# File Serving Sometimes you want to serve local files, e.g. HTML, JavaScript, or CSS. This is a task for the [default flow](https://sevenval.gitbook.io/flat/develop/reference/openapi-4/routing#default-flow) defined in `conf/flow.xml` and the [`serve` action](https://sevenval.gitbook.io/flat/develop/reference/actions/serve). 📎 **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

```