// the find
JacksonTian/anywhere
Running static file server anywhere / 随启随用的静态文件服务器
anywhere is a zero-config CLI static file server — run it in any directory and it immediately serves files on port 8000 and opens a browser. It's the local equivalent of Python's `http.server` but with directory listing, HTTPS, and proxy support baked in. Aimed at frontend developers who need a quick local server without spinning up a full dev environment.
Proxy support via http-proxy-middleware is genuinely useful — you can point `/api` at a backend and avoid CORS headaches during development. The HTML5 history fallback flag (`-f`) means SPA developers can use it without a custom webpack dev server. Self-signed HTTPS certs are included in the repo, so serving over HTTPS locally requires zero setup. Active maintenance (last push June 2026) despite the project's age means it tracks modern Node.
The codebase is tiny — `lib/utils.js` is essentially the whole thing — which means any non-trivial need (gzip, custom headers, auth) requires wrapping it or switching tools. Shipping self-signed certs in the repo (`keys/`) is a bit odd; they're obviously not secret but it's an unusual pattern that'll confuse people auditing their node_modules. With only one real test file (`test/utils.test.js`), the proxy logic and edge cases are essentially untested. At 1034 stars in a space where `serve`, `http-server`, and Vite's preview mode all exist, it doesn't clearly win on any axis.