webserv

HTTP/1.1 server in C++98, written for 42's webserv subject.

It parses an nginx-style config, listens on one or more ports, and serves requests from a single poll() event loop: static files, uploads, DELETE, CGI, autoindex, redirects, custom error pages, and virtual hosts.

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Quick start

make
./webserv config/evalConfigFile.conf

Then in another terminal:

curl -v http://127.0.0.1:1250/
./test_eval_config.sh          # needs the server already running

make builds ./webserv (C++98, -Wall -Wextra -Werror). There is no default config file named default.conf — always pass a path. The evaluation config is the one you want.

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Folder map

WSToPresent/
├── srcs/                    C++ sources (the server)
│   ├── main.cpp             parse config → Server::run()
│   ├── Server.cpp           poll loop, routing, GET/POST/DELETE, files
│   ├── Config.cpp           .conf parser (dispatch tables)
│   ├── HttpRequest.cpp      request parser (method, URI, headers, body)
│   ├── HttpResponse.cpp     status / headers / body → wire string
│   └── CgiHandler.cpp       fork + pipes + poll + execve
├── includes/                matching headers
├── config/
│   ├── evalConfigFile.conf  **use this** — eval checklist (ports 1234–1250)
│   ├── configFileDefault.conf
│   ├── configFileV3.conf
│   ├── stress_test.conf
│   ├── claudeConfig.conf
│   └── duplicate_port.conf
├── www/                     default static site
├── tests/                   HTML fixtures + cgi scripts for evalConfig
├── cgi-bin/                 extra CGI scripts (test / error / infinite)
├── dumpster/                POST/DELETE playground
├── YoupiBanane/             42 tester document root
├── test_www/                extra static roots
├── notes/                   how it was built (see below)
├── DEFENSE_GUIDE.md         eval checklist → exact files/lines
├── evaluation_qa.md         oral-defense Q&A
├── test_eval_config.sh      curl suite against evalConfigFile.conf
├── stress_test*.sh          concurrent curl hammers
├── tester / cgi_tester      42 official testers (mac-ish binaries)
├── ubuntu_tester /
│   ubuntu_cgi_tester        same testers, Linux builds
└── en.subject.pdf           the 42 subject PDF

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How a request is handled

./webserv config.conf
        │
        ▼
   Config parser          ServerConfig + LocationConfig vectors
        │
        ▼
   Server::initSockets    one non-blocking listen fd per unique port
        │                 several ServerConfig can share a port (vhost)
        ▼
   Server::run()          while (true) { poll(); ... }
        │
        ├─ POLLIN  on listen fd  → accept(), add client to _fds
        ├─ POLLIN  on client fd  → recv() once → parse → route
        └─ POLLOUT on client fd  → send() once from _responses buffer

Routing lives in Server.cpp:

1. matchServer(fd, Host) — pick the server block (port + server_name)
2. matchLocation(uri) — longest matching location
3. isMethodAllowed — else 405
4. CGI if the location has cgi_ext / cgi_path
5. else GET / HEAD / POST / DELETE / return redirect
6. sendError for 4xx/5xx, using error_page when configured

Clients that sit idle are dropped after ~60s (_last_activity / _current_tick; poll timeout is 1s).

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What was implemented

Checked off in notes/task.md. Rough timeline from the two repos:

Phase 1 — foundation (42_webServ)

• Config parser (server / location blocks, dispatch tables)
• Non-blocking sockets, poll() loop
• HttpRequest / HttpResponse

Phase 2 — static serving

• GET, index files, MIME types
• Client timeout + disconnectClient

Phase 3 — methods & errors

• POST (upload) and DELETE
• Autoindex HTML
• Centralized error pages

Phase 4 — eval polish

• Multi-port + virtual hosts
• CGI: env, relative paths, POST body, timeout, poll errors
• Indentation / Norm-ish cleanup
• Testers, defense docs, test_eval_config.sh

Status codes you can expect

Code	When
200	GET/HEAD success
201	POST created a file
204	DELETE success
301	return redirect
400	malformed request
403	forbidden / listing disabled
404	missing file (custom page if error_page set)
405	method not in allow_methods
413	body > client_body_size
500	CGI crash / exec failure
501	unknown method
504	CGI timeout (e.g. infinite.py)

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Config cheat sheet

Nginx-like. Directives end with ;. Blocks use { }.

server {
    listen 1250;
    server_name eval;
    client_body_size 100;          # bytes
    error_page 404 custom404.html;
    root www/;

    location / {
        allow_methods GET;
        index index.html;
        autoindex off;
    }

    location /dumpster/ {
        allow_methods POST DELETE;
        upload_store dumpster/;
    }

    location /google {
        return 301 http://www.google.com;
    }

    location ~ \.bla$ {
        cgi_ext .bla;
        cgi_path ./cgi_tester;
        allow_methods GET POST;
    }
}

Two server blocks can share a listen port if server_name differs. The first block for that port is the default when Host matches nothing.

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Eval config ports (config/evalConfigFile.conf)

Port	What it proves	Quick test
1234	server 1, GET	curl http://localhost:1234/
1235	server 2, other port	curl http://localhost:1235/
1236	two hostnames, same port	curl -H "Host: sameport1" http://localhost:1236/
1237	custom 404 + 10-byte body limit	curl http://localhost:1237/missing → custom 404; POST 11+ bytes → 413
1238	location /someLocation/ → tests/	curl http://localhost:1238/someLocation/
1239	allow_methods; POST/DELETE in /dumpster/	curl -X DELETE http://localhost:1239/ → 405
1240	CGI (python3)	curl http://localhost:1240/tests/cgi/test.py?name=x
1241	redirect + autoindex	curl -I http://localhost:1241/google → 301; browse /tests/
1250	main eval server (GET /, POST /post_body, .bla CGI, /directory/ → YoupiBanane)	curl http://127.0.0.1:1250/

Full scripted pass: start the server with evalConfigFile.conf, then ./test_eval_config.sh.

CGI scripts

Script	Expected
tests/cgi/test.py	200, prints query / POST body / data.txt
tests/cgi/infinite.py	504 (timeout)
tests/cgi/error.py	500

Stress

siege -b -t 10S http://127.0.0.1:1250/

Target: ~99.5%+ availability, RSS should stay flat. There are also stress_test.sh, stress_test_post.sh, stress_test_cgi.sh (check the URL/port inside — some still say :8080).

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Design trade-off to say out loud

CGI is synchronous from the main loop's point of view: CgiHandler::execute() waits on the child (with a poll timeout on the pipes). Other clients pause for that CGI. Fork still isolates crashes. This was an intentional simplicity trade-off.

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Notes (how past-you learned this)

File	What's in it
notes/task.md	Phase checklist (all done)
notes/implementation_plan.md	Original split: "Container" (sockets/poll) vs "Content" (HTTP)
notes/tutorial.md	Early walkthrough of Config + Server (written after phase 1)
notes/function_reference.md	syscalls / helpers
notes/http1.0.txt	protocol notes
notes/resources.txt	RFC 1945, other 42 webserv writeups

The subject PDF is en.subject.pdf.

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Build / clean

make          # → ./webserv
make clean    # objects
make fclean   # objects + binary
make re