lc19

A simple (<500 SLOC) server for the Gemini protocol written in C. The name is an allusion to Launch Complex 19, where NASA launched the Gemini spaceflights. Tested on GNU/Linux (probably works on other Unix-like systems). Created by Theo Henson .

Installation

The requirements are minimal and should already be on most GNU/Linux distributions:

• glibc
• openssl > 1.0.1

$ make
# make install

macOS compatibility

The server should also work on macOS, but you will need to brew install argp-standalone and at the -I, -L, and -l options to the Makefile for the installed location.

Usage

Create the file "endpoints" in the root of the specified directory, with tab separated values for each endpoint:

<mimetype>	<file path>	[url path]
...

Example:

text/gemini	index.gmi
text/gemini	index.gmi	/
text/gemini	about.gmi
image/png	images/cats.png	/cats.png

(By default files will be served at /<file path>, but if [url path] is specified then that will be used.)

Run the server with the following syntax:

lc19 [-p PORT] [-d DIR] [-c CERT] [-k KEY]

Example:

$ lc19 -d gemini/ -c cert.pem -k key.pem

(The port defaults to 1965.)

Reload the endpoints file without restarting the server by sending a SIGHUP signal, e.g.:

$ pkill -HUP lc19

Creating the endpoints file may seem cumbersome, but its generation can be automated and it provides many benefits:

• Security — Only the files listed are able to be accessed.
• Customization — You are able to directly change the URL path that files are found at.
• Simplicity — Specifying the MIME types of files yourself is the most portable (and simple) method, as you needn't rely on having everything built into the code, or having external files/programs like /etc/mime.types or file.

License

All files are released under the Unlicense, a public domain equivalent license.