run-what 0.5.0

HTML-first web framework powered by Rust. No JavaScript frameworks, no build steps—just HTML.
run-what-0.5.0 is not a library.

wwwhat

A Rust-based HTML framework for building server-rendered web applications with automatic interactivity.

No JavaScript frameworks. No build steps. Just HTML.

Features

  • File-based routing - /pages/admin/users.html becomes /admin/users
  • Template variables - #user.name#, #session.count#
  • HTML injection - w-get, w-post for AJAX without JavaScript
  • Reactive session variables - Session values auto-update across the page
  • JWT authentication - Protected routes and role-based access
  • Live reload - Changes auto-refresh during development
  • Component library - Reusable <what-*> component tags

Installation

# Install from crates.io (recommended)
cargo install run-what

# Or build from source
git clone https://github.com/tedigo/what.git
cd what
cargo build --release

Updating

To update to the latest version, simply run the install command again:

cargo install run-what

Cargo automatically replaces the old version with the new one.

Quick Start

# Create a new project
run-what new my-site
cd my-site

# Start the development server
run-what dev

# Open http://127.0.0.1:8085

Custom Port

To run the server on a different port:

run-what dev --port 3000

Hot Reload

The development server automatically watches for file changes. When you edit any .html, .css, .js, .json, .toml, or .what file, the browser refreshes automatically. No manual reload needed.

This works by:

  1. Watching the project directory for changes
  2. Detecting relevant file modifications (ignores .db and hidden files)
  3. Broadcasting a reload signal to connected browsers via WebSocket

Basic Usage

Create pages in the pages/ directory:

<!-- pages/index.html -->
<page title="Home">
  <main>
    <h1>Hello, #name#!</h1>
  </main>
</page>

Routes are file-based:

  • pages/index.html → /
  • pages/about.html → /about
  • pages/blog/index.html → /blog

Documentation

See the docs/ folder for detailed guides on:

License

MIT