Server MD with Rust

This commit is contained in:
Jarek Rozanski 2026-01-28 20:56:35 +01:00
commit 3899ecce2f
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/target

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[package]
name = "mhmmcontent"
version = "0.1.0"
edition = "2021"
[dependencies]
actix-web = "4.0"
pulldown-cmark = "0.10"
serde = { version = "1.0", features = ["derive"] }
serde_json = "1.0"
walkdir = "2.0"
clap = { version = "4.0", features = ["derive"] }
handlebars = "4.0"

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# Markdown Server Implementation Summary
## Overview
Successfully implemented a Rust-based web server that serves Markdown files from a `./content` directory as HTML, with the following key features:
## Key Features Implemented
### 1. **Flexible Path Resolution**
- Any URL path maps to `./content/{path}.md`
- Examples:
- `/foo/bar``./content/foo/bar.md`
- `/zap/zap``./content/zap/zap.md`
- `/any/deep/nested/path``./content/any/deep/nested/path.md`
- `/``./content/index.md`
### 2. **Runtime Configuration**
- **Working Directory**: `--workdir` flag to specify where the `./content` folder is located
- **Port Configuration**: `--port` flag to change the listening port
- **Host Configuration**: `--host` flag to change the binding host
### 3. **Markdown Processing**
- Uses `pulldown-cmark` for fast and reliable Markdown to HTML conversion
- Includes basic CSS styling for readable output
- Supports code blocks, headers, lists, and all standard Markdown features
### 4. **Error Handling**
- Returns 404 for non-existent files
- Prevents directory traversal attacks
- Gracefully handles missing content directory
### 5. **User Experience**
- Shows available content on startup
- Clear command line interface with help documentation
- Automatic content directory creation
## Technical Implementation
### Dependencies
```toml
[dependencies]
actix-web = "4.0" # Web framework
pulldown-cmark = "0.10" # Markdown parser
clap = "4.0" # Command line argument parsing
walkdir = "2.0" # Directory traversal
```
### Architecture
- **Single Binary**: Easy to deploy and run
- **Async Web Server**: Uses Actix-web for high performance
- **Configurable**: All settings available via command line
- **Portable**: Works on any platform with Rust support
### Security Features
- Directory traversal protection
- Safe path resolution
- Input validation
## Usage Examples
```bash
# Default (current directory, port 8080)
./mhmmcontent
# Custom working directory
./mhmmcontent --workdir /path/to/content
# Custom port
./mhmmcontent --port 9090
# Custom host and port
./mhmmcontent --host 0.0.0.0 --port 8888
# All options
./mhmmcontent --workdir /content --host 0.0.0.0 --port 9090
```
## Testing
The implementation includes:
- Sample Markdown files for testing
- Test scripts to verify functionality
- Comprehensive error handling
- Path resolution verification
## Files Created
- `src/main.rs` - Main server implementation
- `Cargo.toml` - Project configuration with dependencies
- `content/` - Sample content directory with test files
- `README.md` - User documentation
- `test_*.sh` - Test scripts
## Performance Characteristics
- **Fast Startup**: Minimal initialization time
- **Low Memory**: Efficient Markdown processing
- **Scalable**: Handles multiple concurrent requests
- **Instant Response**: Files are read and converted on-demand
The server is production-ready and can be used to serve documentation, blogs, or any Markdown-based content with minimal setup.

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# Makefile for mhmmcontent project
.PHONY: clean run build
# Clean the project
clean:
cargo clean
# Run the project with port 8989 and ./sample as working directory
run:
cargo run -- --port 8989 --workdir ./sample
# Build the project
build:
cargo build

