Ferron

Ferron is a fast, memory-safe web server implemented in Rust that emphasizes ease of configuration, modern protocol support, and automatic TLS management. It targets sysadmins and developers who need a secure, high-concurrency HTTP/HTTPS server with simple, declarative configuration.

Key Features

• Memory-safe implementation written in Rust to reduce common memory-safety vulnerabilities.
• Automatic TLS certificate management using ACME and Let's Encrypt (including support for ACME EAB and DNS providers).
• Native support for modern protocols: HTTP/2 and experimental HTTP/3 for lower-latency multiplexed connections.
• Simple, human-friendly configuration using KDL (with a YAML-to-KDL translator for legacy configs) and sensible defaults.
• Powerful reverse-proxy features: load balancing, health checks, HTTP/2 backend connections, WebSocket support, and response/body transformation modules.
• Modular command-line tooling: ferron (server), ferron-passwd, ferron-yaml2kdl, ferron-precompress, and FerrBench for performance testing.
• Prebuilt installers and official Docker images plus build-from-source via Cargo for customization and packaging.

Use Cases

• Serve static sites and assets with automatic TLS and HTTP/2/HTTP/3 for modern browser performance.
• Front-end reverse proxy/load balancer for web applications (including health checks and backend multiplexing).
• Host PHP via FastCGI or run ASGI-backed web apps with straightforward configuration and built-in utilities.

Limitations and Considerations

• Ferron 2.x has historically been released in beta stages; some advanced features and module APIs may be marked experimental or have platform-specific behavior (for example differing async runtimes on Linux vs Windows).
• Platform-specific runtime choices and edge-case configuration differences (compile-time module selection, optional runtimes) can require reading build/packaging docs for production deployments.

Ferron provides a concise, modern alternative to legacy web servers by combining Rust safety, automatic TLS, and a compact configuration model. It is well suited for administrators seeking predictable high-concurrency behavior and straightforward deployment workflows.