HEAD method added

Author: foxweb

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -8,6 +8,10 @@ and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0
 ## [Unreleased]
 
 ### Added
+- **HEAD method support** - Check resource existence without downloading content
+  - `HEAD()` macro for defining HEAD routes
+  - Example HEAD routes for `/`, `/test`, and static files
+  - Returns HTTP headers without message body (RFC 7231 compliant)
 - Enhanced `/test` endpoint with comprehensive system information:
   - Current date/time with timezone
   - Server uptime calculation
@@ -32,6 +36,7 @@ and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0
 - GitHub Actions CI/CD configuration
 
 ### Changed
+- Updated GitHub Actions workflow to use v4 of `actions/checkout` and `actions/upload-artifact`
 - Replaced `signal()` with `sigaction()` for more reliable signal handling
 - Replaced unsafe `sprintf()` with `snprintf()` throughout codebase
 - Fixed format string vulnerability in POST handler

README.md

@@ -15,10 +15,11 @@ A minimal HTTP server for Unix/Linux systems using fork-based concurrency. Simpl
 
 ## Features
 
-- Simple routing with `GET()` and `POST()` macros
+- Simple routing with `GET()`, `POST()`, and `HEAD()` macros
 - Static file serving from `./public` directory
 - Request header parsing and access
 - POST payload handling
+- HEAD method support for checking resource existence
 - Fork-based concurrency (up to 1000 concurrent connections)
 - Path traversal protection
 - Graceful shutdown with signal handling
@@ -75,31 +76,41 @@ int main() {
 ```c
 void route() {
     ROUTE_START()
-    
+
     GET("/hello") {
         HTTP_200;
         printf("Hello, World!\n");
     }
-    
+
     GET("/test") {
         HTTP_200;
         // Display system information
         printf("Server Uptime: ...\n");
         printf("OS: %s\n", ...);
         // Full implementation in main.c
     }
-    
+
     POST("/data") {
         HTTP_201;
         printf("Received %d bytes\n", payload_size);
         // Access POST data via: payload, payload_size
     }
-    
+
+    HEAD("/file.pdf") {
+        // Check if resource exists without sending body
+        if (file_exists("public/file.pdf")) {
+            HTTP_200;
+            // Headers sent, no body (HEAD behavior)
+        } else {
+            HTTP_404;
+        }
+    }
+
     GET(uri) {
         // Catch-all route for static files
         serve_static_file(uri);
     }
-    
+
     ROUTE_END()
 }
 ```
@@ -200,6 +211,7 @@ See `main.c` for a complete example. Key steps:
 - `ROUTE_START()` - Begin route definition
 - `GET(path)` - Define GET route
 - `POST(path)` - Define POST route
+- `HEAD(path)` - Define HEAD route (returns headers only, no body)
 - `ROUTE_END()` - End route definition
 
 ### Request Functions

httpd.h

@@ -159,6 +159,28 @@ void route();
  */
 #define POST(URI) ROUTE("POST", URI)
 
+/**
+ * @brief Define a HEAD route
+ *
+ * HEAD method is identical to GET except the server does not return
+ * the message body in the response. Useful for checking if a resource
+ * exists or getting metadata without downloading the full content.
+ *
+ * @param URI URI path to match (e.g., "/file.txt")
+ *
+ * @code
+ * HEAD("/file.txt") {
+ *     if (file_exists("public/file.txt")) {
+ *         HTTP_200;
+ *         // Headers sent, no body
+ *     } else {
+ *         HTTP_404;
+ *     }
+ * }
+ * @endcode
+ */
+#define HEAD(URI) ROUTE("HEAD", URI)
+
 /**
  * @brief End route definitions
  *

main.c

@@ -231,6 +231,39 @@ void route() {
     }
   }
 
+  HEAD("/") {
+    // HEAD is like GET but returns only headers, no body
+    char index_html[256];
+    if (build_public_path(index_html, sizeof(index_html), INDEX_HTML) == 0 &&
+        file_exists(index_html)) {
+      HTTP_200;
+      // No body sent for HEAD requests
+    } else {
+      HTTP_200;
+      // No body sent for HEAD requests
+    }
+  }
+
+  HEAD("/test") {
+    // Return headers only, useful for checking if endpoint exists
+    HTTP_200;
+    // No body sent for HEAD requests
+  }
+
+  HEAD(uri) {
+    // Check if static file exists without sending content
+    char file_name[256];
+    if (build_public_path(file_name, sizeof(file_name), uri) == 0 &&
+        is_path_safe(file_name, PUBLIC_DIR) &&
+        file_exists(file_name)) {
+      HTTP_200;
+      // No body sent for HEAD requests
+    } else {
+      HTTP_404;
+      // No body sent for HEAD requests
+    }
+  }
+
   GET(uri) {
     serve_static_file(uri);
   }