NAME
Catalyst::Plugin::Static::File - Serve a specific static file
SYNOPSIS
In your Catalyst class:
use Catalyst qw/
Static::File
/;
In a controller method:
$c->serve_static_file( $absolute_path, $type );
DESCRIPTION
This plugin provides a simple method for your Catalyst app to send a specific static file.
Unlike Catalyst::Plugin::Static::Simple,
- It only supports serving a single file, not a directory of static files. Use Plack::Middleware::Static if you want to serve multiple files.
- It assumes that you know what you're doing. If the file does not exist, it will throw an fatal error.
- It uses Plack::MIME to identify the content type, but you can override that.
- It adds a file path to the file handle, and plays nicely with Plack::Middleware::XSendfile and Plack::Middleware::ETag.
- It does not log anything.
RECENT CHANGES
Changes for version v0.2.5 (2026-07-17)
- Documentation
- README is now generated by Dist::Zilla::Plugin::UsefulReadme.
- Removed separate INSTALL file.
- Adjusted wording for consistency.
- Updated the copyright year.
- Updated maintainer email.
- Fixed the git repo URL in SOURCE.
- Added doap.xml to the distribution.
- Tests
- Skip Plack::Middleware::XSendfile test if it is no installed.
- Moved author tests into the xt directory.
- Added more author tests.
- Toolchain
- Improved Dist::Zilla configuration.
- Sign distribution with SigStore instead of Module::Signature.
See the Changes file for more details.
REQUIREMENTS
This module lists the following modules as runtime dependencies:
- Catalyst version 5.90129 or later
- File::Spec
- File::stat
- IO::File
- Moose::Role
- Plack::MIME
- Plack::Util
- Try::Tiny
- namespace::autoclean
- perl version v5.14.0 or later
See the cpanfile file for the full list of prerequisites.
INSTALLATION
The latest version of this module (along with any dependencies) can be installed from CPAN with the cpan tool that is included with Perl:
cpan Catalyst::Plugin::Static::File
You can also extract the distribution archive and install this module (along with any dependencies):
cpan .
You can also install this module manually using the following commands:
perl Makefile.PL
make
make test
make install
If you are working with the source repository, then it may not have a Makefile.PL file. But you can use the Dist::Zilla tool in anger to build and install this module:
dzil build
dzil test
dzil install --install-command="cpan ."
For more information, see How to install CPAN modules.
SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS
The serve_static_file method does not validate the file that is passed to it.
You should ensure that arbitrary filenames are not passed to it. You should strictly validate any external data that is used for generating the filename.
SUPPORT
Only the latest version of this module will be supported.
This module requires Perl v5.14 or later. Future releases may only support Perl versions released in the last ten years.
This module requires Catalyst v5.90129 or later.
Reporting Bugs and Submitting Feature Requests
Please report any bugs or feature requests on the bugtracker website https://github.com/robrwo/Catalyst-Plugin-Static-File/issues
When submitting a bug or request, please include a test-file or a patch to an existing test-file that illustrates the bug or desired feature.
Reporting Security Vulnerabilities
Security issues should not be reported on the bugtracker website. Please see SECURITY.md for instructions how to
report security vulnerabilities
SOURCE
The development version is on github at https://github.com/robrwo/Catalyst-Plugin-Static-File and may be cloned from https://github.com/robrwo/Catalyst-Plugin-Static-File.git
AUTHOR
Robert Rothenberg perl@rhizomnic.com
COPYRIGHT AND LICENSE
This software is Copyright (c) 2023-2026 by Robert Rothenberg.
This is free software, licensed under:
The Artistic License 2.0 (GPL Compatible)