If the user issues a "GET" request with a URL terminating in a slash, the server will try to locate one of the following index files in the directory, choosing one in the following order:
index.html
index.htm
default.html
home.html
If any of these files is found, its contents are sent back to the client. If no such file is found the server uses the user-provided index file name (if any is specified with the CYGDAT_NET_ATHTTPD_ALTERNATE_HOME setting. Failing all this a directory listing is sent.
Trailing slash redirection for directory names is supported.
In order to reduce the footprint of the server, directory listing can be disabled by unchecking CYGOPT_NET_ATHTTPD_USE_DIRLIST. The savings are substantial since directory listing also makes use of a few internal resources (gif files) which are also compiled out.