serve-index 1.6.4

Serve-index is a highly useful Node.js module available through the npm registry. This potent module provides functionality to serve pages that contain directory listings for a specified path. By doing so, it provides an organized view of the files within a certain directory, making navigation much easier, particularly in larger projects.

To implement serve-index into your project, first, you need to install it using the npm install command npm install serve-index. Once the installation is complete, you can require it in your file with var serveIndex = require('serve-index').

Using serve-index with a vanilla Node.js HTTP server might look something like this:

var finalhandler = require('finalhandler');
var http = require('http');
var serveIndex = require('serve-index');
var serveStatic = require('serve-static');

// Serve directory indexes for the public/ftp folder (with icons)
var index = serveIndex('public/ftp', {'icons': true})

// Serve up public/ftp folder files
var serve = serveStatic('public/ftp')

// Create server
var server = http.createServer(function onRequest(req, res){
  var done = finalhandler(req, res);
  serve(req, res, function onNext(err) {
    if (err) return done(err);
    index(req, res, done);
  })
})

// Listen
server.listen(3000);

If you're using Express, this module can clean up your directory serving significantly. Here's an example of how it can look with Express:

var express = require('express');
var serveIndex = require('serve-index');

var app = express();

// Serve URLs like /ftp/thing as public/ftp/thing
app.use('/ftp', express.static('public/ftp'), serveIndex('public/ftp', {'icons': true}));

// Listen
app.listen(3000);

The documentation for serve-index can be found within the readme on the module's GitHub page at git+https://github.com/expressjs/serve-index.git. This comprehensive documentation runs through installation, options for customizing behavior, API details, and even provides some useful examples showing how to use serve-index with different server configurations.