genhttp

name	genhttp
description	how to use genhttp effectively for http server

GenHTTP Skill Guide

GenHTTP is a lightweight, high-performance HTTP server library for .NET that provides flexible tools for building REST APIs, web services, static websites, and real-time applications. Use this skill when a task involves setting up or managing HTTP servers, handling requests and responses, routing, middleware, server configuration, or other web server-related functionality.

Quick Navigation

🚀 Getting Started

• Two-Line Web Service (Minimal Example) — Quickest way to understand GenHTTP
• Creating a Web Service (Detailed Tutorial) — Step-by-step guide for building your first service
• Main Documentation Index — Overview of all GenHTTP features

📐 Choose Your Framework

Select based on your use case:

• Web Services (REST APIs) — Full-featured REST API implementation with routing and responses
• Functional Handlers — Minimal, single-function REST services for simple endpoints
• Controllers — Class-based REST approach with organized methods
• WebSockets — Real-time bidirectional communication
• Static Websites — Serving HTML, CSS, JavaScript files
• Single-Page Applications (SPAs) — Frontend framework integration (React, Vue, etc.)

🛠️ Building Applications

Routing & Request Handling

• Routing — Define URL patterns and route requests
• Definitions — Method definitions and parameter handling
• Response Content — Crafting responses (JSON, HTML, etc.)
• Resources — Managing request/response resources
• Templates — Dynamic content generation

Handler Reference

Common handlers for specific tasks:

• Layouting — Combining multiple handlers into a hierarchy (fundamental)
• Static Content — Serve files and directories
• Pages — Dynamic page serving
• Content Handler — Flexible content delivery
• Listing — Directory/collection listings
• Downloads — File download handling
• Redirects — URL redirection
• Server-Sent Events (SSE) — Server-to-client streaming
• Reverse Proxy — Proxy requests to other servers
• Load Balancer — Distribute requests across backends
• Virtual Hosts — Host multiple domains
• API Browsing — Auto-generated API explorer

Advanced Concepts

• Dependency Injection — Service injection for handlers
• Code Generation — Automatic code from definitions
• Caches — Caching mechanisms
• Content Overview — Complete content building guide

⚙️ Server Configuration & Deployment

• Server Configuration Guide — Overview of server setup
• Endpoints — Port and address configuration
• Engines — Core server implementations
• Adapters — Protocol and platform adaptations
• Companions — Supporting services
• Security Configuration — HTTPS, certificates, protocol security

🔒 Security & Performance Cross-Cutting Concerns

Authentication & Access Control

• Authentication — User authentication strategies
• CORS (Cross-Origin Resource Sharing) — Handling cross-origin requests

Caching & Performance

• Compression — Response compression (gzip, etc.)
• Decompression — Request decompression
• Client Caching Policy — Cache headers and directives
• Client Caching Validation — ETags and validation
• Server-Side Caching — Application-level caching

Standards & Observability

• OpenAPI — API documentation generation
• Range Support — Partial content requests
• Localization — Multi-language support
• Error Handling — Exception handling and error responses
• Inspection — Monitoring and debugging
• Concerns Overview — Complete concerns guide
• Default Concerns — Standard concern middleware

🧪 Testing & Quality

• Testing Guide — Testing approaches and best practices

---

Quick Reference by Task

Task	Resource
Build REST API	Web Services
Build minimal endpoint	Functional Handlers
Organize code with classes	Controllers
Real-time updates	WebSockets
Serve web files	Static Websites
React/Vue app	Single-Page Applications
Define routes	Routing
Compress responses	Compression
HTTPS/certificate	Security
Document API	OpenAPI
Cache management	Caching + Server Cache
Custom middleware	Concerns
Test server	Testing