HTTP Server for Android

A lightweight HTTP file server that runs directly on your Android device. Share files with any device on your local Wi-Fi network — no cables, no cloud, no accounts.

Features

• Simple one-button server — press START, get a URL, done
• File manager in the browser — browse folders, download files
• Upload files from any device — drag & drop or click to upload
• Delete and create folders — full file management from the browser
• Two modes — serve a custom HTML page or browse a folder
• Configurable port — 1024 to 65535
• Permission toggles — disable upload or delete/rename if you don't need them
• Dark themed web UI — works on desktop and mobile browsers
• Live request log — see what's happening in real time

How it works

The app starts a multi-threaded HTTP server using ServerSocket. Each client connection is handled in its own thread. Files are accessed via the Storage Access Framework (DocumentFile), so it works on Android 10+ without requiring MANAGE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE permission.

Requirements

• Android 8.0 (API 26) or higher
• Both devices (phone and client) must be on the same Wi-Fi network
• Port must be 1024–65535 (ports below 1024 require root)

Installation

From source

You need:

• Linux (or WSL/macOS with adjustments)
• JDK 17
• Android SDK with platforms;android-34 and build-tools;34.0.0
• Gradle 8.5 (or use the wrapper)

# Clone or copy the project
cd ~/projects/HttpServer2

# Generate the Gradle wrapper (first time only)
gradle wrapper --gradle-version 8.5

# Build the debug APK
./gradlew assembleDebug

The APK will be at:

app/build/outputs/apk/debug/app-debug.apk

Install it:

adb install -r app/build/outputs/apk/debug/app-debug.apk

From a prebuilt APK

1. Download the APK from the Releases page.
2. Enable Install from unknown sources in your Android settings.
3. Open the APK and install.

Usage

1. Open the app and tap Settings.
2. Set the port (default 8080).
3. Choose a mode:
   • Serve custom HTML — returns the HTML you write in the settings.
   • File manager — browse, download, upload files in the selected folder.
4. If using File manager, tap Choose folder and pick a directory.
5. Toggle Allow file upload and Allow delete / create folder as needed.
6. Tap Save, return to the main screen.
7. Tap START. The URL appears at the top, e.g. http://192.168.1.100:8080.
8. On any device in the same Wi-Fi network, open that URL in a browser.

Example

Phone IP:  192.168.1.100
Port:      8080
URL:       http://192.168.1.100:8080

Open this URL on your PC → file manager appears → drag files to upload, click to download, delete as needed.

API

All endpoints return Connection: close (HTTP/1.1, no keep-alive).

Method	Path	Description
GET	/	HTML page or directory listing
GET	/api/stats	JSON stats: requests, bytes sent/received
GET	/file/<path>	Download a file
POST	/upload?name=X&path=Y	Upload a file (raw body, no multipart)
POST	/delete	Delete file/folder (path=... form param)
POST	/mkdir	Create folder (path=...&name=...)

Example: GET /api/stats

{
  "requests": 42,
  "bytes_sent": 1048576,
  "bytes_received": 524288
}

Settings reference

Setting	Default	Description
Port	8080	HTTP port (1024–65535)
Mode	File manager	Custom HTML or file manager
Custom HTML	Built-in example	HTML served in HTML mode
Shared folder	—	Folder accessible in file manager mode
Allow file upload	On	Enable POST /upload
Allow delete / mkdir	On	Enable POST /delete and POST /mkdir

Security notes

• No authentication. Anyone on your Wi-Fi network who knows the IP and port can access the server.
• No HTTPS. Traffic is plain HTTP. Do not use it on untrusted networks.
• Read/write access is limited to the folder you selected via SAF. The app cannot escape that folder.
• Use only on trusted local networks. Do not expose the port to the internet.

Limitations

• No HTTP/1.1 keep-alive — each request opens a new TCP connection.
• No authentication — see Security notes.
• No TLS / HTTPS.
• No range requests — large file streaming works, but resumable downloads are not supported.
• Unbounded thread creation — each client gets a new thread; a flood of connections could exhaust memory. Fine for home use, not for public servers.

Building

cd ~/projects/HttpServer2

# First time only — download Gradle if not installed system-wide
cd /tmp
wget https://services.gradle.org/distributions/gradle-8.5-bin.zip
unzip gradle-8.5-bin.zip

# Generate wrapper and build
cd ~/projects/HttpServer2
/tmp/gradle-8.5/bin/gradle wrapper --gradle-version 8.5
chmod +x gradlew
./gradlew assembleDebug

Project structure

HttpServer2/
├── app/
│   ├── build.gradle.kts
│   └── src/main/
│       ├── AndroidManifest.xml
│       ├── java/com/example/httpserver2/
│       │   ├── HttpServer.kt          # core server logic
│       │   ├── MainActivity.kt        # main screen
│       │   └── SettingsActivity.kt    # settings screen
│       └── res/
│           ├── layout/                # UI layouts
│           ├── values/                # strings
│           └── xml/                   # network security config
├── build.gradle.kts
├── settings.gradle.kts
├── gradle.properties
└── gradle/wrapper/

License

MIT License. See LICENSE for details.

Contributing

Pull requests are welcome. For major changes, open an issue first.

Disclaimer

This software is provided "as is", without warranty of any kind. Use at your own risk. The author is not responsible for any damage caused by misuse.