In short, Daraja enables Object Pascal developers to write well-structured HTTP server applications.

About

Daraja is a compact and flexible HTTP server application framework for Object Pascal, based on the HTTP server included in Indy - Internet Direct. The framework uses URL patterns to match requests to your resource handler code, and optional request filtering for pre- and post-processing. It enables developers to create well-structured HTTP server applications, written with 100% open source code.

Usage

Prerequisites

The minimum requirements are:

• Delphi 2009 or higher or
• Lazarus 3.x / Free Pascal 3.2.x
• Indy - Internet Direct 10.6.2 or 10.6.3

Optional requirements for some code examples and logging:

• JsonDataObjects
• Log4D

IDE configuration guide

To make Daraja HTTP Framework and Internet Direct (Indy) available for a project,

• add the Daraja HTTP Framework <Install>/source folder to the project search path
• add the folders <Indy>/Lib/Core, <Indy>/Lib/System and <Indy>/Lib/Protocols to the project search path

Example

These are the basic steps to configure a simple "Hello, World!" application. A simple resource will be defined in a TdjWebComponent which has only one method, OnGet. The web component the will be installed in the server.

Resource definition

A Daraja Web Component defines the request handling and response building, but it does not specify the actual location (HTTP address) of a resource. The web component in this example handles HTTP GET requests by overriding the OnGet method. The method sets the response content text and content type.

daraja-framework/demo/01_helloworld/MainUnit.pas

Lines 40 to 50 in a047517

	type
	THelloWorldResource = class(TdjWebComponent)
	public
	procedure OnGet(Request: TdjRequest; Response: TdjResponse); override;
	end;
	procedure THelloWorldResource.OnGet(Request: TdjRequest; Response: TdjResponse);
	begin
	Response.ContentText := 'Hello, World!';
	Response.ContentType := 'text/plain';
	end;

Context and resource registration

We want to place the web component in the context tutorial and the absolute path /hello. We also want to use port 80. The full URL of our resource is http://127.0.0.1/tutorial/hello

daraja-framework/demo/01_helloworld/MainUnit.pas

Lines 57 to 68 in a047517

	Server := TdjServer.Create(80);
	try
	Context := TdjWebAppContext.Create('tutorial');
	Context.Add(THelloWorldResource, '/hello');
	Server.Add(Context);
	Server.Start;
	WriteLn('Server is running, please open http://127.0.0.1/tutorial/hello');
	WriteLn('Hit enter to terminate.');
	ReadLn;
	finally
	Server.Free;
	end;

Test with curl:

curl -i http://127.0.0.1/tutorial/hello
HTTP/1.1 200 OK
Connection: keep-alive
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
Content-Length: 13
Date: Wed, 22 Jan 2025 19:07:14 GMT

Hello, World!

Flowchart diagram

flowchart TD
    A[TdjServer] -->|Receive request| B(Locate TdjWebcomponent)
    B --> C{Invoke HTTP method}
    C -->|**GET**| D[**run OnGet**]
    C -->|POST| E[run OnPost]
    C -->|PUT| F[run OnPut]

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Documentation

API docs

https://michaeljustin.github.io/daraja-framework/

Getting started with Daraja

https://www.habarisoft.com/daraja_framework/3.0.6/docs/DarajaFrameworkGettingStarted.pdf

Licensing

Daraja HTTP Framework is dual licensed under the GNU Affero General Public License and a commercial license. The GNU Affero General Public License is a free, copyleft license for software and other kinds of works, specifically designed to ensure cooperation with the community in the case of network server software.

AGPL licensing FAQ

Can I use it in my commercial Project?

Yes, if you open source your whole project (thus also AGPL it) otherwise no.

Is it enough to ship the licence texts or do I need to ship the source code (from Daraja) too?

You have to supply the whole sourcecode of everything - but a download link should suffice.

Do I need to mention the use of Daraja inside my program (like a info message or something)?

No, this is not required.

Commercial license

You can be released from the requirements of the AGPL license by purchasing a commercial license. The commercial license can be obtained from https://www.habarisoft.com/daraja_framework.html

Credits

This software uses the following open source packages:

• Indy - Internet Direct

For example code, unit testing, and documentation, it uses the following open source packages:

• JsonDataObjects for example code
• Log4D and slf4p for logging
• DUnit and FPCUnit for unit testing
• Doxygen Doxygen is a widely-used documentation generator tool in software development
• pas2dox Pas2dox is a pre-processor addon for the Doxygen documentation generator.

Origins

"Daraja" means "bridge" in Swahili. The Daraja Framework serves as a bridge between incoming HTTP requests and the Object Pascal code that handles them, enabling seamless integration between web traffic and application logic. — ChatGPT, OpenAI (May 2025)