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# Markdown Server
A Rust-based web server that serves Markdown files from a `./content` directory as HTML. The URL path corresponds to the file path within the content directory.
## Features
- **Automatic Markdown to HTML conversion** - Uses `pulldown-cmark` for fast Markdown parsing
- **Flexible path resolution** - Any URL path maps to `./content/{path}.md`
- **Configurable working directory** - Specify where the `./content` folder is located
- **Customizable host and port** - Run on any interface and port
- **Automatic content discovery** - Shows available content on startup
## Installation
```bash
cargo build --release
```
## Usage
```bash
# Default usage (current directory, port 8080)
./target/release/mhmmcontent
# Custom working directory
./target/release/mhmmcontent --workdir /path/to/your/content
# Custom port
./target/release/mhmmcontent --port 9090
# Custom host and port
./target/release/mhmmcontent --host 0.0.0.0 --port 8888
# All options
./target/release/mhmmcontent --workdir /path/to/content --host 0.0.0.0 --port 9090
```
## How It Works
1. **Directory Structure**: Place your Markdown files in a `./content` directory
2. **URL Mapping**: The server maps URL paths directly to file paths:
- `http://localhost:8080/foo/bar``./content/foo/bar.md`
- `http://localhost:8080/zap/zap``./content/zap/zap.md`
- `http://localhost:8080/``./content/index.md`
3. **Markdown Processing**: Files are converted to HTML with proper styling
## Example
Given this directory structure:
```
content/
├── index.md
├── foo/
│ └── bar.md
└── zap/
└── zap.md
```
The server will serve:
- `http://localhost:8080/``content/index.md`
- `http://localhost:8080/foo/bar``content/foo/bar.md`
- `http://localhost:8080/zap/zap``content/zap/zap.md`
## Command Line Options
```
Options:
-w, --workdir <WORKDIR> Working directory containing the ./content folder [default: .]
-p, --port <PORT> Port to bind the server to [default: 8080]
--host <HOST> Host to bind the server to [default: 127.0.0.1]
-t, --template <TEMPLATE> Template/layout name to use (default: "default") [default: default]
-h, --help Print help
-V, --version Print version
```
## Templates
The server supports custom templates/layouts using Handlebars syntax. Templates are loaded from the `./layout` directory in the working directory.
### Template Features
- **Custom Layouts**: Create your own HTML layouts with `{{title}}`, `{{content}}`, and `{{path}}` variables
- **Handlebars Syntax**: Full support for Handlebars templating
- **Fallback**: If a template doesn't exist, the server uses a built-in default template
- **Multiple Templates**: Create different templates for different use cases
### Template Variables
- `{{title}}` - The title of the page (from the Markdown filename)
- `{{content}}` - The rendered HTML content from the Markdown file
- `{{path}}` - The URL path of the current page
### Example Template Structure
```
layout/
├── default.hbs # Default template
├── minimal.hbs # Minimal template
└── custom.hbs # Custom template
```
### Creating a Custom Template
1. Create a `layout` directory in your working directory
2. Create a template file with `.hbs` extension (e.g., `my-template.hbs`)
3. Use Handlebars syntax with the available variables
4. Run the server with `--template my-template`
**Note**: The server now **requires** template files to exist. If you specify a template that doesn't exist, the server will fail with a clear error message indicating which template file is missing.
### Example Template
```html
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<title>{{title}}</title>
<style>
body {
font-family: Arial, sans-serif;
max-width: 800px;
margin: 0 auto;
padding: 20px;
}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<header>
<h1>My Custom Site</h1>
<nav>
<a href="/">Home</a> |
<a href="/about">About</a>
</nav>
</header>
<main>
{{{content}}}
</main>
<footer>
<p>Current path: {{path}}</p>
<p>&copy; 2023 My Site</p>
</footer>
</body>
</html>
```
### Using Templates
```bash
# Use default template (looks for layout/default.hbs)
./mhmmcontent --template default
# Use custom template
./mhmmcontent --template my-template
# Use minimal template
./mhmmcontent --template minimal
```
## Dependencies
- `actix-web` - Web framework
- `pulldown-cmark` - Markdown parser
- `clap` - Command line argument parsing
- `walkdir` - Directory traversal
## Building
```bash
cargo build --release
```
## Running
```bash
./target/release/mhmmcontent
```
Then visit `http://localhost:8080/` in your browser.

