server_nano

A light, very fast, and friendly http/websocket server written in dart.

  • Lightweight: Minimal footprint for optimal efficiency.
  • Fast: Prioritizes performance at every turn.
  • Friendly: Intuitive APIs tailored for both novices and experts.

🚀 Getting Started

Installation

To integrate server_nano into your Dart project:

dart pub add server_nano

Basic Usage

Here's a basic example to get you started:

import 'package:server_nano/server_nano.dart';

void main() {
  final server = Server();

  // sync requests
  server.get('/', (req, res) {
    res.send('Hello World!');
  });

  // async requests
  server.get('/user/:id', (req, res) async {
    // Simulate a db query delay
    await Future.delayed(Duration(seconds: 2));
    res.send('Hello User ${req.params['id']}!');
  });

  // websockets out-the-box
  server.ws('/socket', (socket) {
    socket.onMessage((message) {
      print(message);
    });

    // rooms support
    socket.join('dev-group');

    socket.emitToRoom(
        'connected', 'dev-group', 'User ${socket.id} connected to dev-group');
  });

  server.listen(port: 3000);
}

How fast is it?

server_nano is designed to be as fast as possible.

Here is a test using wrk to measure the performance of the server in a Macbook Pro M1:

@MacBook-Pro ~ % wrk -t 6 -c 120 -d 10s --latency http://localhost:3000/
Running 10s test @ http://localhost:3000/
  6 threads and 120 connections
  Thread Stats   Avg      Stdev     Max   +/- Stdev
    Latency     1.83ms    4.60ms  93.28ms   96.85%
    Req/Sec    17.12k     3.03k   20.57k    90.17%
  Latency Distribution
     50%    1.02ms
     75%    1.38ms
     90%    2.01ms
     99%   28.34ms
  1022096 requests in 10.00s, 212.49MB read
Requests/sec: 102164.16
Transfer/sec:     21.24MB

In this test, we have a endopoint that returns a simple json object.

// We compile the code with the command: `dart compile exe ./example/app.dart` and `./example/app.exe` to run the server.
Future<void> main() async {
  final server = Server();

  server.get('/', (req, res) {
    res.sendJson({'Hello': 'World!'});
  });

  await server.listen(port: 3000);
}

To compare, here is the same test using express, the most popular web framework for Node.js:

const expressApp = express();

const expressPort = 3003;

expressApp.get("/", (req, res) => {
  res.json({ hello: "world!!!" });
});

expressApp.listen(expressPort, () => {
  console.log(`[server]: Server is running at http://localhost:${expressPort}`);
});

@MacBook-Pro ~ % wrk -t 6 -c 120 -d 10s --latency http://localhost:3003/
Running 10s test @ http://localhost:3003/
  6 threads and 120 connections
  Thread Stats   Avg      Stdev     Max   +/- Stdev
    Latency    10.23ms   30.90ms 542.87ms   98.17%
    Req/Sec     2.99k   358.79     3.72k    89.92%
  Latency Distribution
     50%    6.24ms
     75%    6.91ms
     90%    8.13ms
     99%  164.88ms
  180310 requests in 10.10s, 43.85MB read
Requests/sec:  17848.16
Transfer/sec:      4.34MB

Holy moly! server_nano could handle 101972.97 requests per second, while express could handle only 17848.16 requests per second. That's a huge difference!

So, let's compare the performance of server_nano with fastify, a fast and second more popular web framework for Node.js:

const fastifyPort = 3002;

const fastify = Fastify({
  logger: false,
});

fastify.get("/", (request, reply) => {
  return { hello: "world!!!" };
});

fastify.listen({ port: fastifyPort, host: "0.0.0.0" }, (err, address) => {
  if (err) throw err;
  console.log(`[server]: Server is running at http://localhost:${fastifyPort}`);
});

@MacBook-Pro ~ % wrk -t 6 -c 120 -d 10s --latency http://localhost:3002/
Running 10s test @ http://localhost:3002/
  6 threads and 120 connections
  Thread Stats   Avg      Stdev     Max   +/- Stdev
    Latency     3.32ms    8.68ms 228.04ms   99.00%
    Req/Sec     7.61k   707.93     8.25k    92.24%
  Latency Distribution
     50%    2.53ms
     75%    2.65ms
     90%    2.85ms
     99%   11.75ms
  458601 requests in 10.10s, 83.53MB read
Requests/sec:  45398.17
Transfer/sec:      8.27MB

