vcpkg Binary Cache Server

A high-performance HTTP web server for binary caching with vcpkg, built with C++ and Drogon framework.

License

This project is licensed under the GNU General Public License v3.0.

Features

• RESTful API for binary package management
• Fast HTTP server powered by Drogon
• Efficient storage with subdirectory organization
• Package validation with hash checking
• Statistics tracking for uploads/downloads
• Configurable via command-line or environment variables
• Production-ready with error handling and logging

Prerequisites

• C++20 compatible compiler (GCC 8+, Clang 7+, MSVC 2022+)
• CMake 3.15 or higher
• vcpkg package manager

Building

1. Install vcpkg (if not already installed)

git clone https://github.com/Microsoft/vcpkg.git
cd vcpkg
./bootstrap-vcpkg.sh  # Linux/macOS
# or
.\bootstrap-vcpkg.bat  # Windows

2. Clone and Build

This assumes usage of vcpkg in manifest mode

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/viperman1271/vcpkg-http-cache
cd vcpkg-binary-cache-server

# Configure with vcpkg toolchain
cmake -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Debug -DCMAKE_TOOLCHAIN_FILE=%VCPKG_ROOT%/scripts/buildsystems/vcpkg.cmake -S . -B build -G "Visual Studio 17 2022" # Windows
# or
cmake -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Debug -DCMAKE_TOOLCHAIN_FILE=$VCPKG_ROOT/scripts/buildsystems/vcpkg.cmake -S . -B build # Linux/macOS

# Build
cmake --build build --config Debug -j4

Usage

Basic Usage

./bin/vcpkg-binary-cache-server # Linux

# -OR-

.\bin\Release\vcpkg-binary-cache-server.exe # Windows

This starts the server on 0.0.0.0:80 with cache directory /var/vcpkg.cache/cache (Linux) or C:\.vcpkg.cache\cache (Windows).

Command-Line Options

./vcpkg-binary-cache-server

OPTIONS:
  -h,     --help              Print this help message and exit
  -c,     --config TEXT       The config file to load (default: /etc/vcpkg.cache/config.toml)
  -s,     --save              Force save the configuration file (if it exists or not). Default:
                              false
  -d,     --daemon            Forces the application to run as a daemon. Default: false # Linux only

API Endpoints

Authorization/Access Control

If the options have specified the need for an API Key for read, upload, or status endpoints, the vcpkg (or CURL) must include the API Key as a header.

curl -H "Authorization: Bearer vcpkg_28ea09345eef27c3c93759e530516427" http://localhost/status

Check if Package Exists

HEAD /{triplet}/{name}/{version}/{sha}

Returns 200 OK if package exists, 404 Not Found if it doesn't.

Example:

curl -I http://localhost/x64-windows/curl/8.17.0/66672cc2e2ace73f33808e213287489112b3a9f1667f0f78b8af05003ebc262f

Download Package

GET /{triplet}/{name}/{version}/{sha}

Downloads the binary package with the specified hash.

Example:

curl -O http://localhost/x64-windows/curl/8.17.0/66672cc2e2ace73f33808e213287489112b3a9f1667f0f78b8af05003ebc262f

Upload Package

PUT /{triplet}/{name}/{version}/{sha}

Uploads a binary package with the specified hash.

Example:

curl -X PUT --data-binary @package.zip http://localhost/x64-windows/curl/8.17.0/66672cc2e2ace73f33808e213287489112b3a9f1667f0f78b8af05003ebc262f

Server Status

GET /status

Returns server statistics and cache information.

Example:

curl http://localhost/status

Response:

{
  "service": "vcpkg-binary-cache-server",
  "version": "1.0.0",
  "cache_directory": "./cache",
  "package_count": 42,
  "total_size_bytes": 1048576000,
  "total_size_mb": 1000.0,
  "statistics": 
  {
    "total_requests": 150,
    "uploads": 42,
    "downloads": 100
  }
}

Create new API Key

POST /api/keys

Create a new API key with the given description and the specified permission

Example:

curl -X POST http://localhost/api/keys -H "Content-Type: application/json" -d "{ \"description\" : \"This is the description of the API key\", \"permission\" : \"readwrite\" }"

Response:

{
    "apiKey": "vcpkg_28ea09345eef27c3c93759e530516427",
    "message": "API key created successfully", 
    "success": true
}

Integrating with vcpkg

To use this server as a binary cache for vcpkg, configure vcpkg with:

# Set binary cache to use your server
vcpkg install <package> --binarysource="http,http://localhost/{triplet}/{name}/{version}/{sha},readwrite,Authorization: Bearer vcpkg_28ea09345eef27c3c93759e530516427"

Or set it in your environment:

export VCPKG_BINARY_SOURCES="http,http://localhost/{triplet}/{name}/{version}/{sha},readwrite,Authorization: Bearer vcpkg_28ea09345eef27c3c93759e530516427" # Linux

The key vcpkg_28ea09345eef27c3c93759e530516427 is used as an example, and should not be considered a valid value. It should be replaced with the API key that was generated.

Performance Considerations

• Thread Pool: Adjust threads based on your CPU cores
• File System: Use a fast filesystem (SSD recommended) for cache directory
• Network: Configure appropriate firewall rules for production deployment
• Memory: Drogon uses asynchronous I/O, keeping memory usage low

Security Notes

Important Security Considerations:

• This server does NOT include authentication
• By default, authentication is not required. Configure limitations in the options (status, read, write)
• For production use, add authentication middleware or configure internal authentication
• Consider using HTTPS with a reverse proxy (nginx, Apache, Caddy)
• Validate uploaded package integrity
• Implement rate limiting for uploads

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please ensure:

• Code follows C++20 standards
• All endpoints are tested
• Documentation is updated

Dependencies

• CLI11: Command line interface
• Drogon: High-performance HTTP framework
• nlohmann::json: JSON parsing and generation
• toml11: TOML parsing and generation

These are automatically managed by vcpkg through the vcpkg.json manifest file.

Additional Documentation

• vcpkg Binary Caching