Static content serving in CherryPy

Static content serving🧑‍🔧

Static content can be any file that is stored on a server and is it is delivered to users as the same file every time. Images and HTML files are examples of this kind of content.

CherryPy can serve static content such as images, javascript and CSS resources, etc.

CherryPy uses the mime-types module to find the best content type that is required to serve a resource. If the choice is not valid, the user can set a few more media types as shown below:

import mimetypes   #importing mimetypes
mimetypes.types_map['.csv'] = 'textfile/csv'   #types_map attribute is used for dictionary mapping filename extensions to MIME types.

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Serving a single file using CherryPy📑

You can serve a single file as given below:

[/style.css]
tools.staticfile.on = True
tools.staticfile.filename = "/home/site/style.css"

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CherryPy automatically responds to URLs such as this one http://hostname/styles.css.

Serving a whole directory using CherryPy🗃️

Serving directory is very similar to serving a single file:

[/static]
tools.staticdir.on = True
tools.staticdir.dir = "/home/site/static"

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Considering you have a file at static/js/my.js, CherryPy will automatically respond to URLs such as http://hostname/static/js/my.js.

CherryPy requires the absolute path of the files or directories it serves. Suppose there are several static sections to be configured but are located in the same root directory. In that case, the following shortcut can be used:

[/]
tools.staticdir.root = "/home/site"

[/static]
tools.staticdir.on = True
tools.staticdir.dir = "static"

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Specifying an index file using CherryPy🗂️

By default, CherryPy responds to the root of a static directory with a 404 error denoting the path '/' was not found. To fix an index file, you can use the following:

[/static]
tools.staticdir.on = True
tools.staticdir.dir = "/home/site/static"
tools.staticdir.index = "index.html"

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Considering you have a file at static/index.html, CherryPy automatically responds to URLs such as http://hostname/static/ by returning its contents.

Allow files downloading⬇️

Using "application/x-download" response content type, you can tell a browser that a resource should be downloaded onto the user's machine rather than displayed.

You could, for example, write a page handler as follows:

from  cherrypy.lib.static import serve_file

@cherrypy.expose
def download(self, filepath):
    return serve_file(filepath, "application/x-download", "attachment")

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Assuming the file path is a valid path on the system, the response would be viewed as downloadable content by the browser.

Getting Started🤩✨

All new to CherryPy? Don't worry! Here are a few of our resources that will aid you in getting started.

What is CherryPy🔎

Why CherryPy🤔❓

Environmental setup for CherryPy⚒️

Uploading file and reading it in CherryPy python.⬆️📈

Authentication in CherryPy🔐

Frequently Asked Questions

Is CherryPy paid service?

CherryPy is a completely free object-oriented web framework that can be installed and run on your system without any charges. 

What is the CherryPy configuration?

CherryPy framework has its own configuration system allowing the users to parameterize the HTTP server. The configuration settings are either saved as a Python dictionary or just as a textual context record. 

What are CherryPy Web services?

CherryPy web services are a set of web-based additives that aid in changing data between systems or applications. 

Does CherryPy have its own web server?

Yes! CherryPy comes with its own HTTP web server, which makes it self-contained and enables users to run its utility within minutes of installation. 

Is CherryPy an MVC framework?

Yes! CherryPy offers the ability to launch a new application by using just a command or file as it supports Model-View-Controller architectural pattern.

Conclusion

This article provides a brief overview of static content serving using CherryPy. Now that you’re familiar with CherryPy, learn how to configure application settings, Architecture of Config In CherryPy, Namespaces in CherryPy, and perform arithmetic in CherryPy python, or Start with the basics of Python.

Happy learning!