BlazeServe

⚡ Ultra-fast, dependable HTTP file server for sharing files and folders. Optimized for maximum throughput with platform-specific TCP optimizations, multiple I/O fast paths, and efficient resource management.

Features

• High Performance: Optimized buffers (128MB send, 256MB chunks), zero-copy sendfile, memory-mapped I/O
• Platform Optimizations: SO_REUSEPORT, TCP_QUICKACK, TCP_NODELAY for maximum speed
• Static file serving over HTTP/1.1 with strong ETag, Last-Modified, and If-Range
• Range and multi-range responses
• Zero-copy sendfile fast path, windowed mmap, and buffered fallback
• Per-connection rate limiting with token bucket algorithm
• Performance Monitoring: Real-time metrics via /__perf__ endpoint
• Optional directory listing with automatic index.html
• One-file mode for quick shares
• Streaming ZIP for files or directories (/__zip__?path=...)
• Uploads via PUT/POST /__upload__/path/to/file
• Simple stats (/__stats__), health check (/__health__), and speed test (/__speed__?bytes=...)
• Optional CORS (including preflight OPTIONS)
• Optional cache disable
• Optional serving of precompressed .gz assets when safe
• TLS (PEM cert and key)
• Rich CLI built on click and rich-click
• Cross-platform (Linux/macOS/Windows), Python 3.9+

Install

pip install blazeserve

Quick start

blaze serve .

Open your browser to:

• Local: http://localhost:8000/
• LAN: shown in the startup banner

CLI

serve

blaze serve [PATH]

Options:
  --host TEXT                      Bind address. [default: 0.0.0.0]
  -p, --port INTEGER               Port. [default: 8000]
  --single PATH                    Serve exactly this file.
  --no-listing                     Disable directory listing.
  --chunk-mb INTEGER               mmap/read window size. [4..4096] [default: 256]
  --sock-sndbuf-mb INTEGER         SO_SNDBUF (MB). [1..2048] [default: 128]
  --timeout INTEGER                Per-connection timeout (s). [60..86400]
  --rate-mbps FLOAT                Throttle to MB/s.
  --auth USER:PASS                 Enable HTTP Basic Auth.
  --auth-env NAME                  Read USER:PASS from env var NAME.
  --tls-cert PATH                  TLS certificate (PEM).
  --tls-key PATH                   TLS private key (PEM).
  --cors / --no-cors               Enable CORS. [default: no-cors]
  --cors-origin TEXT               CORS allow origin. [default: *]
  --no-cache                       Disable HTTP caching.
  --index TEXT                     Extra index filenames (repeatable).
  --backlog INTEGER                Listen backlog. [default: 8192]
  --precompress / --no-precompress Serve .gz when safe. [default: precompress]
  --max-upload-mb INTEGER          Max upload size (0 = unlimited). [default: 0]
  --open                           Open the URL in a browser at start.
  -v, --verbose                    Verbose startup banner.
  -h, --help                       Show help.

send

blaze send FILE

Options:
  --host TEXT
  -p, --port INTEGER
  --rate-mbps FLOAT
  --auth USER:PASS
  --auth-env NAME
  --tls-cert PATH
  --tls-key PATH
  --cors / --no-cors
  --cors-origin TEXT
  --no-cache
  --backlog INTEGER
  --precompress / --no-precompress
  --max-upload-mb INTEGER

Other commands

blaze checksum [FILES...]     Print SHA256 checksums.
blaze version                 Show version.

Endpoints

• GET /__health__ -> {"status":"ok"}
• GET /__stats__ -> {"bytes_sent": <int>} (legacy endpoint)
• GET /__perf__ -> enhanced performance metrics with config and throughput stats
• GET /__speed__?bytes=104857600 -> streams zeros for client speed testing
• GET /__zip__?path=relative/or/absolute/path -> streams a ZIP (uncompressed for speed)
• PUT|POST /__upload__/path/to/file -> saves request body to disk (requires Content-Length)

Examples

Share a directory on port 8080 with CORS:

blaze serve /srv/files -p 8080 --cors --cors-origin https://example.com

Serve one file over TLS:

blaze serve --single ./movie.mp4 --tls-cert cert.pem --tls-key key.pem

Limit download rate to 200 MB/s:

blaze serve . --rate-mbps 200

Upload a file:

curl -T ./big.iso http://host:8000/__upload__/uploads/big.iso

Stream a zip of a folder:

curl -L "http://host:8000/__zip__?path=./photos" -o photos.zip

Auth

Enable Basic Auth:

blaze serve . --auth user:pass
# or from env
export BLAZE_AUTH=user:pass
blaze serve . --auth-env BLAZE_AUTH

Performance Tuning

BlazeServe is optimized for high-speed file transfers with sensible defaults. For maximum performance:

Network Optimization

The default settings are optimized for modern networks:

• Send buffer: 128MB (configurable with --sock-sndbuf-mb)
• Chunk size: 256MB (configurable with --chunk-mb)
• Connection backlog: 8192 (configurable with --backlog)

Platform-Specific Features

BlazeServe automatically enables platform-specific TCP optimizations:

• Linux: SO_REUSEPORT for multi-core load balancing, TCP_QUICKACK for faster ACKs
• All platforms: TCP_NODELAY to disable Nagle's algorithm for lower latency

Fast Paths

BlazeServe uses multiple optimization strategies:

1. Zero-copy sendfile: For full file transfers without rate limiting
2. Memory-mapped I/O: For windowed reads with minimal memory overhead
3. Buffered fallback: Compatible path for all scenarios

Rate Limiting

When using --rate-mbps, a token bucket algorithm provides smooth throttling with burst capacity:

blaze serve . --rate-mbps 100  # Limit to 100 MB/s with 2-second burst allowance

Monitoring Performance

Check real-time server metrics:

curl http://localhost:8000/__perf__

This returns detailed statistics including:

• Uptime and throughput
• Current configuration
• Bytes sent/received
• Active requests

Tips for Maximum Speed

1. LAN Transfers: Disable rate limiting for local network transfers

   blaze serve . --chunk-mb 512 --sock-sndbuf-mb 256

2. Internet Sharing: Use rate limiting to prevent bandwidth saturation

   blaze serve . --rate-mbps 50

3. Multiple Clients: The server uses SO_REUSEPORT on Linux for multi-core scaling

4. Direct Connections: For maximum speed between two machines on the same network:

   • Connect both to the same WiFi/LAN
   • Server shows its LAN IP on startup
   • Client connects directly to that IP (no internet routing)

Notes

• If --no-cache is set, responses use Cache-Control: no-store.
• Precompressed .gz files are served only for non-range requests to keep range semantics correct.
• In single-file mode, listing is disabled and the fast path is favored.
• ZIP downloads use uncompressed storage (ZIP_STORED) for maximum speed by default.

Systemd

[Unit]
Description=BlazeServe
After=network.target

[Service]
ExecStart=/usr/bin/blaze serve /srv/downloads --port 8080 --rate-mbps 200 --cors
Restart=on-failure
User=www-data
Group=www-data
WorkingDirectory=/srv/downloads

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

Docker

FROM python:3.12-slim
RUN pip install --no-cache-dir blazeserve
WORKDIR /data
EXPOSE 8000
CMD ["blaze", "serve", ".", "--host", "0.0.0.0", "--port", "8000"]

License

MIT. See LICENSE.