Web server on Mac OS Ventura / Sonoma

Software
1

I would like to run a (minimal) web server on my Mac mini server.

I really have two very basic needs:

  1. Provide a small (eg 2) html files to my web browser, and
  2. Provide a WebDAV access for software that syncs via this mechanism.

Any thoughts on the “best” way to accomplish this. ?Apache via home-brew? Something else?

Thanks.

2

Do you chase the latest OS updates? If so, I have found that homebrew packages can be hit or miss.

Maybe a Docker type container? You still find yourself with occasional update challenges, but you are dealing with one thing that is more easily researched, rather than half a dozen packages and all of their associated dependencies.

3

Definitive Guide to setting up (without Homebrew etc) Apache on Sonoma is here:
https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-250007792

4

Webdavnav is simple and reliable, and it turns out well documented too!

5

I understand the web browser is not running on the Mini, right? Because if it is, you can directly open the HTML files! If they are not on the same computer, I would store them in iCloud Drive.

Apart from that,for a one short you can run a quick and dirty webserver from the Termiinal in a miriad of ways

Adding WebDAV to the combo would mean, in my case, installing Apache via homebrew, yes.

6

Thank you all. Very helpful. Appreciate the advice.

7

Thanks for the share! This tool was super easy to use. I combined it with Tailscale to create a secure DevonThink WebDAV sync store hosted on my always-on Mac Mini in just minutes.

It also gave me a reason to resurrect my blog that I hadn’t published to in more than 8 years :sweat_smile:

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8

:love_you_gesture:t2:

if you’ve enabled https/magicDNS in your tailnet, you can also use

/Applications/Tailscale.app/Contents/MacOS/Tailscale serve 8080

to automatically provision certificates and create a secure proxy for accessing over https

https://tailscale.com/kb/1313/serve-examples

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