What is SimpleW?

SimpleW is a .NET Core library designed for building fast and secure web applications.

Just want to try it out? Skip to the Quickstart.

Architecture

SimpleW’s architecture and motivations behind its core design choices :

• Pure C# (100% managed code), running on .NET 8 or later.
• Built on top of native sockets, low latency.
• Compiled delegate, close to hard-coded method calls.
• Custom parser, low memory.
• Cross‑platform support, Windows/Linux/Android/MacOS.
• NuGet package available, no dependency, easy to integrate

Why this library ?

Most .NET web stacks are powerful but complex. I wanted a minimal, hackable server that could be dropped into any app, or used as a base for custom frameworks, game servers, or embedded tools — while still delivering very good performances.

But there's more, dotnet environment suffers of a major issue :

There is only one professionally accepted web server. ASP.NET Core is the de facto standard and if you're not using it, you're considered a serious... amateur.

That's a shame ! Not only does an ecosystem need alternatives to grow and improve, but no single product can cover 100% of its users’ needs. I'm certainly not claiming to replace ASP.NET Core or event compete with it, but I want to bring something different in an opinionated way. And I'm not the only one, other devs have done the same :

• NetCoreServer : still the State Of The Art in terms of performance and design !
• Fast-Endpoints : built on top of ASP.NET Core, but with a cleaner and nicer API !
• GenHTTP : modular on its core, its author support many engines and contexts !
• Wired.IO : aims to be the fastest, and it actually is. This guy delivers !
• EmbedIO : no longer maintained, but it was one of the first. A true legacy !

This project

SimpleW is the result of years of experimentation, production usage, and frustration with existing solutions. It is a web server designed to be lightweight, explicit, fast and easy to embed.

After 5 years in production, SimpleW :

• Powers multiple APIs
• Handles real-world traffic reliably
• Continues to gain useful features
• Remains simple and predictable

Final Words

If you find a bug, have an idea, or a missing feature — feel free to open an issue.

SimpleW is opinionated, but open.