Good job fastify! But server_nano is still faster! 😎 (a lot faster)

Why to use server_nano? 🤔

  • Performance: server_nano is designed to be as fast as possible.
  • Friendly API: server_nano provides an intuitive API that is easy to use. It is like express.js but in dart (and faster).
  • Websockets: server_nano supports websockets out-the-box.
  • Middlewares: server_nano supports middlewares to help you manipulate request and response objects.
  • Static Files: server_nano supports serving static files out of the box.
  • Security: server_nano supports https and has a helmet middleware to mitigate common web vulnerabilities.
  • Cross-platform: server_nano is cross-platform and can run on ANY THING!
  • Open Source: server_nano is open source and free to use.
  • Minimal Footprint: server_nano has a minimal footprint for optimal efficiency. You can read the entire source code in a few minutes.

📘 API Reference:

Server:

HTTP:

server_nano supports a variety of HTTP methods like GET, POST, PUT, DELETE, PATCH, OPTIONS, HEAD, CONNECT and TRACE. The syntax for each method is straightforward:

server.get('/path', handler);
server.post('/path', handler);
server.put('/path', handler);
server.delete('/path', handler);
// ... and so on for other methods.

Where handler is a function that takes in a Request and Response object. Example:

 server.get('/user/:id', (req, res) {
    final id = req.params['id'];
    res.send('Hello User $id!');
  });

Request:

The ContextRequest class provides a representation of the HTTP request. It provides several methods and properties to help extract request information:

  • header(name): Retrieves a list of headers for the given name.
  • accepts(type): Checks if the request accepts a specific MIME type.
  • isMultipart: Checks if the request's content type is 'multipart/form-data'.
  • isJson: Checks if the request's content type is 'application/json'.
  • isForm: Checks if the request's content type is 'application/x-www-form-urlencoded'.
  • isFormData: Checks if the request's content type is 'multipart/form-data'.
  • isFile: Checks if the request's content type is 'application/octet-stream'.
  • isForwarded: Checks if the request has been forwarded by a proxy or load balancer.
  • isMime(type, {bool loose = true}): Checks if the request's content type matches a specific MIME type. The loose parameter allows for partial matching of MIME types.
  • contentType: Retrieves the content type of the request.
  • hasContentType: Checks if the request has a content type header.
  • input: Gets the raw HttpRequest object.
  • query: Retrieves the query parameters of the request as a map.
  • params: Retrieves the route parameters of the request as a map.
  • cookies: Retrieves a list of cookies sent with the request.
  • path: Retrieves the path of the request.
  • uri: Retrieves the full URI of the request.
  • session: Retrieves the session associated with the request.
  • method: Retrieves the HTTP method of the request.
  • certificate: Retrieves the SSL certificate used in the request (if applicable).
  • param(name): Retrieves a specific parameter by name. First checks route parameters, then query parameters.
  • payload({Encoding encoder = utf8}): Asynchronously retrieves the request's payload.

The MultipartUpload class represents a file or data segment from a 'multipart/form-data' request. It provides methods to convert the upload into a file or JSON representation.

  • name: The name of the upload.
  • filename: The filename of the upload.
  • contentType: The content type of the upload.
  • data: The data of the upload.
  • toFile({String path}): Converts the upload into a file. If path is specified, the file will be written to that path. Otherwise, a temporary file will be created.
  • toJson(): Converts the upload into a JSON representation.

Response:

The Response object provides a variety of methods to help you construct your response. Here's a list of all the methods available:

  • getHeader(String name): Retrieves a header by its name.
  • setHeader(String name, Object value): Sets a header with a specific value.
  • addDisposeCallback(DisposeCallback disposer): Adds a callback that will be called when the response is disposed.
  • setContentType(String contentType): Sets the Content-Type header.
  • cache(String cacheType, Map<String, String> options = const {}): Sets the Cache-Control header.
  • status(int code): Sets the HTTP status code of the response.
  • setCookie(String name, String val, Map<String, dynamic> options = const {}): Sets a cookie with optional parameters.
  • deleteCookie(String name, String path = '/'): Deletes a cookie by its name and optional path.
  • getCookie(String name): Retrieves a cookie by its name.
  • attachment(String filename): Sets the Content-Disposition header to "attachment" with a given filename.
  • mime(String path): Sets the Content-Type based on a file's extension.
  • send(Object string): Sends a plain text response.
  • sendJson(Object data): Sends a JSON response.
  • sendHtmlText(Object data): Sends an HTML text response.
  • sendFile(String path): Sends a file as a response.
  • close(): Closes the response and calls any dispose callbacks.
  • redirect(String url, int code = 302): Redirects the response to a specific URL with an optional status code.

