| title | date | tags | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
`python -m http.server` as ephemeral Dropbox |
2025-01-21 |
|
Ever need to download a file from a server -- or get
someone else to download a file from a server, who
may not be comfortable with or should have access to
scp or sftp?
Turns out, if you have Python installed -- and you probably do -- it comes with a handy one-liner file server for just such an occasion:
python -m http.server 12345 # or whatever port you prefer
Then to close the server, just Ctrl+C.
Notice too that the webserver starts by default, at least
on my machine, on 0.0.0.0. That means that every
network interface will point to it, not just
localhost.
If you have ever wanted to share a file for
one-time usage with another device over your local
household's LAN, with a family member, for instance,
this can make an excellent option.
Have them try whatever
192.168.x.y:12345 is suggested by the output of your
local ifconfig, I mean, ip a, to start, and season
to taste.
This is my actual, personal use case for it.
Surely no one would be crazy
enough to run the default http.server in production...
Would they? 😉