# Operator
**Operator is a web server.** You provide [a
directory](samples/realistic-advanced) and Operator serves it over HTTP.
It serves static files the way you'd expect, but it can also serve dynamic
content that is generated by [handlebars
templates](samples/realistic-advanced/home.html.hbs) or
[executables](samples/realistic-advanced/play-lottery.html.sh) at request time.
More information is available on [the Operator
website](http://operator.mattkantor.com).
## Installation
Operator is a single self-contained binary. You can download a build from [the
releases list](https://github.com/mkantor/operator/releases), unzip it, and run
it from any directory.
## Usage
The CLI has three subcommands:
1. `eval` evaluates a handlebars template from STDIN.
1. `get` renders content from a content directory.
1. `serve` starts an HTTP server.
`serve` is where the real action is, but the other two come in handy at times.
These commands all require a _content directory_, which is just the folder
where your website lives. There are a bunch of sample content directories in
[`samples/`](samples).
To learn more, run `operator --help` or `operator <SUBCOMMAND> --help`.
### Example
Let's start a server for [one of the samples](samples/realistic-advanced):
```sh
operator -vv serve \
--content-directory=samples/realistic-advanced \
--index-route=home \
--error-handler-route=error-handler \
--bind-to=127.0.0.1:8080
```
Open [http://localhost:8080](http://localhost:8080) in your browser of choice
to see the website!
## Disclaimer
Operator is very young and has not been battle-hardened. There are known flaws
and obvious missing features that need to be addressed. The major ones are
filed as [issues](https://github.com/mkantor/operator/issues). All feedback is
greatly appreciated.
This is my first nontrivial Rust project and I'm sure there are places where
things are unidiomatic or nonoptimal. One of the reasons I created Operator was
to get more experience with the language, so if you notice anything that could
be improved (no matter how small), please [open an
issue](https://github.com/mkantor/operator/issues/new) to help me learn! ❤️
---
[](http://operator.mattkantor.com)
