Caddy is a powerful, enterprise-ready, open-source web server with automatic HTTPS written in Go. It is designed to be simple, secure, and fast. Caddy can serve static files, reverse proxy to other servers, and provide a variety of other features.
Caddy stands out due to its simplicity and ease of use. Unlike other web servers that require complex configuration files and manual certificate management, Caddy automates these processes, making it an excellent choice for both beginners and experienced administrators. Its modular architecture allows for extensive customization through plugins, enabling users to tailor the server to their specific needs. Additionally, Caddy’s native support for HTTP/2 and its cross-platform compatibility ensure that it can be deployed in a wide range of environments. Whether you are hosting a small personal website or managing a large-scale enterprise application, Caddy provides the tools and features necessary to ensure a secure and efficient web server experience.
To install Caddy, follow these steps:
caddy binary to a directory in your PATH.For detailed installation instructions, refer to the Caddy documentation.
Caddy uses a configuration file called Caddyfile. Here is an example configuration:
example.com { root * /var/www/html file_server }
This configuration serves static files from the /var/www/html directory for the domain example.com.
To start the Caddy server, run the following command:
caddy run
| Feature | Caddy | Apache2 | Nginx |
|---|---|---|---|
| Automatic HTTPS | Yes | No | No |
| Configuration | Simple, human-readable | Complex, XML-like | Complex, block-based |
| Extensibility | High (modular plugins) | High (modules) | High (modules) |
| HTTP/2 Support | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Cross-Platform | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Performance | High | Moderate | High |
| Ease of Use | Very Easy | Moderate | Moderate |