Quickly Share A Folder Over HTTP With JetHTTP

Want to share a folder with someone in your network or over the internet? The easiest way to do it (especially if the folders include some large files) is probably using a tool such as JetHTTP.

JetHTTP is a small GUI-based web server for serving static content over HTTP an you can use it to share a folder with just one click.

By default, the application uses port 8081 and will share your /var/www folder but these can be changed in the settings. Once you set the folder you want to share, simply click "Start server" and then give the person you want to share the folder with the link (http://YOUR-IP:8081). You can stop the server at any time by clicking the "Stop server" button.

Please note that JetHTTP doesn't use any authentication method so do not share anything private. Also, make sure you stop the server once you're done.

Install JetHTTP in Ubuntu

JetHTTP comes with a PPA you can use to install it in Ubuntu 10.04 Lucid Lynx and 10.10 Maverick Meerkat:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:george-edison55/george-edison
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install jethttp

Unfortunately, the JetHTTP package in the above PPA doesn't come with a .desktop file (but that's available in BZR along with other new stuff like initial POST support so if you know how to compile a program, you could use the latest code) so you'll have to run it by pressing ALT + F2 and then entering:

JetHTTP

If you're not using Ubuntu, you can grab JetHTTP via Launchpad (BZR).

Set Up Sparkleshare With Your Own Server

Last week we saw how to install Sparkleshare in Ubuntu from a PPA. As a reminder:

Sparkleshare is a tool to synchronize your files in the cloud - like Dropbox or SpiderOak - but unlike these, Sparkleshare is open source and allows you to use your own server. Sparkleshare uses GIT so if you delete/modify some files by accident, you can easily revert the changes.

If you want to use Sparkleshare to syncronize files with your server, the set up is a bit more complicated so I though I'd make a separate post for this. Using the steps below, you should be able to use Sparkleshare with your own server (make sure you've firstly installed Sparkleshare on your computer!).

How to set up Sparkleshare with your own server

1. Stop sparkleshare on your computer. To get Sparkleshare to sync with your server, you'll need to create a paswordless SSH key which you'll use to login to your server.

Firstly install openssh-client on your computer (obviously you must have Sparkleshare installed already):

sudo apt-get install openssh-client

Now generate a key pair if you don't have one already:

ssh-keygen -t rsa

Do not enter a password for the key (just press the ENTER key).

2. Copy the key to the server:

ssh-copy-id USER@SERVER

3. Connect to the server and install GIT (if it's not already installed):

ssh USER@SERVER
sudo apt-get install git-core

4. Now let's set up the Sparkleshare GIT folder on your server:

git init --bare sparkleshare.git

5. Back on your computer, go into the Sparkleshare folder and clone the remote Sparkleshare GIT repo:

cd ~/SparkleShare/
git clone USER@SERVER:sparkleshare.git

6. You can now start SparkleShare from the menu - copying new files in your ~/Sparkleshare/sparkleshare folder should now sync them with your server (without requesting for a password). To set up Sparkleshare sync on multiple computers, simply follow steps 1, 2 and 5 on each computer.