conf file:
# mongoose.conf file
document_root c:\www
listening_ports 8080,8043s
ssl_certificate c:\mongoose\ssl_cert.pem
When configuration file is processed, mongoose process command line arguments,
if they are specified. Command line arguments therefore can override
configuration file settings. Command line arguments must start with -.
For example, if mongoose.conf has line
document_root /var/www, and mongoose has been started as
mongoose -document_root /etc, then /etc directory will be served as
document root, because command line options take priority over
configuration file.
Mongoose can also be used to modify .htpasswd passwords file:
mongoose -A <htpasswd_file> <realm> <user> <passwd>
Usage Examples
- How to share a Windows folder: copy mongoose executable to a folder and double-click the executable. The folder should be accessible via http://localhost:8080 in any browser.
- How to start mongoose at UNIX startup time in daemon mode, serving
directory
/var/www: put this line in the system startup script,/path/to/mongoose -listening_ports 80 -document_root /var/www &
Command Line Options
Common Problems
Embedding
Other Resources
- Presentation made by Arnout Vandecappelle at FOSDEM 2011 on 2011-02-06 in Brussels, Belgium, called "Creating secure web based user interfaces for Embedded Devices" (pdf | odp)
- Linux Journal article by Michel J.Hammel, 2010-04-01, called Mongoose: an Embeddable Web Server in C