Each method is chainable, allowing for a fluent interface when constructing responses. For example:

res.status(200).setContentType('text/plain').send('Hello, World!');

WebSocket:

Server nano supports rich websockets out-the-box, with very useful features. You can set up a WebSocket route by calling the ws method on your server instance:

server.ws('/socket', (socket) {
  // Your logic here.
});

Sending:

  • send(message): Sends a message through the WebSocket.
  • emit(event, data): Emits a message with a specified event type.

Broadcasting:

  • broadcast(message): Sends a message to all sockets except the current one.
  • broadcastEvent(event, data): Emits a message with a specified event type to all sockets except the current one.
  • sendToAll(message): Sends a message to all connected sockets.
  • emitToAll(event, data): Emits a message with a specified event type to all connected sockets.
  • broadcastToRoom(room, message): Sends a message to all sockets in a specified room except the current one.

Room Management:

  • join(room): Joins a specified room.
  • leave(room): Leaves a specified room.
  • sendToRoom(room, message): Sends a message to all sockets in a specified room.
  • emitToRoom(event, room, message): Emits a message with a specified event type to all sockets in a specified room.

Retrieval:

  • getSocketById(id): Gets a socket instance by its ID.
  • length: Provides the count of all active sockets.
  • rawSocket: Access to the underlying WebSocket instance.

Event Listeners:

  • onOpen(fn): Registers a callback function that triggers when the WebSocket opens.
  • onClose(fn): Registers a callback function that triggers when the WebSocket closes.
  • onError(fn): Registers a callback function that triggers when there's an error in the WebSocket.
  • onMessage(fn): Registers a callback function that triggers when a message is received.
  • on(event, message): Registers a callback function for a specified event.

Other:

  • id: Unique identifier for the socket (hash code of the raw WebSocket).
  • close(status, reason): Closes the socket with an optional status and reason.

Middlewares:

Middlewares allow you to manipulate request and response objects before they reach your route handlers. They are executed in the order they are added.

Helmet:

Helmet is a middleware that sets HTTP headers to protect against some well-known web vulnerabilities. Here's an example of how to use the Helmet middleware:

server.use(Helmet());
Headers set by Helmet:
  • X-XSS-Protection: Helps in preventing cross-site scripting attacks.
  • X-Content-Type-Options: Helps in preventing MIME-type confusion attacks.
  • X-Frame-Options: Helps in preventing clickjacking attacks.
  • Referrer-Policy: Controls the referrer policy of the app.
  • Content-Security-Policy: Helps in preventing content injection attacks.

Cors:

Cors is a middleware that allows cross-origin resource sharing. Here's an example of how to use the Cors middleware:

server.use(Cors());

Creating Custom Middlewares:

Creating a custom middleware is straightforward. Simply extend the Middleware class and override the handler method.

class CustomMiddleware extends Middleware {
  @override
  Future<bool> handler(ContextRequest req, ContextResponse res) async{
    // Your custom logic here.

    // Return true to continue to the next middleware.
    // Return false to stop the middleware chain.
    return true;

  }
}

Listen:

To start your server, call the listen method on your server instance:

server.listen(port: 3000);

SSL/TLS:

You can make your server serve over HTTPS by providing SSL/TLS certificate details:

server.listen(
  host: '0.0.0.0',
  port: 8080,
  certificateChain: 'path_to_certificate_chain.pem',
  privateKey: 'path_to_private_key.pem',
  password: 'optional_password_for_key',
);

Serving Static Files:

server_nano supports serving static files out of the box. Simply call the static method on your server instance:

server.static('/path/to/static/files');
Options:
  • listing: Allows directory listing. Default is true.
  • links: Allows following links. Default is true.
  • jail: Restricts access to the specified path. Default is true.

🤝 Contributing

If you'd like to contribute to the development of server_nano, open a pull request.

📜 License

server_nano is distributed under the MIT License.

Libraries

server_nano