Lighttpd (pronounced “lighty”) is an open-source, high-performance web server known for being lightweight and efficient, especially with limited resources. It was originally developed for use in environments where memory and CPU usage needed to be minimized, making it suitable for high-traffic websites, servers with low hardware capabilities, and embedded systems.
| Version Type | Version | Release Date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stable | 1.4.82 | 2025-09-12 | Current |
toupper: modifierpsa_crypto_init() for MBEDTLS_USE_PSA_CRYPTO| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Initial Release | March 2003 |
| Stable Release | 1.4.82 (September 12, 2025) |
| Creator | Jan Kneschke |
| Developer | Lighttpd community |
| Written In | C |
| License | BSD-3-Clause |
| Operating System | Linux, Unix, Windows (since 1.4.70) |
| Architecture | Event-driven, asynchronous |
Lighttpd holds approximately ~1% market share across all websites (W3Techs 2025). While smaller than NGINX (33.8%) and Apache (26.4%), it remains popular for:
| Use Case | Description |
|---|---|
| Static File Server | Efficient delivery of static assets |
| Embedded Devices | IoT routers, embedded systems |
| Reverse Proxy | Forward requests to backend servers |
| FastCGI Server | PHP, Python applications |
| Git HTTP Daemon | Lightweight Git server |
| High-Traffic Sites | YouTube, Wikimedia (historical) |
Debian/Ubuntu:
/etc/lighttpd/lighttpd.conf # Main configuration
/etc/lighttpd/conf-available/ # Available configs
/etc/lighttpd/conf-enabled/ # Enabled configs
/var/www/html/ # Default document root
/var/log/lighttpd/ # Log files
RHEL/CentOS:
/etc/lighttpd/lighttpd.conf # Main configuration
/etc/lighttpd/conf.d/ # Additional configs
/var/www/html/ # Default document root
/var/log/lighttpd/ # Log files
# Check status
sudo systemctl status lighttpd
# Start/Stop/Restart
sudo systemctl start lighttpd
sudo systemctl stop lighttpd
sudo systemctl restart lighttpd
sudo systemctl reload lighttpd # Graceful reload
# Test configuration
sudo lighttpd -tt -f /etc/lighttpd/lighttpd.conf
# Check version
lighttpd --version
# Enable module
sudo lighty-enable-mod ssl
# Disable module
sudo lighty-disable-mod ssl
# List enabled modules
ls /etc/lighttpd/conf-enabled/
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