Document static routes vs file routes in HTTP server (#21506)

## Summary
- Add comprehensive documentation distinguishing static routes from file
routes in `Bun.serve()`
- Document caching behavior differences: ETag vs Last-Modified
- Explain performance characteristics and error handling differences
- Provide clear use case recommendations

## Changes
- **File Responses vs Static Responses** section explaining the two
approaches
- **HTTP Caching Behavior** section detailing ETag and Last-Modified
support
- **Status Code Handling** section covering automatic 204/304 responses
- Code examples showing both patterns with clear explanations

## Key Documentation Points
- Static routes (`new Response(await file.bytes())`) buffer content in
memory at startup
- File routes (`new Response(Bun.file(path))`) read from filesystem per
request
- Static routes use ETags for caching, file routes use Last-Modified
headers
- File routes handle 404s automatically, static routes cause startup
errors for missing files
- Both support HTTP caching standards but with different validation
strategies

🤖 Generated with [Claude Code](https://claude.ai/code)

---------

Co-authored-by: Claude Bot <claude-bot@bun.sh>
Co-authored-by: Claude <noreply@anthropic.com>
Co-authored-by: autofix-ci[bot] <114827586+autofix-ci[bot]@users.noreply.github.com>
This commit is contained in:
robobun
2025-07-31 22:06:35 -07:00
committed by GitHub
parent 03afe6ef28
commit 5bdcf339d7

View File

@@ -164,6 +164,70 @@ Static responses do not allocate additional memory after initialization. You can
Static route responses are cached for the lifetime of the server object. To reload static routes, call `server.reload(options)`.
### File Responses vs Static Responses
When serving files in routes, there are two distinct behaviors depending on whether you buffer the file content or serve it directly:
```ts
Bun.serve({
routes: {
// Static route - content is buffered in memory at startup
"/logo.png": new Response(await Bun.file("./logo.png").bytes()),
// File route - content is read from filesystem on each request
"/download.zip": new Response(Bun.file("./download.zip")),
},
});
```
**Static routes** (`new Response(await file.bytes())`) buffer content in memory at startup:
- **Zero filesystem I/O** during requests - content served entirely from memory
- **ETag support** - Automatically generates and validates ETags for caching
- **If-None-Match** - Returns `304 Not Modified` when client ETag matches
- **No 404 handling** - Missing files cause startup errors, not runtime 404s
- **Memory usage** - Full file content stored in RAM
- **Best for**: Small static assets, API responses, frequently accessed files
**File routes** (`new Response(Bun.file(path))`) read from filesystem per request:
- **Filesystem reads** on each request - checks file existence and reads content
- **Built-in 404 handling** - Returns `404 Not Found` if file doesn't exist or becomes inaccessible
- **Last-Modified support** - Uses file modification time for `If-Modified-Since` headers
- **If-Modified-Since** - Returns `304 Not Modified` when file hasn't changed since client's cached version
- **Range request support** - Automatically handles partial content requests with `Content-Range` headers
- **Streaming transfers** - Uses buffered reader with backpressure handling for efficient memory usage
- **Memory efficient** - Only buffers small chunks during transfer, not entire file
- **Best for**: Large files, dynamic content, user uploads, files that change frequently
### HTTP Caching Behavior
Both route types implement HTTP caching standards but with different strategies:
#### Static Routes Caching
- **ETag generation**: Automatically computes ETag hash from content at startup
- **If-None-Match**: Validates client ETag against server ETag
- **304 responses**: Returns `304 Not Modified` with empty body when ETags match
- **Cache headers**: Inherits any `Cache-Control` headers you provide in the Response
- **Consistency**: ETag remains constant until server restart or route reload
#### File Routes Caching
- **Last-Modified**: Uses file's `mtime` for `Last-Modified` header
- **If-Modified-Since**: Compares client date with file modification time
- **304 responses**: Returns `304 Not Modified` when file unchanged since client's cached version
- **Content-Length**: Automatically set based on current file size
- **Dynamic validation**: Checks file modification time on each request
#### Status Code Handling
Both route types automatically adjust status codes:
- **200 → 204**: Empty files (0 bytes) return `204 No Content` instead of `200 OK`
- **200 → 304**: Successful cache validation returns `304 Not Modified`
- **File routes only**: Missing or inaccessible files return `404 Not Found`
```ts
const server = Bun.serve({
static: {