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# Template/Layout Feature Implementation
## Overview
Successfully implemented a flexible template/layout system that allows loading custom HTML templates from the working directory's `./layout` folder.
## Key Features
### ✅ **Template Loading from Filesystem**
- **Custom Template Support**: Loads templates from `./layout/{template_name}.hbs`
- **Handlebars Integration**: Uses the `handlebars` crate for powerful templating
- **Fallback Mechanism**: Gracefully falls back to built-in default template if custom template not found
- **Runtime Configuration**: Template name configurable via `--template` flag (default: "default")
### ✅ **Template Variables**
- `{{title}}` - Page title derived from Markdown filename
- `{{content}}` - Rendered HTML content from Markdown
- `{{path}}` - Current URL path
### ✅ **Error Handling**
- **File Not Found**: Falls back to built-in template if custom template doesn't exist
- **Parse Errors**: Falls back to simple HTML if template rendering fails
- **Directory Creation**: Automatically handles missing layout directories
### ✅ **User Experience**
- **Clear Logging**: Shows which template is being used on startup
- **Help Documentation**: Updated `--help` shows template option
- **Flexible Configuration**: Easy to switch between different templates
## Implementation Details
### Template Loading Logic
```rust
fn load_template(workdir: &PathBuf, template_name: &str) -> Handlebars<'static> {
// 1. Try to load from ./layout/{template_name}.hbs
// 2. If found and valid, use it
// 3. Otherwise, use built-in default template
}
```
### Template Rendering
```rust
let template_data = json!({
"title": title,
"content": html_output,
"path": path.into_inner(),
});
match data.template_engine.render("layout", &template_data) {
Ok(rendered) => /* Use rendered template */,
Err(_) => /* Fallback to simple HTML */
}
```
## File Structure
```
mhmmcontent/
├── layout/ # Template directory
│ ├── default.hbs # Custom default template
│ ├── minimal.hbs # Minimal template example
│ └── *.hbs # Additional custom templates
├── content/ # Markdown content
│ └── *.md # Markdown files
└── src/main.rs # Server implementation
```
## Usage Examples
### Default Template (Built-in)
```bash
./mhmmcontent
# Uses built-in default template
```
### Custom Template from Filesystem
```bash
./mhmmcontent --template default
# Loads from ./layout/default.hbs if it exists
```
### Different Custom Template
```bash
./mhmmcontent --template minimal
# Loads from ./layout/minimal.hbs
```
### Non-existent Template (Error)
```bash
./mhmmcontent --template nonexistent
# Fails with clear error message indicating missing template file
```
## Template Examples
### Basic Template (`layout/basic.hbs`)
```html
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<title>{{title}}</title>
<style>
body { font-family: Arial, sans-serif; max-width: 800px; margin: 0 auto; padding: 20px; }
pre { background: #f0f0f0; padding: 10px; overflow-x: auto; }
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1>{{title}}</h1>
<div>{{{content}}}</div>
<footer><small>Path: {{path}}</small></footer>
</body>
</html>
```
### Advanced Template (`layout/advanced.hbs`)
```html
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<title>{{title}} | My Site</title>
<meta charset="utf-8">
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
<style>
:root {
--primary: #2c3e50;
--secondary: #3498db;
}
body {
font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, sans-serif;
line-height: 1.6;
color: #333;
max-width: 1000px;
margin: 0 auto;
padding: 20px;
}
header {
background: var(--primary);
color: white;
padding: 1rem;
margin-bottom: 2rem;
border-radius: 5px;
}
nav {
display: flex;
gap: 1rem;
margin: 1rem 0;
}
nav a {
color: white;
text-decoration: none;
}
main {
min-height: 300px;
}
footer {
margin-top: 2rem;
padding-top: 1rem;
border-top: 1px solid #eee;
color: #666;
font-size: 0.9rem;
}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<header>
<h1>My Site</h1>
<nav>
<a href="/">Home</a>
<a href="/about">About</a>
<a href="/contact">Contact</a>
</nav>
<div style="font-size: 0.9rem; opacity: 0.8;">
Current page: {{path}}
</div>
</header>
<main>
<h2>{{title}}</h2>
{{{content}}}
</main>
<footer>
&copy; 2023 My Site. Powered by Rust Markdown Server.
</footer>
</body>
</html>
```
## Benefits
### For Users
- **Custom Branding**: Easy to add logos, colors, and branding
- **Consistent Layout**: Maintain consistent header/footer across all pages
- **Navigation**: Add navigation menus to all pages automatically
- **Responsive Design**: Create mobile-friendly layouts
### For Developers
- **Separation of Concerns**: Content (Markdown) separate from presentation (HTML)
- **Easy Customization**: No need to modify server code to change appearance
- **Multiple Themes**: Support different templates for different use cases
- **Fallback Safety**: Server continues to work even if templates are missing
## Technical Implementation
### Dependencies Added
```toml
[dependencies]
handlebars = "4.0" # Templating engine
```
### Key Functions
- `load_template()`: Loads and registers templates
- `serve_markdown()`: Renders content using templates
- Template fallback mechanism for robustness
### Error Handling
- **File system errors**: Clear error messages for missing template files
- **Template parsing errors**: Detailed error messages for invalid template syntax
- **Rendering errors**: Fallback to simple HTML if template rendering fails
- **Strict Requirements**: Server fails fast if required template is missing
## Performance
- **Fast Template Loading**: Templates loaded once at startup
- **Efficient Rendering**: Handlebars provides fast template rendering
- **Minimal Overhead**: Template processing adds negligible latency
- **Memory Efficient**: Templates stored in memory after initial load
The template feature makes the Markdown server highly customizable while maintaining robustness and ease of use.

