crane-rs

A simple, self-contained file sharing server written in Rust using the Actix-web framework. Easily upload and download files from any device on your local network via a modern web interface.

Features

• Upload & Download Files: Share files between devices using a clean, responsive web UI.
• Easy Access: Displays your local IP and a QR code for quick access from mobile devices.
• Preload Files: Optionally preload files to share at startup.
• Nuke Option: Easily delete all temporary shared files with a command-line flag.
• Authentication (Optional): Protect your server with a password, requiring users to log in before accessing file sharing features.
• Modern Rust Stack: Built with Actix-web, Askama, and more.
• Nix Support: Run instantly with Nix, or build manually with Cargo.

Quick Start

Install via Script

You can install crane-rs using the provided installation script. This will automatically install Rust (if needed), clone the repository, build the project, and install the binary to /usr/local/bin.

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/santoshxshrestha/crane-rs/main/scripts/install.sh | bash

Options:

• --dry-run Show what would be done without making changes
• --repo=URL Use a custom repository URL
• -h, --help Show help message

After installation, you can run crane-rs from anywhere in your terminal.

For more details about installation and uninstallation scripts, see scripts/README.md.

Recommended: Install via Cargo

You can install crane-rs directly from crates.io (or GitHub) using Cargo:

cargo install crane-rs

Or, to install the latest version from GitHub:

cargo install --git https://github.com/santoshxshrestha/crane-rs

Run with Nix

nix run github:santoshxshrestha/crane-rs

Build & Run Manually

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone https://github.com/santoshxshrestha/crane-rs.git
   cd crane-rs

2. Build with Cargo:

   cargo build --release

3. Run the server:

   ./target/release/crane-rs

Command-Line Options

Option	Description	Default
-p, --port	Port to run the server on	8080
-f, --file	File(s) to preload and share
-n, --nuke	Nuke (delete) all temporary shared files	false
-a, --auth	Enable password authentication	false

Examples:

• Run on port 9000:

  ./crane-rs --port 9000

• Preload files for sharing:

  ./crane-rs -f ./myfile.txt -f ./photo.jpg

• Nuke all shared files:

  ./crane-rs --nuke

• Enable authentication:

  ./crane-rs --auth

  You will be prompted to enter a password interactively. All users must log in with this password to access the server.

Web Interface

• Home: Links to upload and download pages.
• Upload: Select and upload files from your device.
• Download: Download any files currently shared on the server.
• Login: If authentication is enabled, users are redirected to the login page and must enter the password to access file sharing features.

Security & Limitations

• Local Network Only: Designed for trusted local networks. Authentication is optional and can be enabled via the CLI.
• Authentication (Optional): Enable password protection for all web routes except login and authentication endpoints. When enabled, users must log in with a password to access file sharing features.
• Temporary Storage: Uploaded and preloaded files are stored in your system's temp directory under crane-rs.
• File Size Limits: Supports uploads up to 10GB per file (configurable in code).

Authentication Details

• When authentication is enabled, all routes except /login and /authentication require a valid session cookie.
• Users are redirected to /login if not authenticated.
• The password is set interactively at server startup and is not stored anywhere.
• To disable authentication, simply omit the --auth flag when starting the server.

License

MIT License. See LICENSE for details.

Contributing

Contributions, issues, and feature requests are welcome! Please open an issue or PR on GitHub.