Start a Python HTTP server to preview static HTML files in a browser.

When to Use

• Testing static HTML pages
• Previewing web pages before deployment
• When browser tools block file:// protocol
• Need a localhost URL for browser automation

Quick Start

Use the bundled script to start a server:

python scripts/serve.py  [--port PORT]

Arguments:

• : File path (serves parent directory) or directory path
• --port: Optional port number (default: 8000)

Examples:

# Serve a specific HTML file
python scripts/serve.py /path/to/index.html
# Serve a directory
python scripts/serve.py /path/to/project
# Use custom port
python scripts/serve.py /path/to/index.html --port 9000

Output

The script prints:

• Access URL: http://localhost:PORT/filename.html
• Directory being served
• Instructions to stop (Ctrl+C)

Usage in Testing

When testing static pages with browser tools:

• Start server with exec (background mode)
• Use the localhost URL with browser tools
• Complete testing
• Kill the server process

Example workflow:

// 1. Start server in background
exec({
  command: "python scripts/serve.py /path/to/index.html --port 8888",
  background: true
})
// 2. Open in browser
browser({
  action: "open",
  targetUrl: "http://localhost:8888/index.html"
})
// 3. Test and screenshot
browser({ action: "screenshot", fullPage: true })
// 4. Clean up
process({ action: "kill", sessionId: "..." })
browser({ action: "close" })

Alternative: One-liner

For quick testing without the script:

python -m http.server 8000 --directory /path/to/dir

Note: This serves the directory root, not a specific file.