Each of these commands will run an ad hoc http server in your current directory. Use this power wisely.

**Python 2.x**

```shell
$ python -m SimpleHTTPServer 8000
```

**Python 3.x**

```shell
$ python -m http.server 8000
```

**Ruby**

Credit: [Barking Iguana](http://barkingiguana.com/2010/04/11/a-one-line-web-server-in-ruby/)

```shell
$ ruby -rwebrick -e'WEBrick::HTTPServer.new(:Port => 8000, :DocumentRoot => Dir.pwd).start'
```

**Perl**

Credit: [Anonymous Monk](http://www.perlmonks.org/?node_id=865239)

```shell
$ perl -MCPAN -e "install HTTP::Server::Brick"   # install dependency
$ perl -MHTTP::Server::Brick -e '$s=HTTP::Server::Brick->new(port=>8000); $s->mount("/"=>{path=>"."}); $s->start'
```

**Node.js #1**

```shell
$ npm install -g http-server   # install dependency
$ http-server -p 8000
```

**Node.js #2**

```shell
# Runs in Node.js using node-static. No directory listings.
$ npm install -g node-static   # install dependency
$ static -p 8000
```

**PHP >= 5.4**

Credit:
* [/u/prawnsalad](http://www.reddit.com/r/webdev/comments/1fs45z/list_of_ad_hoc_http_server_oneliners/cad9ew3)
* [@MattLicense](https://gist.github.com/willurd/5720255#comment-841131)

```shell
php -S 127.0.0.1:8000
```

**Erlang**

Credit: [@nivertech](https://gist.github.com/willurd/5720255/#comment-841166) (with the addition of some basic mime types)

```shell
erl -s inets -eval 'inets:start(httpd,[{server_name,"NAME"},{document_root, "."},{server_root, "."},{port, 8000},{mime_types,[{"html","text/html"},{"htm","text/html"},{"js","text/javascript"},{"css","text/css"},{"gif","image/gif"},{"jpg","image/jpeg"},{"jpeg","image/jpeg"},{"png","image/png"}]}]).'
```