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Show HN: SimpleW – Lightweight C# Web Server with optional addons

https://simplew.net/

Hi HN,I’m the author of SimpleW, an MIT-licensed .NET web server for standalone or embedded applications.I shared it here last year (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44797834). Since then, I’ve rewritten it from scratch, removing the NetCoreServer dependency.The biggest change is the addon architecture: the core stays small, with no third-party dependencies, and you add what you need (JWT,...

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Re:Ask HN: What Are You Working On? (February 2026) on Monday February 09, 2026 @05:07PM (#46952198)
I'm still working on my Web Server Library .NET Core, the rewrite is almost finished (beta version)

https://simplew.net/

Re:Ask HN: What Are You Working On? (January 2026) on Sunday January 11, 2026 @08:42PM (#46582792)
I'm still working on my Web Server Library .NET Core

I'm rewriting from scratch : https://simplew.net/v26/

Re:Ask HN: What Are You Working On? (December 2025) on Monday December 15, 2025 @05:08AM (#46272493)
I'm still working on my Web Server Library .NET Core https://stratdev3.github.io/SimpleW/

I'm rewriting from scratch : https://github.com/stratdev3/SimpleW/releases/tag/REWRITE

Re:Ask HN: What Are You Working On? (October 2025) on Monday October 13, 2025 @05:58PM (#45573787)
I'm working on my side project on my free time, a web server library .NET Core https://stratdev3.github.io/SimpleW/
Re:SimpleW – Web Server Library .NET Core on Tuesday August 05, 2025 @03:20PM (#44802934)
VitePress saved my day.

The default template is great and everything in VitePress has been thinking to create documentation. Very nice project.

Re:SimpleW – Web Server Library .NET Core on Tuesday August 05, 2025 @03:10PM (#44802794)
> There's also Fast Endpoints[1]

thank for the pointer !

The syntax seems cool and comprehensive, i like it.

I made some test and like its name, it is very fast : performances are closed to SimpleW, just a little bellow. But its memory footprint is the half, so i'm impressed. I will check the code, sure there are interesting things into.

Re:SimpleW – Web Server Library .NET Core on Tuesday August 05, 2025 @02:07PM (#44801877)
> There are probably some optimizations to improve the Kestrel

You're right.

To be fair, i have to run many other benchmarks including one with the best recommanded optimizations for each projects.

a little time consuming but definetely on my todo list.

Re:SimpleW – Web Server Library .NET Core on Tuesday August 05, 2025 @01:43PM (#44801484)
> those opinions most sense for VAST majority of their users

I have a much more nuanced view.

I think that ASP.Net is the de facto standard for being backed by Microsoft since many years. From the gold time when ASP means IIS to now when Kestrel was cannibalized by Microsoft.

As a developer, working with the most widely used stack guarantees that these choices won’t be questioned in critical situations. I’m not saying Kestrel is bad, but it doesn’t automatically fit every scenario.

- 15 years ago, there were Apache or IIS.

- Then nginx changes the game and kicks their ass

- Then webserver starts being written into script langage for better integration (Ruby, Python), no more CGI and nginx as reverse

- Then node changes the game

- Now : caddy and other alternatives... but still not web server in PHP (troll inside)

I see a pattern to not believe aspnetcore is the only one and the best.

Re:SimpleW – Web Server Library .NET Core on Tuesday August 05, 2025 @01:23PM (#44801116)
> I hate when someone's software advertises itself as 'blazingly fast' and then provides NO DATA to back up the claim

agree, that's why there is a performance benchmark at https://stratdev3.github.io/SimpleW/guide/performances.html with code as you can reproduce at your own.

i'm adding other tests, more complete than the hello world one.

Re:SimpleW – Web Server Library .NET Core on Tuesday August 05, 2025 @11:13AM (#44799072)
> Does this mean a developer doesn't have to install nginx or iis ?

author here.

You don't have to keep it behind a reverse proxy like nginx.

But you can, especially if you have multiple APIs and you want to keep thing separated for security reason.

Example :

nginx:443 (reverse proxy, domain name routing)

|

|-> website1:8081 - docker container with SimpleW

|-> website2:8082 - docker container with SimpleW

|

...

Re:SimpleW – Web Server Library .NET Core on Tuesday August 05, 2025 @11:03AM (#44798919)
> ASP.NET Core is one of the best web frameworks

I don't think so.

The fact is there are very few dotnet web servers. ASP.NET Core is supported by the owner of the dotnet langage who is also the M of the GAFAM.

There is some place in the ecosystem for other alternatives

Re:SimpleW – Web Server Library .NET Core on Tuesday August 05, 2025 @10:57AM (#44798836)
> The library's tagline says "Powerfully Simple. Blazingly Fast."

> Joking aside

author here.

I agree with your remark ^^

Each time i read some news about a new framework with tag "blazingly fast", i'm thinking "lol".

So i had to resist to the temptation... And finaly when doing a small benchmark, performances were not bad at all (https://stratdev3.github.io/SimpleW/guide/performances.html) and i let the "clickbait" title.

My targets are small to medium traffic and embeded devices (dotnet/android).

Re:SimpleW – Web Server Library .NET Core on Tuesday August 05, 2025 @10:46AM (#44798681)
author here.

that's the reason why i start the project. I had time and wanted something simple as my needs.

Re:SimpleW – Web Server Library .NET Core on Tuesday August 05, 2025 @10:45AM (#44798655)
author here.

I wanted to start with something small where I could read or write the code in a reasonable amount of time.

My usage was, and still is, for low traffic. I don't intend to replace the Kestrel beast.

Just a framework you can quickly understand without being lost in documentation once you want to custom a part.