caddy

Start web server

$ caddy run

$ caddy file-server

$ caddy reverse-proxy --from [example.com] --to [localhost:8080]

$ caddy validate

$ caddy reload

caddy command [options]

caddy is a modern web server with automatic HTTPS. It obtains and renews TLS certificates automatically via Let's Encrypt, provides HTTP/2 and HTTP/3 support, and uses a simple configuration format.
The server is designed for ease of use while maintaining high performance and security.

run

Start Caddy server

Start Caddy in background

Stop Caddy server

Reload configuration

Validate Caddyfile

Quick file server mode

Quick reverse proxy mode

Configuration file (default: Caddyfile)

Config adapter (caddyfile, json)

Caddyfile

Default configuration file in the current directory, defining sites, routes, and server behavior

Simple configuration:

$ example.com {
    root * /var/www/html
    file_server
}

$ example.com {
    reverse_proxy localhost:8080
}

- Automatic HTTPS (Let's Encrypt)
- HTTP/2 and HTTP/3 support
- Reverse proxy
- Load balancing
- File server
- Template engine
- Dynamic configuration via API
- Plugin system

Automatic HTTPS requires port 80/443 access. Let's Encrypt rate limits apply. Certificate storage needs disk space. Memory usage higher than nginx. Plugin ecosystem smaller than alternatives. Version 2.x not compatible with v1 configs.

Caddy was created by Matt Holt in 2015 as a web server prioritizing ease of use with automatic HTTPS, with version 2.0 rewritten in 2019.

nginx(8), apache2(8), traefik(1)