Basic configuration
Every site in Fast-Https is described by a single JSON configuration file. Edit the file, reload the service and the change applies. This page covers how the service starts, where the file lives and what it looks like.
1 Start and tray menu
On Windows, double click monitor.exe in the application folder; on Linux, run ./fast-https in a terminal. An icon appears in the notification area. Its context menu offers four actions:
| Menu item | Action |
|---|---|
| START | Start the web service |
| STOP | Stop the web service |
| RELOAD | Reload the configuration file without stopping the process |
| QUIT | Exit the tray program |
2 Default page
Once the service is running, open http://localhost:8080/ to see the default Fast-Https start page, which offers the root certificate root.crt for download (see Serve a site over HTTPS).
3 Where the configuration file lives
| Platform | Main configuration file |
|---|---|
| Windows | D:\fast-https_Windows_x86_64\config\fast-https.json |
| Linux | /usr/local/fast-https/config/fast-https.json |
4 Configuration file structure
A minimal working main configuration file looks like this:
{
"log_root": "./logs",
"pid": "./fast-https.pid",
"http": {
"include": "mime.types",
"server": [
{
"listen": 8080,
"server_name": "localhost",
"location": [
{
"url": "/",
"type": "local",
"root": "./httpdoc/www.myweb.com",
"index": ["index.html", "index.htm"]
}
]
}
]
}
}
Top level options:
| Option | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
log_root | Log directory | ./logs |
pid | Path of the process PID file | ./fast-https.pid |
http.include | MIME type table, or a directory of site configs | "mime.types" / ["./config/conf.d"] |
http.server | List of sites, each entry is one virtual host | see below |
Common options inside a server block:
| Option | Description |
|---|---|
listen | Listening port; use "443 ssl" for an encrypted listener |
server_name | Domain served by this site |
ssl_certificate | Certificate path, only needed by ssl listeners |
ssl_certificate_key | Private key path, only needed by ssl listeners |
location | List of path rules that decide how a request is handled |
A location block uses type to select the handler:
type | Meaning | Related options | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|
local | Publish a local static directory | root, index, try | Publish a local static site |
proxy | Reverse proxy an upstream service | proxy_pass, proxy_set_header, proxy_cache | Reverse proxy a site |
rewrite | Redirect to another address | rewrite | Configure redirects |
5 Apply the changes
Save the file and choose RELOAD from the tray menu. If the change touches a listening port or the certificate files themselves, prefer STOP followed by START so the port is released cleanly.
#, otherwise the service fails to read the configuration.