path: root/README.md

Caddy 2
=======

This is the development branch for Caddy 2.

**Caddy 2 is production-ready, but there may be breaking changes before the stable 2.0 release.** Please test it and deploy it as much as you are able, and submit your feedback!

**Caddy 2 is the web server of the Go community.** We are looking for maintainers to represent the community! Please become involved with issues, PRs, [our forum](https://caddy.community), sharing on social media, etc.

---

<p align="center">
	<a href="https://caddyserver.com"><img src="https://user-images.githubusercontent.com/1128849/36338535-05fb646a-136f-11e8-987b-e6901e717d5a.png" alt="Caddy" width="450"></a>
</p>
<h3 align="center">Every site on HTTPS</h3>
<p align="center">Caddy is an extensible server platform that uses TLS by default.</p>
<p align="center">
	<a href="https://dev.azure.com/mholt-dev/Caddy/_build/latest?definitionId=5&branchName=v2"><img src="https://dev.azure.com/mholt-dev/Caddy/_apis/build/status/Multiplatform%20Tests?branchName=v2"></a>
	<a href="https://pkg.go.dev/github.com/caddyserver/caddy/v2"><img src="https://img.shields.io/badge/godoc-reference-blue.svg"></a>
	<a href="https://app.fuzzit.dev/orgs/caddyserver-gh/dashboard"><img src="https://app.fuzzit.dev/badge?org_id=caddyserver-gh"></a>
	<br>
	<a href="https://twitter.com/caddyserver" title="@caddyserver on Twitter"><img src="https://img.shields.io/badge/twitter-@caddyserver-55acee.svg" alt="@caddyserver on Twitter"></a>
	<a href="https://caddy.community" title="Caddy Forum"><img src="https://img.shields.io/badge/community-forum-ff69b4.svg" alt="Caddy Forum"></a>
	<a href="https://sourcegraph.com/github.com/caddyserver/caddy?badge" title="Caddy on Sourcegraph"><img src="https://sourcegraph.com/github.com/caddyserver/caddy/-/badge.svg" alt="Caddy on Sourcegraph"></a>
</p>
<p align="center">
	<a href="https://github.com/caddyserver/caddy/releases">Download</a> ·
	<a href="https://caddyserver.com/docs/">Documentation</a> ·
	<a href="https://caddy.community">Community</a>
</p>



### Menu

- [Build from source](#build-from-source)
	- [Building with plugins](#building-with-plugins)
- [Getting started](#getting-started)
- [Overview](#overview)
- [Full documentation](#full-documentation)
- [Getting help](#getting-help)
- [About](#about)

<p align="center">
	<b>Powered by</b>
	<br>
	<a href="https://github.com/mholt/certmagic"><img src="https://user-images.githubusercontent.com/1128849/49704830-49d37200-fbd5-11e8-8385-767e0cd033c3.png" alt="CertMagic" width="250"></a>
</p>

## Build from source

_**Note:** These steps [will not embed proper version information](https://github.com/golang/go/issues/29228). For that, please follow the instructions below for building with plugins (you do not have to add any plugins)._

Requirements:

- [Go 1.14 or newer](https://golang.org/dl/)
- Do NOT disable [Go modules](https://github.com/golang/go/wiki/Modules) (`export GO111MODULE=auto`)

Download the `v2` source code:

```bash
$ git clone -b v2 "https://github.com/caddyserver/caddy.git"
```

Build:

```bash
$ cd caddy/cmd/caddy/
$ go build
```

That will put a `caddy(.exe)` binary into the current directory.

If you encounter any Go-module-related errors, try clearing your Go module cache (`$GOPATH/pkg/mod`) or Go package cache (`$GOPATH/pkg`) and read [the Go wiki page about modules for help](https://github.com/golang/go/wiki/Modules). If you have issues with Go modules, please consult the Go community for help. But if there is an actual error in Caddy, please report it to us.

### Building with plugins

Caddy is extensible with plugins. Plugins are added at compile-time, so all Caddy binaries are static (self-contained) and portable.