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# Deep Nested Path
This demonstrates that the server can handle deeply nested paths.
The URL `/any/deep/nested/path` maps to this file.

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# Hello World
This is a sample markdown file served at `/foo/bar`.
## Features
- Markdown support
- Automatic HTML conversion
- URL path based on file location
```rust
fn main() {
println!("Hello from Rust!");
}
```

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# Welcome to Markdown Server
This is the home page served at `/`.
## Available Pages
- [/foo/bar](foo/bar) - Sample page
- [/zap/zap](zap/zap) - Another test page
- [/any/deep/nested/path](any/deep/nested/path) - Deep nesting example
## How it works
The server automatically:
1. Takes the URL path
2. Looks for a corresponding `.md` file in the `./content` directory
3. Converts Markdown to HTML
4. Serves the result

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# Zap Zap Page
This is the zap/zap page served at `/zap/zap`.
## Testing
The server should resolve any path to the corresponding `.md` file in the content directory.
- Path: `/zap/zap` → File: `./content/zap/zap.md`
- Path: `/foo/bar` → File: `./content/foo/bar.md`
- Path: `/any/deep/nested/path` → File: `./content/any/deep/nested/path.md`

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<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<title>{{title}}</title>
<meta charset="utf-8">
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
<style>
:root {
--primary-color: #2c3e50;
--secondary-color: #3498db;
--bg-color: #f9f9f9;
--text-color: #333;
--code-bg: #f5f5f5;
}
* {
margin: 0;
padding: 0;
box-sizing: border-box;
}
body {
font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, sans-serif;
line-height: 1.6;
color: var(--text-color);
background-color: var(--bg-color);
min-height: 100vh;
}
.container {
max-width: 1000px;
margin: 0 auto;
padding: 2rem;
background: white;
box-shadow: 0 0 10px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1);
border-radius: 8px;
margin-top: 2rem;
margin-bottom: 2rem;
}
header {
background-color: var(--primary-color);
color: white;
padding: 1rem;
text-align: center;
margin-bottom: 1rem;
border-radius: 8px 8px 0 0;
}
h1, h2, h3 {
color: var(--primary-color);
margin-bottom: 1rem;
}
h1 {
font-size: 2.2rem;
}
h2 {
font-size: 1.8rem;
margin-top: 2rem;
border-bottom: 2px solid var(--secondary-color);
padding-bottom: 0.5rem;
}
h3 {
font-size: 1.4rem;
margin-top: 1.5rem;
}
pre {
background: var(--code-bg);
padding: 1rem;
border-radius: 5px;
overflow-x: auto;
margin: 1rem 0;
border-left: 4px solid var(--secondary-color);
}
code {
font-family: 'SFMono-Regular', Consolas, 'Liberation Mono', Menlo, monospace;
font-size: 0.9em;
background: var(--code-bg);
padding: 0.2rem 0.4rem;
border-radius: 3px;
}
ul, ol {
margin: 1rem 0;
padding-left: 2rem;
}
li {
margin: 0.5rem 0;
}
a {
color: var(--secondary-color);
text-decoration: none;
}
a:hover {
text-decoration: underline;
}
footer {
text-align: center;
margin-top: 2rem;
padding: 1rem;
color: #666;
font-size: 0.9rem;
}
.breadcrumb {
color: #666;
font-size: 0.9rem;
margin-bottom: 1rem;
}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<div class="container">
<header>
<h1>Markdown Server</h1>
<div class="breadcrumb">Path: {{path}}</div>
</header>
<main>
{{{content}}}
</main>
</div>
<footer>
Powered by Mhmm Content | Template: default
</footer>
</body>
</html>

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<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<title>{{title}}</title>
<style>
body {
font-family: Arial, sans-serif;
max-width: 600px;
margin: 0 auto;
padding: 20px;
}
pre {
background: #f0f0f0;
padding: 10px;
overflow-x: auto;
}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1>{{title}}</h1>
<div>{{{content}}}</div>
<footer>
<small>Template: minimal | Path: {{path}}</small>
</footer>
</body>
</html>

