Wlighttpd: A Lightweight HTTPS Web Server for Windows
Wlighttpd is a minimal and secure web server solution designed for Windows environments. It packages lighttpd together with Cygwin, making it possible to run a Unix-style, high-performance web server natively on Windows with a small footprint.
lighttpd is known for its efficiency and flexibility. It is optimized for high-performance scenarios, using significantly less memory and CPU than many traditional web servers. Despite its lightweight design, lighttpd offers a rich feature set, including FastCGI, CGI, authentication, output compression, and URL rewriting, making it suitable for both small deployments and more demanding environments.
Cygwin provides a Linux-like runtime environment on Windows by supplying a POSIX-compatible DLL and a comprehensive collection of Unix tools. By combining lighttpd with Cygwin, Wlighttpd enables Windows users to benefit from a proven Unix web server stack without requiring a full Linux installation.
Overall, Wlighttpd is a practical choice for serving HTTPS traffic on Windows systems where simplicity, performance, and a low resource footprint are priorities.
Project lifetime: Sep 2023 - Jun 2025