Embedded HTTP server

steve64 · 2025-11-15T16:12:39+00:00

How to implement a LuaRT application with: a Webview widget and a simple HTTP server embedded in the app providing contents to that WebView ? I tried but I'...

steve64

How to implement a LuaRT application with:

a Webview widget and
a simple HTTP server embedded in the app providing contents to that WebView
?
I tried but I'm facing troubles in managing concurrency properly for this use case.
Note 1: . it should be enough to load an initial page from a local file (or better a string). I do not need to have the Http server working in background for the entire usage of the app
Note 2: I need the embedded HTTP server on Lua side since there is a remote Web service that I want to use and it works only from a Web page loaded by a server (maybe for CORS policy) . I can not directly generate the HTML/JS string from inside the LuaRT app or load the static page from a local file.

Samir

Have you tried to disable CORS policy when creating Webview ?

steve64

Yes, but I want to integrate the http server in my app

Samir

There is no Http server module for now, but Zeykate created Luon :
[Login to see the link]

steve64

Thanks, I will look at it.
However, my main point is not just to write the server code but to let the server and the GUI to work simultaneously in same app not having true multithreading.

Samir

Yes the server will need to use Tasks to achieve that

steve64

Not sure it is possible.
To ask the loading of a page on the Webview widget I need to execute:
web.url = URL
But the embedded HTTP server should be already listening for clients when the instruction above
is executed and web.url = URL is blocking until completed, preventing the server task to go on.
Am i right?

Samir

Using Webview.url property should not block are you sure of this ?

Ja_edarts

Hello !

redbean 2
( and 'Cosmopolitan' )
might be v useful for LuaRT

[Login to see the link]
[Login to see the link]

redbean 2.0

/// redbean is a webserver in a zip executable that runs on six operating systems.
The basic idea is if you want to build a web app that runs anywhere, then you download the redbean.com file, put your .html and .lua files inside it using the zip command, and then you've got a hermetic app you can deploy and share.

Samir

It has already been discussed on LuaRT discord server. Cosmopolitan cannot be used for LuaRT, as the core LuaRT runtime uses Windows specific API functionnalities

Redbean is a very good project, but it's a specific Lua interpreter, not a binary module that can be used with Lua or LuaRT