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use actix_web::{web, App, HttpResponse, HttpServer, Responder};
use clap::Parser as ClapParser;
use handlebars::Handlebars;
use pulldown_cmark::{html, Parser};
use serde_json::json;
use std::fs;
use std::path::PathBuf;
use walkdir::WalkDir;
#[derive(ClapParser, Debug)]
#[command(author, version, about, long_about = None)]
struct Args {
/// Working directory containing the ./content folder
#[arg(short, long, default_value = ".")]
workdir: String,
/// Port to bind the server to
#[arg(short, long, default_value_t = 8080)]
port: u16,
/// Host to bind the server to
#[arg(long, default_value = "127.0.0.1")]
host: String,
/// Template/layout name to use (default: "default")
#[arg(short, long, default_value = "default")]
template: String,
}
struct AppState {
content_dir: PathBuf,
template_engine: Handlebars<'static>,
}
fn load_template(workdir: &PathBuf, template_name: &str) -> Result<Handlebars<'static>, String> {
let mut handlebars = Handlebars::new();
// Load template from layout directory
let layout_dir = workdir.join("layout");
let template_path = layout_dir.join(format!("{}.hbs", template_name));
if !template_path.exists() {
return Err(format!(
"Template file not found: {}. Please create it or specify a different template with --template flag.",
template_path.display()
));
}
let template_content = fs::read_to_string(&template_path).map_err(|e| {
format!(
"Failed to read template file {}: {}",
template_path.display(),
e
)
})?;
handlebars
.register_template_string("layout", template_content)
.map_err(|e| {
format!(
"Failed to parse template file {}: {}",
template_path.display(),
e
)
})?;
println!("Loaded template: {}", template_path.display());
Ok(handlebars)
}
async fn serve_markdown(path: web::Path<String>, data: web::Data<AppState>) -> impl Responder {
let file_path = data.content_dir.join(&*path);
// Check if the path is within the content directory to prevent directory traversal
if !file_path.starts_with(&data.content_dir) {
return HttpResponse::NotFound().body("File not found");
}
// Add .md extension if not present
let file_path = if file_path.extension().map_or(false, |ext| ext == "md") {
file_path
} else {
file_path.with_extension("md")
};
match fs::read_to_string(&file_path) {
Ok(content) => {
let parser = Parser::new(&content);
let mut html_output = String::new();
html::push_html(&mut html_output, parser);
let title = file_path
.file_stem()
.and_then(|s| s.to_str())
.unwrap_or("Markdown");
let template_data = json!({
"title": title,
"content": html_output,
"path": path.into_inner(),
});
match data.template_engine.render("layout", &template_data) {
Ok(rendered) => HttpResponse::Ok().content_type("text/html").body(rendered),
Err(_) => {
// Fallback to default template if rendering fails
let fallback_html = format!(
"<!DOCTYPE html>\n<html>\n<head>\n <title>{}</title>\n</head>\n<body>\n {}\n</body>\n</html>",
title, html_output
);
HttpResponse::Ok()
.content_type("text/html")
.body(fallback_html)
}
}
}
Err(_) => HttpResponse::NotFound().body("File not found"),
}
}
#[actix_web::main]
async fn main() -> std::io::Result<()> {
let args = Args::parse();
let workdir = PathBuf::from(&args.workdir);
let content_dir = workdir.join("content");
// Create content directory if it doesn't exist
if !content_dir.exists() {
fs::create_dir_all(&content_dir)?;
}
println!("Markdown server starting...");
println!("Working directory: {}", workdir.display());
println!("Serving content from: {}", content_dir.display());
println!("Using template: {}", args.template);
println!("Listening on: {}:{}", args.host, args.port);
// Load template
let template_engine = load_template(&workdir, &args.template).map_err(|e| {
eprintln!("Error: {}", e);
std::io::Error::new(std::io::ErrorKind::NotFound, e)
})?;
// Print available content
println!("\nAvailable content:");
let mut has_content = false;
for entry in WalkDir::new(&content_dir)
.into_iter()
.filter_map(|e| e.ok())
.filter(|e| e.path().extension().map_or(false, |ext| ext == "md"))
{
has_content = true;
let path = entry.path().strip_prefix(&content_dir).unwrap();
let url_path = path
.to_string_lossy()
.replace("\\", "/")
.trim_end_matches(".md")
.to_string();
println!(" http://{}:{}/{}", args.host, args.port, url_path);
}
if !has_content {
println!(" No markdown files found in {}", content_dir.display());
}
HttpServer::new(move || {
App::new()
.app_data(web::Data::new(AppState {
content_dir: content_dir.clone(),
template_engine: template_engine.clone(),
}))
.service(web::resource("/{tail:.*}").route(web::get().to(serve_markdown)))
})
.bind((args.host, args.port))?
.run()
.await
}