You are here: Why No VPS Is Needed.
Why this page exists: The architecture and sales pitch.

Secure static hosting without the security and scaling hassles of managing a server

Core idea: publish useful public files without renting a VPS, installing a LAMP stack, maintaining Apache/PHP, or remembering server-hardening rituals every six months.

What this replaces

What this uses instead

S3 stores files
S3 Event Notifications detect changes
Lambda builds directory indexes
CloudFront serves globally
Lambda@Edge renders public directory pages

Why it is safer

There is no public SSH service, no Apache process to exploit, no PHP runtime exposed to random traffic, and no web server box that needs constant babysitting. The public surface is CloudFront plus carefully scoped AWS functions.

Why it scales

Static files are served by S3 and CloudFront. Directory pages can be rendered from tiny prebuilt JSON indexes. That means the system gets faster as it becomes more indexed, rather than slower as folders grow.

Why directory indexes matter

A plain S3 bucket is powerful but not friendly. People need to browse, sort, inspect sizes, see dates, open source files inline, and understand what they are looking at. This project makes S3 feel like a clean public software archive.

The super-fast indexed mode

The optional updater Lambda writes a small file in each folder:

.directory-index.json

That file contains the folder names, file names, timestamps, and sizes for the directory. The viewer Lambda reads that one JSON file instead of discovering everything at click time.

Write-time work beats click-time work.
Do the expensive organizing when files change, not when visitors are waiting.

Best use cases

Beginner promise

You do not need to be a professional high-level cloud engineer to use this. The package is designed to be inspectable, educational, and forgiving. Start with the simple viewer Lambda, then add the updater Lambda when you want the fastest version.

Back to package landing page

Where to go next

Beginner Quickstart The shortest path from package to working deployment. Deployment Checklist A practical checklist for Lambda, CloudFront, S3, and triggers. Troubleshooting Fixes for the problems people are most likely to hit.

Indexed folder sizes

Folder sizes are available in the super-fast prebuilt index mode. The S3 event updater calculates folder sizes in the background and writes them into .directory-index.json. The public viewer reads those values instantly instead of scanning folders while a visitor waits.

Folder dates without slowing visitors down

In the super-fast indexed mode, folder timestamps come from the prebuilt .directory-index.json files maintained by the S3 write/delete event updater Lambda. That means public visitors can see folder dates without forcing the viewer Lambda to perform extra S3 metadata lookups on every page view.

Live fallback mode stays simple and current. Indexed mode is where the beautiful folder dates, file dates, sizes, and fast rendering all come together.