Instructions for doing this are also given in comments in [cmd/caddy/main.go](https://github.com/caddyserver/caddy/blob/v2/cmd/caddy/main.go) which you can copy and use as a template.

1. Create a new folder: `mkdir caddy`
2. Change into it: `cd caddy`
3. Copy [Caddy's main.go](https://github.com/caddyserver/caddy/blob/v2/cmd/caddy/main.go) into the empty folder. Add imports for any plugins you want to include.
4. Run: `go mod init caddy`
5. Run: `go get github.com/caddyserver/caddy/v2@TAG` replacing `TAG` with the latest v2 tag. (Won't be necessary after stable 2.0 release.)
6. Run: `go build`

Congrats, you now have a custom Caddy build with proper version information!




## Quick start

The [Caddy website](https://caddyserver.com/docs/) has documentation that includes tutorials, quick-start guides, reference, and more.

**We recommend that all users do our [Getting Started](https://caddyserver.com/docs/getting-started) guide to become familiar with using Caddy.**

If you've only got a few minutes, [the website has several quick-start tutorials](https://caddyserver.com/docs/quick-starts) to choose from! However, after finishing a quick-start tutorial, please read more documentation to understand how the software works. 🙂




## Overview

Caddy is most often used as an HTTPS server, but it is suitable for any long-running Go program. First and foremost, it is a platform to run Go applications. Caddy "apps" are just Go programs that are implemented as Caddy modules. Two apps -- `tls` and `http` -- ship standard with Caddy.

Caddy apps instantly benefit from [automated documentation](https://caddyserver.com/docs/json/), graceful on-line [config changes via API](https://caddyserver.com/docs/api), and unification with other Caddy apps.

Although [JSON](https://caddyserver.com/docs/json/) is Caddy's native config language, Caddy can accept input from [config adapters](https://caddyserver.com/docs/config-adapters) which can essentially convert any config format of your choice into JSON: Caddyfile, JSON 5, YAML, TOML, NGINX config, and more.

The primary way to configure Caddy is through [its API](https://caddyserver.com/docs/api), but if you prefer config files, the [command-line interface](https://caddyserver.com/docs/command-line) supports those too.

Caddy exposes an unprecedented level of control compared to any web server in existence. In Caddy, you are usually setting the actual values of the initialized types in memory that power everything from your HTTP handlers and TLS handshakes to your storage medium. Caddy is also ridiculously extensible, with a powerful plugin system that makes vast improvements over other web servers.

To wield the power of this design, you need to know how the config document is structured. Please see the [our documentation site](https://caddyserver.com/docs/) for details about [Caddy's config structure](https://caddyserver.com/docs/json/).

Nearly all of Caddy's configuration is contained in a single config document, rather than being scattered across CLI flags and env variables and a configuration file as with other web servers. This makes managing your server config more straightforward and reduces hidden variables/factors.


## Full documentation

Our website has complete documentation:

**https://caddyserver.com/docs/**

The docs are also open source. You can contribute to them here: https://github.com/caddyserver/website



## Getting help

- We **strongly recommend** that all professionals or companies using Caddy get a support contract through [Ardan Labs](https://www.ardanlabs.com/my/contact-us?dd=caddy) before help is needed.

- Individuals can exchange help for free on our community forum at https://caddy.community. Remember that people give help out of their spare time and good will. The best way to get help is to give it first!

Please use our [issue tracker](/caddyserver/caddy/issues) only for bug reports and feature requests, i.e. actionable development items (support questions will usually be referred to the forums).



## About

**The name "Caddy" is trademarked.** The name of the software is "Caddy", not "Caddy Server" or "CaddyServer". Please call it "Caddy" or, if you wish to clarify, "the Caddy web server". Caddy is a registered trademark of Light Code Labs, LLC.

- _Project on Twitter: [@caddyserver](https://twitter.com/caddyserver)_
- _Author on Twitter: [@mholt6](https://twitter.com/mholt6)_