Shiny.Net.HttpServer.CommandLine 1.0.0-beta.20

Shiny HTTP Server

ASP.NET Core is heavyweight and does not run on .NET MAUI or in several embedded server scenarios. This is a dependency-light, fully AOT/trim-clean HTTP/1.1, HTTP/2 & HTTP/3 server that runs anywhere .NET runs — plus tunnelling so a server embedded in a phone app is reachable from the public internet.

Only Microsoft.Extensions.* abstractions are taken as dependencies. Everything else — JSON, crypto, JWT, OpenAPI, HPACK, QPACK — is built on what is in the box.

Packages

Getting Started

var server = new HttpServer(new HttpServerOptions { Port = 8080 });
server.MapGet("/ping", ctx => ctx.Response.WriteAsync("pong"));
await server.RunAsync();

Every registration this library owns hangs off one builder, in both hosting shapes:

var builder = HttpServer.CreateBuilder();
builder.Options.Port = 8080;
builder.AddAuthentication().AddJwtBearer(o => o.SigningKey = key);
builder.AddRateLimiter(o => o.GlobalPolicy = new FixedWindowRateLimitPolicy(100, TimeSpan.FromMinutes(1)));
builder.AddHealthChecks().AddServerCheck();

var app = builder.Build();

// …or, inside an app that already owns a container — the same calls:
services.AddShinyHttpServer(http =>
{
    http.Options.Port = 8080;
    http.AddHealthChecks().AddServerCheck();
    http.Configure(server => server.MapMyAppEndpoints());
});

Typed endpoints, generated at compile time:

[Route("/api/users")]
public class UserEndpoints(IUserService users, ILogger<UserEndpoints> logger)
{
    [Get("/{id:int}")]
    public async Task<IActionResult> GetUser(int id, CancellationToken ct)
        => await users.FindAsync(id, ct) is { } u ? new OkObjectResult(u) : new NotFoundResult();
}

app.MapMyAppEndpoints();   // emitted for every [Route] class in the assembly

An MCP server, on the same host, reachable from a MAUI app:

builder.Services
    .AddMcpServer(o => o.ServerInfo = new() { Name = "thermostat", Version = "1.0.0" })
    .WithTools<ThermostatTools>()
    .WithHttpTransport();

var app = builder.Build();
app.MapMcp();              // POST/GET/DELETE/OPTIONS on /mcp

The MCP package is trim- and AOT-clean like the rest, with one thing the compiler cannot check for you: a tool's parameter and return types are published as a JSON schema, and building that schema by reflection does not survive trimming. Tools that trade only in primitives need nothing extra; give the rest a source-generated context, and MapMcp() will tell you if you missed one.

[JsonSerializable(typeof(Query))]
[JsonSerializable(typeof(IReadOnlyList<Reading>))]
public partial class ToolJson : JsonSerializerContext;

.WithTools<ThermostatTools>(ToolJson.Default.Options)

On a phone, where the server has to be found and has to survive the device moving:

builder.Services.AddShinyHttpServer(
    http =>
    {
        http.Options.Address = IPAddress.Any;

        // Stops on background, starts on resume, rebinds when the network changes.
        http.AddHttpServerLifecycle(o => o.BackgroundMode = BackgroundServerMode.KeepAlive);

        // Advertises on the local link, so the other device does not need an IP address.
        http.AddHttpServerAdvertisement(o => o.ServiceType = "_myapp._tcp");
    },
    autoStart: false
);

and on the other device:

var found = await locator.FindFirstAsync("_myapp._tcp");
using var client = new HttpClient { BaseAddress = found!.BaseAddress };

What is in the box

The four tiers — one delegate, raw routes, middleware, and source-generated typed endpoints. Each is built on the one below and they compose in the same app.

Everything shipping targets net10.0 with the trim, AOT and single-file analyzers enabled, so "AOT-clean" is enforced by the build rather than claimed in a readme.

Documentation

Full docs are at shinylib.net/httpserver.

Support

Shiny is free and will continue to be, but maintenance and support take a heavy toll on sustainability. If you or your company have the resources, please consider becoming a GitHub Sponsor.