shelf

Install package

flutter pub add shelf

Package Overview

Package selection guidance compiled from public package information, community data, and project usage.

Shelf is a Dart package that provides a lightweight, modular framework for building web servers and middleware. It emphasizes composability, allowing developers to create flexible and reusable server logic through a simple, functional API. Middleware components can be chained together to handle requests and responses efficiently, making it ideal for both small services and complex backend systems. Designed with simplicity and interoperability in mind, Shelf integrates seamlessly with Dart's ecosystem and supports multiple platforms including web, mobile, and desktop.

Use cases

Building REST APIs
Creating custom web servers
Implementing request/response middleware
Developing microservices
Handling HTTP routing and authentication

Key features

Modular middleware architecture
Easy-to-compose request handlers
Cross-platform support
Lightweight and minimal overhead
Built-in support for streaming and async operations

Suitable for

Backend developers
API creators
Dart-based web service builders
Microservice architects
Learning HTTP server concepts

Considerations

Not a full web framework (requires additional packages for routing)
Limited built-in features compared to larger frameworks
Manual setup required for advanced functionality

Original README

Original README snapshot from the linked source repository. Visit the repository for the latest content.

About Shelf

Shelf makes it easy to create and compose web servers and parts of web servers. How?

Expose a small set of simple types.
Map server logic into a simple function: a single argument for the request, the response is the return value.
Trivially mix and match synchronous and asynchronous processing.
Flexibility to return a simple string or a byte stream with the same model.

It was inspired by Connect for NodeJS and Rack for Ruby.

See the package:shelf readme for more information.

Packages

Package	Description	Version
shelf	A model for web server middleware that encourages composition and easy reuse.
shelf_packages_handler	A shelf handler for serving a `packages/` directory.
shelf_proxy	A shelf handler for proxying HTTP requests to another server.
shelf_router	A convenient request router for the shelf web-framework, with support for URL-parameters, nested routers and routers generated from source annotations.
shelf_router_generator	A package:build-compatible builder for generating request routers for the shelf web-framework based on source annotations.
shelf_static	Static file server support for the shelf package and ecosystem.
shelf_test_handler	A Shelf handler that makes it easy to test HTTP interactions.
shelf_web_socket	A shelf handler that wires up a listener for every connection.
_shelf_compliance	HTTP/1.1 compliance and hardening tests.	(not published)