# 🚀 Tiny Lua HTTP Server

A lightweight, zero-framework HTTP server built using **Lua** and **LuaSocket**. This project demonstrates how to handle basic routing, query parameter parsing, and manual HTTP response construction with a minimal footprint.

![Lua Version](https://img.shields.io/badge/lua-5.1%2B-blue.svg)
![License](https://img.shields.io/badge/license-MIT-green.svg)

## ✨ Features

*   **Zero Dependencies:** Only requires `luasocket`.
*   **Minimal Footprint:** The entire server logic is under 50 lines of code.
*   **Query Parsing:** Dynamically greets users via URL parameters.
*   **Basic Routing:** Returns a `404 Not Found` for any path other than `/hello`.

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## 🛠️ Getting Started

### 1. Prerequisites (macOS)

Ensure you have **Homebrew** installed, then set up Lua and LuaRocks:

```bash
# Install Lua and the Package Manager
brew install lua luarocks

# Add LuaRocks to your shell path
eval $(luarocks path --bin)
```
### 2. Install Dependencies
Install the networking library used by the server:
`luarocks install luasocket`
### 3. Run the Server
Clone this repository (or save the script as ⁠server.lua) and execute:
`lua server.lua`
The server will start at ⁠http://localhost:8080.

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## 📡 API Reference
The server currently supports a single endpoint:

`/hello`
`HTTP GET`
`?name=YourName` (optional)
Returns a greeting. Defaults to "User".

Examples
Greet a specific user:
`curl "http://localhost:8080/hello?name=Raycast"`
`Output: Hello Raycast!`

Default greeting:
`curl "http://localhost:8080/hello"`
`Output: Hello User!`

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## 📂 Project Structure
- server.lua
Main server logic including socket handling and routing.
- README.md
Documentation and setup instructions.
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## 🧠 How it Works
	1.	Socket Binding: The server binds to ⁠localhost:8080 and waits for incoming TCP connections.
	2.	Request Parsing: It reads the first line of the HTTP request and uses Lua's powerful Pattern Matching to extract the URI.
	3.	Routing: It checks if the path matches ⁠/hello.
	4.	Response: It manually constructs a valid HTTP/1.1 response string, including headers like ⁠Content-Type and ⁠Content-Length.

## 📄 License
This project is open-source and available under the MIT License.