Updated: 22 October 2023
Install on Ubuntu
sudo apt install lighttpd
# check version
lighttpd -v
Check if lighttpd is running
ps aux | grep lighttpd
# or
systemctl status lighttpd
Basic help
lighttpd --help
Stop the webserver (will restart when system is rebooted)
sudo systemctl stop lighttpd
Start the webserver
sudo systemctl start lighttpd
Prevent lighttbd from starting on system boot
sudo systemctl disable lighttpd
Backup the config file
sudo mv /etc/lighttpd/lighttpd.conf /etc/lighttpd/lighttpd.conf.original.backup
sudo touch /etc/lighttpd/lighttpd.conf
A config for testing
server.document-root = "/var/www/servers/www.example.org/pages/"
server.port = 3000
# If running lighttpd earlier than lighttpd 1.4.71 add the following:
mimetype.assign = (
".html" => "text/html",
".txt" => "text/plain",
".jpg" => "image/jpeg",
".png" => "image/png"
)
Check the conf file
lighttpd -tt -f /etc/lighttpd/lighttpd.conf
lighttpd will bind to all interfaces by default and will listen for HTTP requests on the port specified in server.port. lighttpd will then serve files from the server.document-root specified. The files in document root have to be readable by the user starting the web server.
Start the server for testing
lighttpd -D -f lighttpd.conf