# File Serving Sometimes you want to serve local files, e.g. HTML, JavaScript, or CSS. This is a task for the [default flow](/flat/reference/openapi-4/routing.md#default-flow) defined in `conf/flow.xml` and the [`serve` action](/flat/reference/actions/serve.md). 📎 **Note:** In the following we assume that the `basePath` in `swagger.yaml` is *not* `/` so that the default flow will actually be effective. First, we create `flow.xml` in `conf` with the following content: ```markup ``` This assumes that the local files should be found in an `htdocs` directory next to `conf` (`dir="../htdocs"`) and that there is an `index.html` fallback document in the `htdocs` directory. So, let's create `htdocs/index.html` ```markup Fallback page

Fallback page

``` and some assets: ```bash $ echo 'body { background-color: red }' > htdocs/styles.css $ echo 'document.write("Hello!")' > htdocs/script.js ``` Finally, we create another HTML document in a different directory: ```bash $ mkdir -p htdocs/some/where $ echo '

Somewhere

' > htdocs/some/where/index.html ``` Let's go surfin' now: ```bash $ curl -si localhost:8080 HTTP/1.1 200 OK Server: FLAT Content-Type: text/html …

Fallback page

$ curl -si localhost:8080/styles.css HTTP/1.1 200 OK … Content-Type: text/css body { background-color: red } ``` Note the redirection when we request `/some/where` without the trailing `/`: ```bash $ curl -si --location localhost:8080/some/where HTTP/1.1 301 Moved Permanently Server: FLAT Location: /some/where/ Content-Type: text/html … HTTP/1.1 200 OK …

Somewhere

``` FLAT responds with `index.html` just like a web server would do. 📎 **Note:** Requests to missing resources always return the fallback document. Therefore, any resources therein must be absolutely referenced. ```bash $ curl -si localhost:8080/not/existing/ HTTP/1.1 200 OK Server: FLAT Content-Type: text/html …

Fallback page

``` --- # Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question. Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter: ``` GET https://sevenval.gitbook.io/flat/cookbook/file-serving.md?ask= ``` The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation. Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.