GenHTTP
A lightweight, embeddable web server written in pure C# for quickly creating .NET web services with minimal configuration.
What is GenHTTP?
GenHTTP is a lightweight, embeddable web server written in pure C# with minimal dependencies. It allows developers to quickly create and deploy web services, REST APIs, and other web applications within the .NET ecosystem, focusing on code-first configuration and modern web standards. The project solves the need for a simple, performant, and easily integrable HTTP server that avoids the complexity of traditional configuration-heavy solutions.
.NET developers building web services, REST APIs, or embedded web applications who want a lightweight, code-first server without external dependencies. It's ideal for those working on console apps, desktop applications (WPF, WinForms), or cross-platform projects (MAUI, Avalonia, Uno) that require an integrated HTTP server.
Developers choose GenHTTP for its simplicity, embeddability, and focus on developer experience. Unlike heavier alternatives, it requires no configuration files, supports modern standards out of the box, and can be integrated into existing .NET applications with just a few lines of code, making it a versatile and efficient choice for .NET web development.
Overview
Lightweight embeddable web server written in pure C# with few dependencies to 3rd-party libraries.
Use Cases
Best For
- Embedding a web server into existing .NET console or desktop applications
- Quickly prototyping REST APIs and web services with minimal setup
- Building lightweight microservices or internal tools with .NET
- Creating single-page applications (SPAs) or static websites with a C# backend
- Developing real-time applications using websockets or server-sent events
- Deploying self-hosted web applications with Docker and minimal footprint
Not Ideal For
- Large-scale enterprise applications requiring extensive middleware, dependency injection, and ecosystem integrations
- Projects heavily reliant on graphical web interfaces or full-stack frameworks with built-in UI components
- Teams needing deep, out-of-the-box integration with cloud platforms like Azure or AWS services
- Environments where a vast library of third-party NuGet packages and community plugins is essential
Pros & Cons
Pros
Ready-made templates for REST APIs, websockets, and SPAs allow setup in minutes with commands like `dotnet new genhttp-webservice`, reducing boilerplate.
Easily embeddable into console apps, desktop frameworks (WPF, WinForms), and cross-platform projects (MAUI, Avalonia) with just a few lines of code, as shown in the embedding example.
Supports modern web standards like Open API and JWT, achieves grade A+ SSL security, and has high HTTP compliance (81% in Http11Probe).
Eliminates configuration files; server behavior is defined entirely in C# code, avoiding magical strings and reducing complexity.
Cons
Compared to mainstream options like ASP.NET Core, GenHTTP has a smaller user base, leading to fewer tutorials, third-party modules, and slower issue resolution.
The project dropped support for graphical web applications in 2024, so it lacks built-in features for complex UI development or advanced web frameworks.
While optimized for small footprints, it may not match the raw throughput or scalability of highly-tuned servers like Kestrel in all high-load scenarios.
Frequently Asked Questions
Related Projects
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